American illustrator, animator, and film director
Bill Plympton (born April 30, 1946)
[1] is an American
animator ,
graphic designer ,
cartoonist , and filmmaker best known for his 1987
Academy Award –nominated
animated short
Your Face and his series of shorts featuring a dog character starting with 2004's
Guard Dog .
[2]
Early life
Plympton was born in
Portland, Oregon , the son of Wilda Jean (Jerman) and Donald F. Plympton,
[3]
[4] and was raised on a farm in nearby
Oregon City
[1] with five siblings: Sally, Tia, Peggy, David and Peter.
[4] From 1964 to 1968, he studied
Graphic Design at
Portland State University , where he was a member of the film society and worked on the
yearbook . In 1968, he transferred to the
School of Visual Arts
[3] in
New York City , where he majored in
cartooning . He graduated from SVA in 1969.
[5]
Career
Plympton's illustrations and cartoons have been published in
The New York Times and the weekly newspaper
The Village Voice , as well as in the magazines
Vogue ,
Rolling Stone ,
Vanity Fair ,
Penthouse , and
National Lampoon . His
political cartoon strip Plympton , which began in 1975 in the
SoHo Weekly News , eventually was
syndicated and appeared in over 20 newspapers.
[6]
In 1988, his
animated short
Your Face was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film . He also became known for other animated short films, including 25 Ways to Quit Smoking (1989) and Enemies (1991), the latter of which was part of the Animania series on
MTV , where many of his other shorts were shown.
[7]
In 1991, Plympton won the
Prix Spécial du Jury at the
Cannes Film Festival for Push Comes to Shove which was featured on MTV's animated series
Liquid Television .
[8] In 1992, his self-financed, first feature-length animated film,
The Tune debuted at the
Sundance Film Festival .
[7]
His work also appeared on the 1992–1993
Fox comedy series
The Edge . In 1993, he made his first live action film, J. Lyle .
Bill and Sandrine Plympton in 2014
In 1995, he contributed animation and graphics to a
computer game collection,
Take Your Best Shot .
[9] He also published a
comic book in 2003, The Sleazy Cartoons of Bill Plympton .
The actress
Martha Plimpton , a distant relative of his,
[10] served as associate producer on Plympton's animated feature
Hair High (2004), doing much of the casting. The movie's voice cast included her father
Keith Carradine and her uncle
David Carradine .
Later works
Guard Dog (2004) was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. In 2005, Plympton animated a music video for
Kanye West 's "
Heard 'Em Say " and the following year, he created the music video for
"Weird Al" Yankovic 's "
Don't Download This Song ". Plympton contributed animation to the 2006
History Channel series
10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America , to illustrate the events of
Shays' Rebellion . Together with other independent New York City animators, he has released two
DVDs of
animated shorts , both titled Avoid Eye Contact .
Plympton's 2008 80-minute feature, Idiots and Angels presented by
Terry Gilliam , had no dialogue.
[11]
[12] The film premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival on 26 April 2008,
[13]
In 2011, Alexia Anastasio completed a documentary on Plympton's life, Adventures in Plymptoons! ,
[14] released in September 2012
direct-to-DVD and on
video-on-demand .
[15]
In 2011, Plympton collaborated with child film critic Perry Chen on Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest , a 2011 short animated film directed by
Kevin Sean Michaels , about actress and
Holocaust survivor
Ingrid Pitt .
[16]
Plympton animated the opening
couch gag for the
Simpsons episodes "
Beware My Cheating Bart " in 2012, "
Black Eyed, Please " in 2013, "
Married to the Blob " in 2014, "
Lisa the Veterinarian " in 2016, "
22 for 30 " in 2017, "
3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage " in 2018, "
Manger Things " in 2021 and "
One Angry Lisa " in 2022; as well as the menus and packaging for the Season 19 DVD.
Plympton directed the segment "On Eating and Drinking" in the 2014 animated film
The Prophet , adapted from
Kahlil Gibran 's book
The Prophet. In 2018, Plympton created a series of videos for The New York Times called “Trump Bites”. One of the series, Trump and Putin: A Love Story , depicts Trump and Putin kissing half-naked. Critics said the video implied that gay relationships were inherently comical and immoral.
[17]
In 2020, Plympton released a
Kickstarter for his new animated comedy western, Slide . The funding was successful and Plympton had planned on finishing the film by 2022.
Legacy
A collection of more than 180 Plympton items is held at the
Academy Film Archive .
[18] The archive has preserved Plympton's films such as Your Face , The Tune , Guard Dog , and The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger .
[19]
His films have featured in the
Animation Show of Shows including
Your Face , Guard Dog , Eat (2001), The Fan and the Flower (2005), and Santa: The Fascist Years (2009).
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
Personal life
On December 23, 2011, Plympton married animator/artist/illustrator Sandrine Flament at his sister's house in Oregon.
[25]
[26] Their son, Lucas, was born in September 2012.
[1]
Influences
Plympton has stated he has many influences, the biggest being the work of the
Walt Disney studio with others including
Tex Avery ,
Bob Clampett ,
Robert Crumb ,
Milton Glaser ,
Charles Addams ,
Roland Topor ,
Quentin Tarantino ,
Frank Capra ,
Richard Lester ,
Bob Godfrey ,
Saul Steinberg ,
Tomi Ungerer ,
Jacques Tati ,
[27]
Milt Kahl ,
[28]
Carlos Nine , and
Jules Feiffer .
[29] He said
I Married a Strange Person! "was influenced by
Peter Jackson , some of his earlier films ... where he used gore and violence and blood as humor."
[30]
Awards
Filmography
Animated features
Documentaries
Fuck (2005; provided animated sequences)
Adventures in Plymptoons! by Alexia Anastasio (2011)
Live-action features
J. Lyle (1993)
Guns on the Clackamas (1995)
Walt Curtis, the Peckerneck Poet (1997)
Hitler's Folly (a mockumentary) (2016)
Animated shorts
Source unless otherwise noted:
[42]
[43]
Lucas the Ear of Corn (1977; 4:00)
Boomtown (1985; 6:00)
[44]
Love in the Fast Lane (1985; 3:00)
Your Face (1987; 3:10)
Drawing Lesson #2 (1988; 6:00)
One of Those Days (1988: 7:50)
How to Kiss (1989; 6:35)
25 Ways to Quit Smoking (1989; 5:00)
Plymptoons (1990; 6:45)
Tango Schmango (1991)
Dig My Do (1990; 4:00)
The Wiseman (1990: 4:30)
Push Comes to Shove (1991; 6:30)
Draw (1993; 2:00)
Faded Roads (1994; 2:30)
Nosehair (1994; 7:00)
How to Make Love to a Woman (1995; 5:00)
Smell the Flowers (1996; 2:00)
Boney D (1996; 3:00)
Plympmania (1996; 8:00)
Sex & Violence (1997; 8:00)
The Exciting Life of a Tree (1998; 7:00)
More Sex & Violence (1998; 7;00)
Surprise Cinema (1999; 7:00)
Life (1999, 6:10) (presenter, animator)
Can't Drag Race with Jesus (2000; 2:00)
Eat (2001; 9:00)
Parking (2002; 5:22)
Guard Dog (2004; 5:00)
The Fan and The Flower (2005; 7:10)
Guide Dog (2006; 5:45) (sequel to Guard Dog )
Shuteye Hotel (2007; 7:00)
Gary Guitar (2008) (episode of
Random! Cartoons )
Hot Dog (2008) (third in the Guard Dog series)
Santa: The Fascist Years (2009)
Horn Dog (2009) (fourth in the Guard Dog series)
The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger (2010)
Summer Bummer (2011; 1:49)
Waiting For Her Sailor (2011; 0:30)
Tiffany the Whale: Death on the Runway (2012; 8:56)
Drunker Than a Skunk (2013; 3:30)
ABCs of Death 2 (segment-H is for Head Games)
Footprints (2014; 4:01)
The Loneliest Stoplight (2015; 6:18)
Cop Dog (2017)
Demi’s Panic (2021)
Animated TV shorts
Compilations (DVD)
Avoid Eye Contact Vol. 1
Avoid Eye Contact Vol. 2
Plymptoons: The Complete Early Works of Bill Plympton (1992)
Bill Plympton's Dirty Shorts (2006)
Mondo Plympton (2007)
Bill Plympton's Dog Days (2009)
Bill Plympton's Dogs & Cows (2013)
Music videos
Commercials
References
^
a
b
c
Lovece, Frank (October 23, 2012).
"God of Indie Animation Bill Plympton at Gold Coast Film Fest" . Film Festival Traveler.
Archived from the original on February 10, 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-10 . Born April 30, 1946, in a Portland, Ore., hospital, Plympton grew up in a family of six kids on a farm in nearby Oregon City. ... [Plympton's son] Lucas [was] born about three weeks before this interview was conducted on Oct. 13, 2012....
^
Shout! Factory Announces Acquisition of Bill Plympton Library|Shout! Blog
^
a
b
"Biography" . Plymptoons (official site). Archived from
the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2012-04-16 .
^
a
b
"Wilda Jean Plympton [obituary]" . OregonLive.com.
Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2019 .
^ "[title n.a.]". Visual Arts Journal . 19 (1).
School of Visual Arts : 13. Spring 2011.
^
"About Bill Plympton – Plymptoons" . www.plymptoons.com . Retrieved 2018-12-03 .
^
a
b Frook, John Evan (May 21, 1992). "October Wins 'Tune' Rights".
Daily Variety . p. 2.
^
"Bill Plympton" .
Cannes Film Festival .
Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2019 .
^
MobyGames: Take Your Best Shot , September 17, 2000
^
"Bill Plympton, Animator - Profile Interview Series Vol. #6" . Efilmcritic.com. February 28, 2005. Retrieved October 13, 2012 .
^ Rizov, Vadim (October 28, 2010).
"Sex, Death and Pragmatism: Bill Plympton's DIY cartoon cottage industry" .
LA Weekly . Archived from
the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ Jessen, Taylor (April 10, 2007).
"Might Come Back From Dead Man's Curve: Bill Plympton's 'Hair High' " . Animation World News .
Archived from the original on June 14, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2016 .
^
Tribeca Film Festival Film Guide
Archived May 11, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
^
"Film Reviews - 'Adventures in Plymptoons!" .
Variety . November 1, 2011.
^ Zahed, Ramin (September 28, 2012).
"A Good Time to Watch 'Adventures in Plymptoons!' " .
Animation Magazine .
^
"Wise Beyond His Years" . Animation Magazine . PerrysPreviews.com. February 2012.
^
"New York Times under fire for 'homophobic' cartoon of Trump and Putin" .
Reuters . July 18, 2018.
^
"Bill Plympton Collection" . Academy Film Archive. Retrieved June 30, 2016 .
^
"Preserved Projects" . Academy Film Archive .
^
Animation Show of Shows
^
The Animation Show of Shows (Volume 44)
^
The Animation Show of Shows (Volume 20)
^
The Animation Show of Shows (Volume 23)
^
The Animation Show of Shows (Volume 11)
^
Beck, Jerry (21 December 2011).
"Congratulations Bill Plympton and Sandrine Flament" .
Cartoon Brew . Retrieved October 13, 2012 .
^ Plympton, Bill (January 3, 2012).
"What I did this Christmas" . Scribble Junkies (Plympton official blog). Retrieved October 13, 2012 .
^
Bill Plympton's Top 10|The Current|The Criterion Collection
^
HAND DRAWN: Extended Interview #3- Bill Plympton
^
Bill Plympton - 16 January 09-Part 2 . One on One .
Al Jazeera English. January 18, 2009. Event occurs at 06:57-07:46.
Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved June 14, 2019 .
^ Bill Plympton - 16 January 09-Part 2 at 06:26.
^
"The 60th Academy Awards | 1988" . Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved 2019-07-22 .
^
"The Man Who Planted Trees Wins Animated Short: 1988 Oscars" .
YouTube .
Archived from the original on 2021-12-22.
^
PUSH COMES TO SHOVE - Festival de Cannes
^
Inkpot Award
^
"The 77th Academy Awards | 2005" . Oscars.org . Retrieved 2019-07-22 .
^
Annie Awards - Winsor Mccay
^
"SLIFF 2011 Awards Major Filmmaker Awards" . Archived from
the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved 2021-11-29 .
^
"2011 Awards: Our Honorees" . Archived from
the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2011 .
^
"2011 Lifetime Achievement Award: Bill Plympton" (PDF) . Action on Film International Film Festival. Archived from
the original (PDF) on September 9, 2011. Retrieved 2021-11-29 .
^
"51st Gijon International Film Festival Awards" . Retrieved November 23, 2016 .
^
"2023 WINNERS – December 9-10 2023" . 2023-12-11. Retrieved 2023-12-12 .
^
"Animated Shorts" . Plymptoons (official site). Archived from
the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2012 .
^
SND Films
^
"Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1984 -" . cartoonresearch.com .
^ Godfrey, Leigh (December 10, 2001).
"Bill Plympton's 12 Tiny Christmas Tales To Air On Cartoon Network" .
Animation World Network . Retrieved March 30, 2015 .
External links
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