'Sick & Twisted' animation festival returns to Magic Bag

An evening of squirm-inducing and gut-busting creative animated shorts returns to the Magic Bag with the annual Spike & Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation. 

A favorite since 1992, the collection of brief cartoons will show three times this month at the Ferndale venue to an 18-and-older audience. This year's program runs just under 90 minutes and includes more than two dozen clips that run just a few minutes each. 

The longest clip is a returning "Captain Awesome," clocking in at eight minutes. Another long-ish feature is "The Saga of Bjorn," a 7-minute fantasy cartoon from Denmark about an aging viking who struggles to reach Valhalla. 

In the two-and-a-half minute long "Cats N Things" lovable bunnies will sing an homage to pit bulls. 

Founded by Spike Decker and Mike Gribble (the latter of whom died several years ago), the festival was a part of the early careers of animation mega stars like Mike Judge ("Beavis & Butthead") and Matt Stone and Trey Parker who went on to create "South Park." 

John Lasseter, former chief creative officer of Pixar, and Academy Award-nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt have also contributed shorts to past Sick & Twisted fests.  

Spike & Mike Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation

8 p.m. doors and 9 p.m. show Thurs., Sun. and Feb. 28

Magic Bag

22920 Woodward, Ferndale

$8 in advance, $10 at the door

(248) 544-1991 or themagicbag.com

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @melodybaetens