You shan't be disappointed if you decided to take in the Trilogy of Trilogies: Master Animators program at the Worldwide Short Film Festival this year. If you don't know Bill Plympton by name you certainly know him by his hand drawn animation style. The program offers three short films from Plympton and two other animators, Adam Elliot and Osbert Parker, whose work I was not familiar with before previewing this program. Plympton's work speaks for itself. And while I was impressed with Elliot's short films it was Parker's film noir shorts that got the most love from me. Make sure you don't miss out on this program. This program is playing at the ROM on Saturday, June 20th. Well worth it!
Guide Dog, Guard Dog and Hot Dog – Since 2005 animator Bill Plympton has used his unique animation style to bring us the stories of Dog, a rotund but charming and enthusiastic dog who only wants to do something, anything of importance. In 2005 he was a guard dog, preventing anything from brining harm to his master, no matter how extreme his wild imagination made these threats to be. In 2006 Dog wanted to be a leader dog for the blind, only to have things get ‘carried away’ from him. And in 2008 Dog wants to become a fire dog. All three are incredibly funny and creative. There is no one like Plympton on this planet. His gift is to make us laugh through image and not word and these are damn funny.
Clothes, Film Noir and Yours Truly – British director Osbert Parker’s shorts, Film Noir and Yours Truly have inspired me the most out of this program. Clothes is pretty darn impressive; stop animating clothes to a jazzy soundtrack is pretty cool. But where he got me was with his odes to film noir. Holy hell, these are cool. Parker has made a name for himself with his blending of cut-out animation, film footage and stop animation. Take that and create for the viewer a double fisted world of film noir and you have the coolest of cool of the bunch. Simply put, they are just awesome and the highlight of this program for me.
Brother, Cousin, Uncle – Then there is Adam Elliot and his personal recollections of members of his family and all their quirks and quarks. The character design is rudimentary and simplistic but the reason they win out is because of their heart and charm. Another reason for their success is the warmth in which narrator William McInnes tells Adam’s family stories. They are not as much a display of great animation but of great story telling. Well worth it.
