Product Details

• Directors: Osamu Tezuka
• Format: Animated, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Expanded Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: September 14, 1992
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630258583X
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,521 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Independent animator Bill Plympton first received widespread public attention when his outré "Your Face" (1987) was nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Short. His short films--some as brief as 15 seconds--made between 1985 and 1991 showcase his unique talent much more effectively than his ponderous features, The Tune and I Married a Strange Person. Plympton's earliest films indicate that he experimented with a variety of techniques--cutouts, cel animation, stop motion--before finding his personal style: colored pencil drawings on paper to illustrate bizarre, metamorphic transitions that build to an absurd climax. Eyes slide up foreheads, lips elongate, mouths rotate, bodies distort, and heads explode in loose, scribbly sketches. Plympton is not a great animator: he uses only four to six drawings per second, less than a Saturday-morning series (full, Disney-style animation requires 12 to 24 drawings per second), and his attempts to tell a coherent story through his drawings invariably fizzle. But in off-the-wall shorts like "Your Face," "25 Ways to Quit Smoking," and the 15-second "Plymptoons" made for MTV, he emerges as an entertaining and highly original filmmaker. Not rated; suitable for all ages, although bizarre imagery may frighten small children. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AKA Plymptoons done the right way...., August 14, 2004

By	Erich Mohr "Arandil" (Sonoma County, Ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Plymptoons - The Classic Works of Bill Plympton (Special Edition) (DVD)

If there is any confusion between this DVD and 'The Complete Works of Bill Plympton', relax, this is very nearly the same DVD.

The "Classic Works" differs from "Complete Works" in that it is a more complete version than the previous VHS and DVD editions of "Plymptoons". The director's commentary, which was badly needed in the first transfer to DVD, finally makes an appearance in this version. Bill's commentary is the reading of some notes at the beginning of each short, some technical, some biographical, all interesting in spite of the monotone in which it is delivered. But, hey, Bill never claimed to be an actor. This version also has a few more 'extras' in the form of a stills gallery. The gallery has some key frames, as well as concepts passed over from "25 Way to Quit Smoking". Also, at the end of "Plymptoons 1990" there is a little extra film footage. There are also a few additional shorts in the 'Rarities' section.

This version is also more NC-17 than the older releases, which are more PG. NOTHING Bill does should ever be called PC, so please don't expect moments of happy smiley crap to come floating out of the screen. The interviews are frank, with some colorful language and explicit footage of some of his later works. For those wishing to encourage the younger animator, the "Complete Works" version is much better suited for the younger audience.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The world according to Plympton, March 22, 2000

By	Michael Sean (Seattle, WA - US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Plymptoons - The Complete Works of Bill Plympton (DVD)

Thanks to frequent exposure on MTV and several touring animation festivals, Bill Plympton's distinctive style is now widely recognized, even if the man behind the pencil isn't. While it's not really 'the complete works,' this DVD collects an hour's worth of his early short films, from his cut-out animation piece "Lucas, The Ear of Corn" from 1977 to 1990's "Plymptoons," a medley of his numerous 'microtoons' that were featured regularly on MTV's "Liquid Television." He earned a 1988 Oscar nomination for Best Animation with "Your Face," a musical short scored and sung by Maureen McElheron (who Plympton would work with again on his feature film "The Tune"). For the sake of completeness, we also get his television commercials for "Trivial Pursuit" and "Nutrasweet," a public service message on acid rain (another MTV staple), and his 1987 TV pilot for "Love In The Fast Lane," a series that never got picked up. Whether you already know the man's work, or you just enjoy attending animation festivals, this disc is a decent showcase of some of his short films. For more by Bill Plympton, check out "Mondo Plympton," which features more of his recent work.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mind bending animation, January 27, 2004

By	cookieman108 "cookieman108®" (Inside the jar...) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Plymptoons - The Classic Works of Bill Plympton (Special Edition) (DVD)

There's a pretty good chance most all of us have seen Bill Plympton's unique style of work at some point or other. Whether it magazines, film, or television, he has been around for a long time and garnered the respect of many of his peers.

In this collection, we get to see some of his earliest work, dating back to 1968 and we follow his work up until about 1991. I think my favorite short on here is the one titled '25 Ways to Quit Smoking'. The use of the sumo had me laughing for quite a while.

His drawings, sometimes crude, are full of kinetic energy, always flowing along, morphing into something new and wondrous. The imagination displayed in these early works is pure, simple, and a lot of fun to watch. His humor, to me, is comparable to Gary Larson in that he takes everyday situations and shows the inherent humor in them, things most of us would probably overlook.

There is quite a bit of material on this disc, from award winning shorts, promotional spots, commercial work, and even a music video. Also, there are loads of extras including interviews, commentaries on the shorts, exclusive featurettes, rare early footage and much more.

There is some material on here, especially in the extras section, that is not suitable for younger audiences. These may be cartoons, but not in the traditional sense, and certainly for the more discerning viewer. There is another disc out called Plymptoons: The Complete Works of Bill Plympton but I have not seen that yet. A lot of the material listed being in there seems to be in this collection, so you may want to review both before buying one or the other. I didn't know the other existed before purchasing this one. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there is also a nifty little fold out poster along with an extensive listing of his work from his beginnings up until about 2001.