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Review: Adventures in Plymptoons (2012)
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Mark Leeper
Sep 24, 2012, 12:34:48 PM9/24/12
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ADVENTURES IN PLYMPTOONS
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: Many animators make films that give the
impression that anything could happen. But Bill
Plympton's cartoons (a.k.a. Plymptoons) make that
what-could-happen the anythingest. Bill Plympton
makes reality-pulverizing animated films. His friends,
his peers, and some celebrities delve into Plympton's
life and his art in this documentary study of the life
and art of Bill Plympton. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4)
or 6/10
I started trying to characterize Bill Plympton by arguing with
myself how to describe him. I was going to characterize him just
saying he was "anarchic." Well, taken literally that means wanting
to escape the restrictions of government. But Plympton's cartoons
are not at all political. Really what I meant was that he was
escaping the usual self-imposed restrictions of the animated film
medium. But there are many cartoonists who do that. Well, perhaps
what he is refusing is the physical reality of the world. But when
the Coyote runs off a cliff and does not fall for several seconds
that is counter to reality too. But clearly when a Plymptoon has
the individual features of a face run around the head like
cockroaches on a kitchen floor and then the head just pops off,
this is a profoundly deeper form of anarchy. (Actually that film,
"Your Face", earned him the first of his two Oscar nominations.)
Plympton attacks our assumptions that nobody even realized were
assumptions.
ADVENTURES IN PLYMPTOONS is not just a collection of Plymptoons
(his animations), though we do see plenty of them. It is an
anarchic study of who this fellow Bill Plympton is. ADVENTURES IN
PLYMPTOONS tells the history of who he is going back to his getting
into trouble for the salacious campaign posters he created for his
high school student body President campaign. (Okay, there he was
political. Just not very.)
In interviews friends and celebrities talk about Plympton's past
and his creations. The celebrities (like Keith Carradine, Ed
Begley Jr., Terry Gilliam, Matthew Modine, and Al Yankovic) are
there too frequently only for attempted humor. Peers (like Ralph
Bakshi) and friends have more interesting things to say. The
interviews are illustrated with classic Plympton cartoons and home
movies.
Plympton is the dean of independent animation and we hear in the
interviews how that was not his plan. He had hoped to be hired by
Disney Studios and would work for the giant (or is it the Mouse?).
His plans went badly askew when he got a million-dollar offer from
Disney. Suddenly he found that he did not want to give up his
independence and have someone else telling him what to do. So with
mixed emotions he remained an independent filmmaker.
Plympton, we are told, hand-makes his cartoons, and they look it.
His usual technique is to draw each frame without aid of computer.
Still, we hear he is fast both in getting his ideas and in
implementing them in realized animated films.
Like the Plymptoons themselves, this documentary directed by Alexia
Anastasio is uneven, slightly out of balance, made on the cheap
side, and has some rough edges to show for it. But the material is
definitely compelling.
The film has ample examples of the anarchic ideas of Plympton. One
of his "Guard Dog" animations has the title beast deciding that a
squirrel has homicidal intentions toward the dog's unsuspecting
master. That cute exterior and fluffy tail hides the mind of a
pure evil genius and an arsenal of unsuspected weapons. Here at
last is an explanation if why dogs bark at squirrels. We can see
what is going on in the crazy mind of the squirrel. Or more
accurately we can see what is going on in the crazy mind of man
with a unique genius for bringing impossible ideas out from his
subconscious and onto the theater screen. I rate ADVENTURES IN
PLYMPTOONS a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 6/10. The film will
be out on DVD on September 25 from Cinema Libre.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1691448/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/adventures_in_plymptoons/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: Many animators make films that give the
impression that anything could happen. But Bill
Plympton's cartoons (a.k.a. Plymptoons) make that
what-could-happen the anythingest. Bill Plympton
makes reality-pulverizing animated films. His friends,
his peers, and some celebrities delve into Plympton's
life and his art in this documentary study of the life
and art of Bill Plympton. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4)
or 6/10
I started trying to characterize Bill Plympton by arguing with
myself how to describe him. I was going to characterize him just
saying he was "anarchic." Well, taken literally that means wanting
to escape the restrictions of government. But Plympton's cartoons
are not at all political. Really what I meant was that he was
escaping the usual self-imposed restrictions of the animated film
medium. But there are many cartoonists who do that. Well, perhaps
what he is refusing is the physical reality of the world. But when
the Coyote runs off a cliff and does not fall for several seconds
that is counter to reality too. But clearly when a Plymptoon has
the individual features of a face run around the head like
cockroaches on a kitchen floor and then the head just pops off,
this is a profoundly deeper form of anarchy. (Actually that film,
"Your Face", earned him the first of his two Oscar nominations.)
Plympton attacks our assumptions that nobody even realized were
assumptions.
ADVENTURES IN PLYMPTOONS is not just a collection of Plymptoons
(his animations), though we do see plenty of them. It is an
anarchic study of who this fellow Bill Plympton is. ADVENTURES IN
PLYMPTOONS tells the history of who he is going back to his getting
into trouble for the salacious campaign posters he created for his
high school student body President campaign. (Okay, there he was
political. Just not very.)
In interviews friends and celebrities talk about Plympton's past
and his creations. The celebrities (like Keith Carradine, Ed
Begley Jr., Terry Gilliam, Matthew Modine, and Al Yankovic) are
there too frequently only for attempted humor. Peers (like Ralph
Bakshi) and friends have more interesting things to say. The
interviews are illustrated with classic Plympton cartoons and home
movies.
Plympton is the dean of independent animation and we hear in the
interviews how that was not his plan. He had hoped to be hired by
Disney Studios and would work for the giant (or is it the Mouse?).
His plans went badly askew when he got a million-dollar offer from
Disney. Suddenly he found that he did not want to give up his
independence and have someone else telling him what to do. So with
mixed emotions he remained an independent filmmaker.
Plympton, we are told, hand-makes his cartoons, and they look it.
His usual technique is to draw each frame without aid of computer.
Still, we hear he is fast both in getting his ideas and in
implementing them in realized animated films.
Like the Plymptoons themselves, this documentary directed by Alexia
Anastasio is uneven, slightly out of balance, made on the cheap
side, and has some rough edges to show for it. But the material is
definitely compelling.
The film has ample examples of the anarchic ideas of Plympton. One
of his "Guard Dog" animations has the title beast deciding that a
squirrel has homicidal intentions toward the dog's unsuspecting
master. That cute exterior and fluffy tail hides the mind of a
pure evil genius and an arsenal of unsuspected weapons. Here at
last is an explanation if why dogs bark at squirrels. We can see
what is going on in the crazy mind of the squirrel. Or more
accurately we can see what is going on in the crazy mind of man
with a unique genius for bringing impossible ideas out from his
subconscious and onto the theater screen. I rate ADVENTURES IN
PLYMPTOONS a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 6/10. The film will
be out on DVD on September 25 from Cinema Libre.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1691448/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/adventures_in_plymptoons/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
alexia.a...@gmail.com
Sep 26, 2012, 7:44:02 PM9/26/12
to
Thank you for the wonderful review. I really appreciate it.
rahmat...@gmail.com
Sep 27, 2012, 4:48:04 AM9/27/12
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Mark Leeper
Sep 28, 2012, 7:55:46 AM9/28/12
to
On Wednesday, September 26, 2012 7:44:02 PM UTC-4, alexia.a...@gmail.com wrote:
> Thank you for the wonderful review. I really appreciate it.
Responses like yours keep me going. Thank you.
> Thank you for the wonderful review. I really appreciate it.
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