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| Mark R. Leeper... |
 Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:06 pm |
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BILL PLYMPTON'S DOG DAYS
(a DVD review by Mark R. Leeper)
Bill Plympton's fourth collection of his short films is every bit
as creative, if not quite as anarchic, as his earlier work. It
still is full of weird camera angles and lots of strange ideas from
a strange mind. But in this collection he is giving more plot and
the surrealism is being replaced by a more simple insanity. There
is a lot in the package and it is a lot of fun.
Animation is a field of art in which just about anything that can
be imagined can be brought to the screen. If the mind's eye can
see it, it probably can be shown in an animated film. But very few
animators can use this medium the way that Bill Plympton can.
Plympton has a bizarre--some would say sick--mind that comes
pouring out in his animation. While major animated films are going
in the direction of 3-D effects and super-realistic visual effect,
Plympton's style does not change. His images still look like flat
colored pencil sketches (as probably many of them started) but his
edge is in his imagination. Watching a Plympton cartoon is rarely
so tame an experience as falling down a rabbit hole into a new
world. Plympton's only rule is to break all the rules and the
visual expectations of the audience. Humans morph into other
objects or deform like Silly Putty. Giant hands of God drop from
the sky. It is hard to say that most of his best animated films
really have what could be called a plot. They are more sketchpads
of ideas that usually become more and more bizarre. Like with no
other filmmaker one has the feeling that anything visual can happen.
DOG DAYS is probably a little more reserved than some of Plympton's
earlier work (though "reserved" is a relative term). He might
previously have had lovers melting into each other or eyeballs
turning into hot-air balloons and floating away. They were
interesting ideas but they did not tell anything like a story. His
work is more disciplined now, but there is still a very wild sense
of humor behind it all. The ostensive purpose of this DVD is to
show Plympton's seven independent short films that he made from
2004 to 2008. That is seven short animated films that total to
about 45 minutes. That is 45 minutes of entertainment on a DVD
listed for about $20. You say you're not satisfied? You say you
want more for your money? Each of the film has Bill's own
commentary. The DVD also includes music videos, commercials, and
other commissioned films. The DVD case says that it is 130 minutes,
and I suspect that does not include the commentaries. I have a
suspicion that this is the whole Plympton portfolio for the
interval from 2004 to 2008.
The first three films comprise his "Dog" Trilogy. They are "Guard
Dog", "Guide Dog", and "Hot Dog". These each have several awards
listed on the case. Frankly I don't see this as his best work.
The three cartoons all feature the same dog trying to function in a
world he does not understand. There is too much in common among
the three pieces. Maybe one would have been enough.
Next, "The Fan and the Flower" is a simple fairy tale based on a
visual pun. Paul Giamatti narrates. It is entertaining but better
films are to come.
Plympton really hits his stride with the last three films, all
unconnected. "Shuteye Hotel" is a nasty little horror story. And
Plympton's style of animation is the perfect medium for this story.
Trying to do it live action might not be impossible, but it would
be very hard to carry off. CGI might not be much better.
Ironically we learn in the commentary that this was Plympton's one
attempt to use CGI. The attempt was a fiasco except that it gave
Plympton a story to tell when people suggest he use CGI.
"Santa, The Fascist Years", narrated by Matthew Modine, mixes Santa
Claus and fascist imagery. It could be a riff on the cooperation
pacts that some religious leaders made with fascist dictators in
WWII. Plympton says it was originally just an attempt to combine
religious and fascist imagery on a Christmas card, later expanded
to a full film.
"Spiral" is Bill Plympton's take on abstract animated mathematical
films. It begins as an experiment in mathematical form but also
makes a comment. (Plympton's attack on another animator's work in
the commentary is surprisingly vehement.)
Included is a large slice of his commissioned work, animation he
did for other people's projects and where he was probably not
allowed to exhibit his special brand of weirdness. Included is a
thirty-minute Christmas show that he did for the Cartoon Network
and various other items he did for cable TV, including an account
of Shay's Rebellion made for the History Channel. What at first
looks like a short DVD in fact has a lot of material to be seen.
Several of the pieces were familiar from animation film festivals,
but it is good to see them collected.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper at (no spam) optonline.net
Copyright 2009 Mark R. Leeper |
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