Product Details

• Actors: Daniel Neiden, Maureen McElheron, Marty Nelson, Emily Bindiger, Chris Hoffman
• Directors: Bill Plympton
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: New Video Group
• DVD Release Date: July 27, 2004
• Run Time: 72 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00029NKT2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,776 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Only a handful of independent animators have ever attempted a feature-length film, and it's regrettable that Bill Plympton's first effort isn't more successful. His extremely limited style of animation--he uses about one-third fewer drawings than Saturday morning kidvid shows--worked for his short films, but it simply can't sustain an audience's interest for more than an hour. The limits of the visuals might be less noticeable if the story were more interesting. Del, an aspiring songwriter, needs to come up with a hit in a hurry, so he can marry Didi, a secretary at Mega Music. He visits the weird town of Flooby Nooby where he hears people singing various songs--which he takes and passes off as own. At times, Plympton seems to be trying for the upbeat tone of the old Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland musicals, but those films about "amateurs" relied on very talented professional performers and songwriters. The songs in The Tune range from amateurish pastiches to utter doggerel. Watching The Tune is only slightly more entertaining than spending 69 minutes in a sensory deprivation tank. --Charles Solomon

Product Description
Studio: New Video Group Release Date: 07/27/2004 Run time: 72 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable toon with ridiculous tunes, March 27, 2000

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

This review is from: The Tune (DVD)

Celebrated cartoonist Bill Plympton's first feature film is a surreal musical fantasy with some inspired animation. He financed it entirely by himself, raising extra money by doing work for a few television commercials (see "Plymptoons: Complete Works" on DVD). He also released early portions of the film as shorts to help generate funds ("Dig My Do" in 1990, "Push Comes To Shove" and "The Wiseman" in 1991), even winning the 1991 Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival for "Push Comes To Shove." Working again with Maureen McElheron (she scored his 1988 Oscar-nominated short "Your Face"), Plympton pieces together the story of a songwriter who, after receiving a 47-minute deadline to deliver a hit song or get fired, finds himself lost in the town of Flooby Nooby. Through the course of ten musical numbers (touching on various popular music genres) and some outstanding animation sequences, he learns to pen songs from the heart rather than by the book. This film is classic Plympton, but the light-hearted theme and often silly songs contrast greatly with the bizarre sex and violence of his second feature-length film "I Married A Strange Person."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding the right sound..., December 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tune (VHS Tape)

I am so happy to find this video available that I'm buying several--I've told so many people about it, and I had a copy of it, but literally wore it out playing it. There are so many classic animation moments in this...this...is it a musical? I guess so, but nothing like any musical you've ever seen before! The plot is slight but important: An unfortunate young song writer MUST write a catchy tune in a very short time or never win his heart's desire, and the poor fellow has writer's block--in fact, he hardly knows what his heart's desire really is. During his frantic push to produce this song, he loses himself in a land where EVERYTHING has a song to sing (and does). Don't miss the rockabilly dog sequence...or the country&western diner...or the dueling riddles tango. Best of all, each and every song has its own animation style, all within the matrix of the storyline.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clever and Funny, January 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tune (DVD)

If you like humor that is just a bit off-beat and bizarre, you will probably enjoy this film. It's classic Plympton, but the songs are good and there are actually a few clever insights about people mixed in, if you need intellectually redeeming qualities. I would not put much stock in the Charles Solomon review, which to my way of thinking missed every point in the film. For example, the hero does not go around listening to "people singing various songs--which he takes and passes off as own." Rather, he talks to people, and hears songs in the way they speak and act. Sort of a comment on the artistic process, I suppose. But mostly the movie is just funny. The animation is sort of like Monty Python animation, in that it is very simple, a bit twisted, funny and full of surprises. I watch this film over and over, each time wondering what make Plympton think of this stuff.