Synopsis
ADVENTURES IN PLYMPTOONS! is a documentary film about Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton. This is a portrait piece that includes interviews with family, friends, colleagues, critics, and fans. A native of Portland, Oregon, Plympton lived a “Huck Finn” type of childhood on the Clackamas River. Portland’s frequent rainy days led Plympton to spend hours indoors drawing. He would also watch television and make his siblings laugh by providing his own commentary. After graduating from Portland State College with a degree in Art, Plympton took himself and his dreams to New York City. There, he worked as an illustrator and had his art featured in publications such as the New Yorker, Hustler, Penthouse and Playboy.
In 1988, Plympton was nominated for an Academy Award® for his short film, “Your Face.” Soon after, he was offered a position working at Disney. He turned it down. That decision pointed his future toward independent filmmaking. With no studio support, funds were in short supply. Fortunately, Plympton found critical acclaim for his films abroad. He earned, not only, prestigious awards at film festivals such as Cannes and Annecy, but also found worldwide distribution for his films. Bill Plympton’s career as an independent filmmaker began to take shape. Subsequent successes earned him a second Oscar nomination in 2005, as well as directing and producing numerous short films and feature films including THE TUNE (1992 ), I MARRIED A STRANGE PERSON (1997), MUTANT ALIENS (2001), HAIR HIGH (2004) and IDIOTS AND ANGELS (2008).
ADVENTURES IN PLYMPTOONS! features interviews with many of Plympton’s collaborators, such as Tom Kenny (voice of SpongeBob SquarePants), David Silverman (Director THE SIMPSONS MOVIE), Terry Gilliam (Director, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL), Martha Plimpton (‘RAISING HOPE’), Matthew Modine (FULL METAL JACKET), Ed Begley, Jr., Peter Jason, Moby and “Weird Al” Yankovic, offer candid and comic insights into the irreverent man who has become an international success by not selling out.
Alexia Anastasio is the director of ADVENTURES IN PLYMPTOONS! She is an artist, actress and filmmaker. She has starred in feature mockumentary 7 DEADLY SINS: INSIDE THE ECOMM CULT, appeared on HBO’s ‘BORED TO DEATH, VH1 Commercial and Vetiver’s Everyday music video. She has also directed the documentary shorts OTAKON, a documentary on a Japanese animation convention, and BEATRICE VALENTINE AMRHEIN, a documentary on a Parisian artist. ADVENTURES IN PLYMPTOONS! is her first feature length documentary, which was inspired by her great admiration for Bill Plympton.