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Bill Plympton (born April 30, 1946) is an American Animation, 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. Shout! Factory Announces Acquisition of Bill Plympton Library|Shout! Blog
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.
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. In 1992, his self-financed, first feature-length animated film, The Tune debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.
His work also appeared on the 1992–1993 Fox comedy series The Edge. In 1993, he made his first live action film, J. Lyle.
In 1995, he contributed animation and graphics to a computer game collection, Take Your Best Shot. MobyGames: Take Your Best Shot, September 17, 2000 He also published a comic book in 2003, The Sleazy Cartoons of Bill Plympton.
The actress Martha Plimpton, a distant relative of his, 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.
Plympton's 2008 80-minute feature, Idiots and Angels presented by Terry Gilliam, had no dialogue. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on 26 April 2008, Tribeca Film Festival Film Guide
In 2011, Alexia Anastasio completed a documentary on Plympton's life, Adventures in Plymptoons!, released in September 2012 direct-to-DVD and on video-on-demand.
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.
Plympton has done extensive guest animation work for The Simpsons, producing eight opening for the show between 2012 and 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.
In 2020, Plympton released a Kickstarter for a new animated comedy western, Slide. The funding was successful, raising $60,000 from 400 backers. The film premiered at the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and was shown at several other film festivals through 2023 and 2024, though the film has yet to receive a wide release.
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). 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)
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 of , both titled Avoid Eye Contact.
Technique
By sometimes alternate the same drawings back and forth, it creates a shimmering effect that makes it look like the images are pulsating. Inside The Wild (And Hand-Drawn) World Of Bill Plympton
Legacy
A collection of more than 180 Plympton items is held at the Academy Film Archive. The archive has preserved Plympton's films such as Your Face, The Tune, Guard Dog, and The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger.
Personal life
On December 23, 2011, Plympton married animator/artist/illustrator Sandrine Flament. Their son was born in September 2012.
Influences
Plympton has stated he has many influences, the biggest being the work of the Walt Disney with others including Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Robert Crumb, Milton Glaser, Charles Addams, Charles M. Schulz, Frank Capra, Bob Godfrey, Tomi Ungerer, Quentin Tarantino, Jacques Tati, Don Martin, Harvey Kurtzman, Spain Rodriguez and Jules Feiffer. 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." Bill Plympton - 16 January 09-Part 2 at 06:26. He also included references to Jacques Tati, Bill Plympton's Top 10|The Current|The Criterion Collection Carlos Nine, and Milt Kahl. HAND DRAWN: Extended Interview #3- Bill Plympton
Awards
Filmography
Animated features
Documentaries
Live-action features
Animated shorts
Source unless otherwise noted: SND Films
Animated TV shorts
Compilations (DVD)
Music videos
Commercials
External links
Categories: 1946 Births, Animators From Oregon, American Animated Film Directors, American Comedy Film Directors, Portland State University Alumni, School Of Visual Arts Alumni, Artists From Portland, Oregon, American Voice Directors, Living People, Inkpot Award Winners, Culture Of Portland, Oregon, Soho Weekly News People
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