Lost animation and more! 1.27 – 1.31

Hey Kids! is a weekly feature looking at what’s coming up for families and kids of all ages.

This Thursday night the Lost Animation Festival kicks off at Oddball Films with “The Fabulous World of Jules Vernes” (B&W, 1958, 83 mins). The Czech film is loosely based on Jules Verne’s novel “Face au drapeau” (“Facing the Flag”) from 1896.

Giant octopus, whimsical fish, impossible inventions, a lab scientist inside a volcano and British soldiers riding roller skating camels inhabit a surreal world.

Visionary filmmaker Karel Zeman placed actors in front of painted backdrops and two-dimensional etchings.  Using puppets, stop-motion technique, and animated cut-outs, he rendered a fantasy stylized after nineteenth century woodcuts and the original steel-engraved illustrations in Verne’ book.

Other rarely screened (and rarely seen) films from the Oddball Film archive will also be shown at the three-day festival. Italy, Japan and Sweden are some of the countries represented. Its final program features banned and censored (racist and racy) animation.

Guest curator Pete Gowdy “cherry-picks some of the strangest, most eclectic animated works around all presented as they were made- on 16mm film,” says Stephen Parr, director of Oddball Films.

Upcoming events: (subject to change, confirm times)

Lost Animation Festival
Thurs.-Sat., Jan. 28-30.  $10 per program/ $35 festival pass.  Oddball Films, 275 Capp St. (near 18th)

Underground Food Market
Drool is the new cool. Music, vendors, workshops, wild boar… Good gravy, check out their vendor list! Thurs., Jan. 28. 5pm-11pm. Free (sign up online). 199 Capp St. (at 17th)

Garden Art Friday
Enjoy an art activity outdoors in the library garden. A Green Stacks program. Fri., Jan. 29. 3pm. Free. Mission Branch Library, 300 Bartlett St. (at 24th)

A Curious Cinema: Love Life of the Octopus
L’amour. It grips you in its fleshy tentacles and drags you into the abyss. And if you survive you’ll make fevered art with squid ink. But not before dissecting the gill hearts of a cephalopod. Ah, l’amour. Fri., Jan. 29. 5:30pm. $10-$30. The Studio for Urban Projects, 3579 17th St. (at Dolores)

The Wave
MYT’s Teen Troupe presents the world premiere of “The Wave”, a musical by Ron Jones. A 1967 classroom experiment in fascism that shook a school!
Show runs Jan. 30 – Feb. 7. $7-$10. The Marsh, 1062 Valencia St. (near 22nd St.)

Music in the Mishkan: “In the Mood”
The Bridge Players perform music by Bedrich Smetana, Franz Schubert and Brian Wilson (not of the Beach Boys). Sun., Jan. 31. 4pm. $15-$20. Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, 290 Dolores St. (at 16th St.)

The Greatest Bubble Show On Earth
Float into bubble bliss with Louis Pearl, the Amazing Bubble Man. Show run continues through Apr. 3. All shows at 11am.  $7-10. The Marsh, 1062 Valencia St. (near 22nd St.)

Philosophy Talk’s “What is a Wife?”
Is it a psychoactive experience? Hosts John Perry and Ken Taylor discuss with Marilyn Yalom, author of “A History of the Wife”. Sun., Jan. 31. 12 noon. $20 per show; $35 for both. The Marsh, 1062 Valencia St. (near 22nd St.)

Philosophy Talk’s “Faces, Feelings and Lies”
Beware of emoticons. Hosts John and Ken discuss with pioneering psychologist Paul Ekman. Sun., Jan. 31. 3pm. $20 per show; $35 for both. The Marsh, 1062 Valencia St. (near 22nd St.)