VIDEO: Film Society Hosts Friday the 13th Cartoon Classics

Thirteen funny Friday the 13th cartoon classics that deal with bad luck, murder, trips to hell, ghosts and other unwanted experiences will show this Friday in Half Moon Bay.

Once again, the has asked the famous animator and film historian Karl Cohen to to show downtown at the .
 
The night starts with a few black and white cartoons from the 1920s. In "The Pet," animation pioneer Winsor McCay envisions a nightmare featuring a mystery pet who keeps eating and growing until it threatens the whole city. Our three Fleisher Brothers shorts push against the boundary of reality as Betty Boop (depicted as a dog this early in her career), her partner Bimbo and her sidekick Koko the clown each star in ridiculous musical nightmares.           
 
The picks from the 1930s are less surrealistic but just as much fun. In "Mickey's Nightmare" the Disney star dreams of a life full of far too many misbehaving children. Otto Soglow's chubby Little King bathes and plays with his pooch while a dastardly villain plots his murder in "The Fatal Note." In "Wotta Nitemare" Popeye dreams of a picnic in the clouds.
 
Next come two 1940s shorts by legendary cartoon director Tex Avery. "Who Killed Who" deals with a detective who has to solve a murder in a haunted house. "Bad Luck Blackie" introduces us to a cute white kitten tormented by a bulldog and saved by a bad luck black cat. It is widely acclaimed as one of the fastest paced and funniest cartoons ever made. 
 
Karl's final three picks are famous mind bending shorts from the '60s and '70s. You can guess who will win in "Bambi Meets Godzilla." "Vicious Cycles" uses stop motion animation with live people to give us a motorcycle gang without motorcycles. It's part Tarentino, part Monty Python. Then it's back to the surreal with "Make Me Psychic" in which Anita the duck buys a gizmo that gives her psychic powers and makes her the hit of a party in an alternate universe.  
 
Karl Cohen will attend the screening to introduce the films and lead a discussion afterwards. A great night to show the kids what animation was like back in the day.

The Friday the 13th film night will take place at 7:30 p.m. on April 13 at the Community United Methodist Church (777 Miramontes St., Half Moon Bay). Ticket price is $8.

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