KLIK! Announces “Fabulous Fifties” Theme for 2013 Edition

The KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival has announced the theme for their 2013 edition: The Fabulous Fifties, a major celebration of mid-century animation that will include programs such as The Nuclear Family, Cartoon Modern: The Essentials, and Contemporary Cartoon Modern. The festival will take place between November 12-17, 2013 at the futuristic-looking EYE Film Institute in Amsterdam.

KLIK! is a young event—this will be their sixth edition—and they’re quirky, fun and unafraid to push things further than the average animation festival. I’ve had the pleasure of consulting with them on the Cartoon Modern theme this year, and they’re putting together some awesome shows and events that reveal fresh insights on the Cartoon Modern movement.

More from their official announcement:

Every year KLIK! dedicates part of the festival program to an exciting theme. This year it’s The Fabulous Fifties, taking you back to perfectly happy families, the magic of home automation and cheesy toothpaste commercials. But the fifties weren’t just that – at the same time animation encountered a groundbreaking change. Animation in that era was greatly influenced by modern design, with its use of graphic, almost abstract, forms and primary colors, earning its term ‘Cartoon Modern’. This turning point in animation history gave us beloved works like The Jetsons, The Pink Panther, 101 Dalmatians and those wonderfully cheesy TV commercials, and went on to influence contemporary animation such as The Powerpuff Girls, Ren & Stimpy, Samurai Jack and even the titles of Pixar’s Monsters, Inc.

Besides the Fabulous Fifties theme, KLIK! will also have a full slate of festival programming including short competitions, animated features, panels, lectures, demos, and a special afternoon for kids.