Back in the late '80s, Mike Judge was just another dime-a-dozen engineer. But when he saw advertisements for a Dallas animation festival, he got an idea. His short film Frog Baseball featured a pair of sniggering pubescents mowing down amphibians by the dozen. The clip made it into the festival -- and MTV's animation series Liquid Television. Less than a year later, Beavis and Butt-head had their own show, and Judge had become a patron saint for wannabe animators everywhere.
Judge continues his swath of glory with "The Animation Show," 94 minutes of cartoon delights chosen by him and Academy Awardnominated animator Don Hertzfeldt. The selection of shorts ranges from forgotten classics (Ward Kimball's magnificently luminous Mars & Beyond, originally aired on a 1957 Disney television program) to the latest computer-drawn gimcrack (the Oscar-nominated Polish gem The Cathedral). The show starts at 7 p.m. (and runs through Sept. 24) at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro (near Market), S.F. Admission is $5-8; call 621-6120 or visit www.castrotheatre.com.
-- Joyce Slaton
New Perspectives
THURS 9/11
In the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, mental health professionals wrested power from TV stations, insisting that it wasn't a good idea to watch the towers fall over and over again. Instead, people were supposed to talk and think and try to heal, which some did. Others got together to find new ways to represent the meaning of that terrible day. "September 11" is an international collection of 11 short movies, each exactly 11 minutes, 9 seconds, and one frame long. The wide variety of cultures, locations, and opinions among the filmmakers makes this series a good alternative to the images already burned into our minds. The screenings begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth (at A), San Rafael. Admission is $5.75-9; call 454-1222 or visit www.cafilm.org.
-- Hiya Swanhuyser
Wham, Bam, Good Glam!
A Bowie Makeover
WED 9/10
David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust is one of those albums that just don't get old; the record's singles ("Ziggy Stardust," "Starman"), as well as its lesser-known cuts (the space-rock freakout "Moonage Daydream" and the jaunty "Hang On to Yourself"), still sound as groundbreaking as they did in 1972. And now they're even fresher, with punk piano-and-vocal impresarios Buffy and Winky transforming the Thin White Duke's glam rock into lounge-friendly keyboard classics. Black Sabbath tribute outfit Bride of Ozzy opens, starting at 9 p.m. at Deluxe, 1509 Haight (at Ashbury), S.F. Admission is free; call 552-6949.
-- Joyce Slaton
