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."
15 Reviews
It would have been a 10 with different music
BrandtSponseller13 January 2005
Del (voiced by Daniel Nieden) is a songwriter searching for inspiration, especially because if he doesn't find any soon, his boss Mr. Mega (voiced by Marty Nelson), of Mega Music, is going to fire him. On his way to the Mega Music office, he takes a wrong turn and ends up in a song-filled land that just might provide a muse.
The most frustrating aspect of The Tune is that it easily has the potential to be a 10. The animation is charming and effective, with absorbing surrealistic touches. Writer/director Bill Plympton (along with writers Maureen McElheron and P.C. Vey) has a knack for crafting a disarmingly simple but twisted fantasy tale. However, my initial enthusiasm was brought down a few notches by the songs. And as this is basically an animated musical, if there is a problem with the music, it seriously affects the film.
It's not that the music is bad, although some of the recordings of music are bad from an engineering perspective. Rather, for a work that's otherwise so imaginative--visually and plot-wise--the music and most of the lyrics are boilerplate. The music is like a survey of generic, older pop styles (tin pan alley jazz, 70s country, rockabilly, blues, and so on). It reminded me of a cross between those "rhythm accompaniment" presets on older Casio keyboards and an audition tape for a cruise ship musician (the latter, because quite a few songs had decent guitar work on top of otherwise formulaic music). When everything else about the film is so creative and rule breaking, I want music that's creative and rule breaking, too. Most of the songs follow the same structural formula, and at their worst, slow the film down because they feel like padding.
Still, Plympton and his animation crew frequently come to the rescue during the songs with excellent visuals--the hotel manager's song and the surf/dance song particularly stand out in my mind. The Tune is definitely worth viewing, and I can't wait to see more of Plympton's work. I would just like to see him paired with a composer who is as inventive aurally as he is visually.
A 7 out of 10 from me.
The most frustrating aspect of The Tune is that it easily has the potential to be a 10. The animation is charming and effective, with absorbing surrealistic touches. Writer/director Bill Plympton (along with writers Maureen McElheron and P.C. Vey) has a knack for crafting a disarmingly simple but twisted fantasy tale. However, my initial enthusiasm was brought down a few notches by the songs. And as this is basically an animated musical, if there is a problem with the music, it seriously affects the film.
It's not that the music is bad, although some of the recordings of music are bad from an engineering perspective. Rather, for a work that's otherwise so imaginative--visually and plot-wise--the music and most of the lyrics are boilerplate. The music is like a survey of generic, older pop styles (tin pan alley jazz, 70s country, rockabilly, blues, and so on). It reminded me of a cross between those "rhythm accompaniment" presets on older Casio keyboards and an audition tape for a cruise ship musician (the latter, because quite a few songs had decent guitar work on top of otherwise formulaic music). When everything else about the film is so creative and rule breaking, I want music that's creative and rule breaking, too. Most of the songs follow the same structural formula, and at their worst, slow the film down because they feel like padding.
Still, Plympton and his animation crew frequently come to the rescue during the songs with excellent visuals--the hotel manager's song and the surf/dance song particularly stand out in my mind. The Tune is definitely worth viewing, and I can't wait to see more of Plympton's work. I would just like to see him paired with a composer who is as inventive aurally as he is visually.
A 7 out of 10 from me.
Why Am I Watching This?
boblipton1 September 2020
Del is a songwriter for Mr. Mega, and he's trying to write a song his boss will accept. He has a tune, but can't find the words. With a deadline facing him, and anxious to make good so he can marry the boss's secretary Didi, he gets into his car to drive to Mega Corp, but an impossibly complicated cloverleaf sends him on a journey past seemingly hundreds of people performing in a variety of pop styles, from tango to beach movie music, while environment and characters go through transformations.
Enjoying Plympton's cartoons means enjoying his surreal transformations, like Melies' work, but elastic to the point of.... well, cartoonishness. The best sequence is one without any sound, in which two men torment each other like characters in a Laurel & Hardy short as it might have been animated by Teniel. I don't think there's any real point to this movie; Del's quest for a song is an excuse to enjoy these extended gag sequences, and I enjoyed them very much.
Enjoying Plympton's cartoons means enjoying his surreal transformations, like Melies' work, but elastic to the point of.... well, cartoonishness. The best sequence is one without any sound, in which two men torment each other like characters in a Laurel & Hardy short as it might have been animated by Teniel. I don't think there's any real point to this movie; Del's quest for a song is an excuse to enjoy these extended gag sequences, and I enjoyed them very much.
sharply observed adult animation
Davidon8027 January 2003
I watched this years ago when I must have been twelve or thirteen, and then saw it again when I was about seventeen, and although there was a gap of no more then five years I felt as though the time in-between was far greater. I am now twenty two and recently saw a trailer for this movie and in one frame everything that I loved about the film returned, I can't honestly remember the details of this movie but a few songs and some great images have stayed in my head ever since I saw it the for the first time. I have yet to see it again and to be honest am resisting trying to seek it. It seems strange to say but on the couple of occasions that I watched this movie both times were purely by chance, channel surfing at about two in the morning and on both occasions I was almost reduced to tears by the end (Yes guys do cry as well).
How we view this movie is purely subjective, it is a simple story of a man and his 'tune' but there seems so much to take away from it, it mirrors the French story 'the little prince' in many ways in that to watch it you have to be detached from any sense of realism, you have to put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist and feel what the artist is trying to convey. I'm sure if I rented it now and got all my friends round telling them this was the best movie I ever seen, halfway through it they would ever laugh their ass's off (with good reason) or say it was 'OKAY', I don't want that to happen, this movie has to be seen on your own circumstances to be understood, meaning you have to be taken away by it, The Tune can not be approached as a movie which is objectively a 'great movie', it is for you to decide and enjoy.
I hope for the day when I'm grey and old and this movie will like an old pal appear on the screen and I'm whisked back to my strange teenage years, yes I know it is a totally whimsical view of life, but that is what The Tune means to me, a small insignificant part of my youth, a part which I'm sure will surface to then disapear again countless times through out the years. "Alas this old timer sure does rattle on".
How we view this movie is purely subjective, it is a simple story of a man and his 'tune' but there seems so much to take away from it, it mirrors the French story 'the little prince' in many ways in that to watch it you have to be detached from any sense of realism, you have to put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist and feel what the artist is trying to convey. I'm sure if I rented it now and got all my friends round telling them this was the best movie I ever seen, halfway through it they would ever laugh their ass's off (with good reason) or say it was 'OKAY', I don't want that to happen, this movie has to be seen on your own circumstances to be understood, meaning you have to be taken away by it, The Tune can not be approached as a movie which is objectively a 'great movie', it is for you to decide and enjoy.
I hope for the day when I'm grey and old and this movie will like an old pal appear on the screen and I'm whisked back to my strange teenage years, yes I know it is a totally whimsical view of life, but that is what The Tune means to me, a small insignificant part of my youth, a part which I'm sure will surface to then disapear again countless times through out the years. "Alas this old timer sure does rattle on".
A Must for Bill Plympton Fans
dramafreak4214 October 2014
Whether or not you're going to get enjoyment out of this film really comes down to whether or not you know who Bill Plympton is. If you're familiar with the unique animator and some of his other films or (more likely) his shorts and you know you like his stuff then this is going to be a fun diversion for you. However if you've never heard of the guy, this is probably just going to be too difficult to get in step with.
The "plot" is really just the excuse that strings the songs and segments together. A song writer is desperately trying to finish off what he hopes will be his big breakout hit, but he only has 47 minutes to finish and get to the meeting with his boss. On the way he goes on several musical diversions to odd places that may in fact be outside reality as we know it. There isn't that much explanation put into things, as with much of Plympton's work things get weird just because that's the visual language the guy speaks in.
If you know Plympton at all then you should know better than to be watching this movie for the "story." Really it's just a framing device as the film flits from one musical set piece to the other. There's not much in the way of character depth or growth, but that's not why we're here. Plympton's visual inventiveness and sense of humor is the reason to watch this. He has a visual wit that makes sense when you see it, even though it's almost impossible to try and describe to someone.
As mentioned this is probably not the best place to start with the man's work if you're new to Plympton. It's better to start with his shorts and get a feel for the guy before trying to take in the longer form stuff. He would refine his ability to tell what could be considered a cohesive story with his later films like "I Married a Strange Person" and "Mutant Aliens." But one sees the first buds of those later films being planted here and it's an interesting first step. A must see for completionist fans of the animator, but it's hard to recommend to more casual viewers.
The "plot" is really just the excuse that strings the songs and segments together. A song writer is desperately trying to finish off what he hopes will be his big breakout hit, but he only has 47 minutes to finish and get to the meeting with his boss. On the way he goes on several musical diversions to odd places that may in fact be outside reality as we know it. There isn't that much explanation put into things, as with much of Plympton's work things get weird just because that's the visual language the guy speaks in.
If you know Plympton at all then you should know better than to be watching this movie for the "story." Really it's just a framing device as the film flits from one musical set piece to the other. There's not much in the way of character depth or growth, but that's not why we're here. Plympton's visual inventiveness and sense of humor is the reason to watch this. He has a visual wit that makes sense when you see it, even though it's almost impossible to try and describe to someone.
As mentioned this is probably not the best place to start with the man's work if you're new to Plympton. It's better to start with his shorts and get a feel for the guy before trying to take in the longer form stuff. He would refine his ability to tell what could be considered a cohesive story with his later films like "I Married a Strange Person" and "Mutant Aliens." But one sees the first buds of those later films being planted here and it's an interesting first step. A must see for completionist fans of the animator, but it's hard to recommend to more casual viewers.
First Class animation, music
sheilanagig25-11 March 2004
The original songs for this movie are amazing, but not nearly as amazing as Plympton's animation. Well worth shutting yourself in to watch, perhaps with other examples of excellence in feature length, independent animation. This ranks with the work of Bakshi, and it's worth supporting animators who don't work for Disney, simply for the fact that their work is not homogenized or dictated by the studio. Plympton gave us this twelve years ago, and we haven't had many animators of note since who could give us a quality product like his. It begs the question, "why not?" I think this film is a must-see for any aspiring animator, to show them that it can be done, and done well.
"The Tune" Is An Odd, Ambitious Animated Movie Destined To Be A Cult Classic
D_Burke30 November 2010
You have to give Bill Plympton credit. He is a filmmaker who, despite never gaining the commercial success that Walt Disney, Matt Groening, or Seth MacFarlane has over the years, still has churned out dozens of original animated shorts and a handful of movies. His animation style may seem archaic compared to the 3D animation that is popular today. However, unlike many animation giants, you gain a certain level of respect for Plympton when you learn that he drew more than 90% of the frames for "The Tune" himself. For a 69-minute movie, that's not an easy feat, and unheard of amongst almost all animators.
"The Tune" was not an easy movie to animate, that's for sure, but Plympton's effort to create his first full-length animated feature was well worth it. It tells the story of Del, a struggling songwriter (bearing an amusing, coincidental resemblance to Conan O'Brien) who is under pressure to write a hit single for smug music mogul Mr. Mega in order to make ends meet and win back the love of his girlfriend, Didi, who happens to be Mr. Mega's assistant. That's the plot in a nutshell, which creates a really good conflict in and of itself. The movie gets interesting when Del goes on a bizarre journey to find inspiration for his songs. He encounters along the way a happy-go-lucky mayor of a town called Flooby Nooby, an Elvis- impersonating dog, a wise prophet with strange face-changing techniques, a morose cab-driver without a nose, and other interesting characters.
The story and characters are most definitely outlandish, but not abhorrent, and are often charming and funny. The allure this film exhibits is aided by very memorable and catchy songs that you will be unable to get out of your head once the movie ends. The song "Flooby Nooby" made me laugh, and I also thought the Dolly Parton-esquire country ballad "Good Again" sung by the lonely female bartender was touching and poignant. This remark is coming from a writer who dislikes country music, too. I even thought the reprise of Del's own "My Love For You Is Equal To" brought the song from amateurish to distinguished.
The story was solid, but had its pacing thrown off a bit by some of Plympton's own animated shorts that he tied into the movie. Although I thought his shorts "The Wise Man" (1991) and "Tango Schmango" (1990) became incorporated into the movie surprisingly well, "Push Comes To Shove" (1991) ran on for a bit too long. The latter short, which involves two men standing side by side and doing strange cartoonishly-violent things to each other's faces, was funny, but slowed the pace of the story considerably. The pace picked up, however, when Del asks himself out loud, "Why am I still watching this?"
While "The Tune" has not yet gained the popularity it deserves, Bill Plympton thankfully is still working and gaining credibility for animating full-length movies, shorts, and, more recently, the music video "Heard Em Say" for Kanye West. "The Tune" is still available on DVD, and is a worthy addition to anyone's video library. It's animation may seem crude at first glance, but kids will love it. Fortunately, adults will too. It's original, well-animated, and ahead of its time even though its hand drawn. While films like "Aladdin" (1992) overshadowed "The Tune" upon its release in 1992, "The Tune" still deserves to be watched, not just heard.
"The Tune" was not an easy movie to animate, that's for sure, but Plympton's effort to create his first full-length animated feature was well worth it. It tells the story of Del, a struggling songwriter (bearing an amusing, coincidental resemblance to Conan O'Brien) who is under pressure to write a hit single for smug music mogul Mr. Mega in order to make ends meet and win back the love of his girlfriend, Didi, who happens to be Mr. Mega's assistant. That's the plot in a nutshell, which creates a really good conflict in and of itself. The movie gets interesting when Del goes on a bizarre journey to find inspiration for his songs. He encounters along the way a happy-go-lucky mayor of a town called Flooby Nooby, an Elvis- impersonating dog, a wise prophet with strange face-changing techniques, a morose cab-driver without a nose, and other interesting characters.
The story and characters are most definitely outlandish, but not abhorrent, and are often charming and funny. The allure this film exhibits is aided by very memorable and catchy songs that you will be unable to get out of your head once the movie ends. The song "Flooby Nooby" made me laugh, and I also thought the Dolly Parton-esquire country ballad "Good Again" sung by the lonely female bartender was touching and poignant. This remark is coming from a writer who dislikes country music, too. I even thought the reprise of Del's own "My Love For You Is Equal To" brought the song from amateurish to distinguished.
The story was solid, but had its pacing thrown off a bit by some of Plympton's own animated shorts that he tied into the movie. Although I thought his shorts "The Wise Man" (1991) and "Tango Schmango" (1990) became incorporated into the movie surprisingly well, "Push Comes To Shove" (1991) ran on for a bit too long. The latter short, which involves two men standing side by side and doing strange cartoonishly-violent things to each other's faces, was funny, but slowed the pace of the story considerably. The pace picked up, however, when Del asks himself out loud, "Why am I still watching this?"
While "The Tune" has not yet gained the popularity it deserves, Bill Plympton thankfully is still working and gaining credibility for animating full-length movies, shorts, and, more recently, the music video "Heard Em Say" for Kanye West. "The Tune" is still available on DVD, and is a worthy addition to anyone's video library. It's animation may seem crude at first glance, but kids will love it. Fortunately, adults will too. It's original, well-animated, and ahead of its time even though its hand drawn. While films like "Aladdin" (1992) overshadowed "The Tune" upon its release in 1992, "The Tune" still deserves to be watched, not just heard.
I just couldn't finish this one....
planktonrules20 August 2010
I should point out that I love Bill Plympton's work. His animated shorts are funny and anarchic--just the sort of things I love to watch when I am in the mood for a laugh. So, when I say that I hated "The Tune", this needs to be kept in perspective. I wish Mr. Plympton all the luck in the world--but this sort of film just didn't work for me--and I doubt if it would work for many people.
The movie is a bizarre stream of consciousness animated musical film. Instead of being a short film, it often plays like a series of bizarre shorts all strung together with a plot that never interested me. Because of this, I really think it's best to look for the good bits and try to ignore the tedious stuff between. Now this is hard, because so much of the music is just god-awful. I noticed some other reviewers did not like the music as well, but I go a lot further--I truly hated it and felt irritated by it--and feel it pretty much ruins the film. It's all a real shame, as I am sure it took years for Plympton to make the film and I DO want to see his work grow in popularity--but I just can't see this film appealing to wider audience than his shorts. In fact, it might just drive away potential fans--and that's a real shame. I wanted to love this film but just couldn't. And, uncharacteristic for me, I couldn't finish the film--it was THAT hard to watch.
The movie is a bizarre stream of consciousness animated musical film. Instead of being a short film, it often plays like a series of bizarre shorts all strung together with a plot that never interested me. Because of this, I really think it's best to look for the good bits and try to ignore the tedious stuff between. Now this is hard, because so much of the music is just god-awful. I noticed some other reviewers did not like the music as well, but I go a lot further--I truly hated it and felt irritated by it--and feel it pretty much ruins the film. It's all a real shame, as I am sure it took years for Plympton to make the film and I DO want to see his work grow in popularity--but I just can't see this film appealing to wider audience than his shorts. In fact, it might just drive away potential fans--and that's a real shame. I wanted to love this film but just couldn't. And, uncharacteristic for me, I couldn't finish the film--it was THAT hard to watch.
One of the best animated films ever!
Peggy-78 February 1999
This films belongs in some kind of hall of fame place, because nothing about this film is bad.
It tells the story of a man who needs to write the perfect song, if he doesn't he looses his job, his girl, and his life. Okay well maybe not his life. Then out of nowhere he ends up in the land of Floobie Noobie where he meets a lot of weird and off the wall people.
This film has some GREAT songs in it. I really love the song about HOME. This film is great, and I say get it! Do NOT just rent this film, buy it!
Between 1-10, this film gets a "9.9", (because what film is perfect?)
It tells the story of a man who needs to write the perfect song, if he doesn't he looses his job, his girl, and his life. Okay well maybe not his life. Then out of nowhere he ends up in the land of Floobie Noobie where he meets a lot of weird and off the wall people.
This film has some GREAT songs in it. I really love the song about HOME. This film is great, and I say get it! Do NOT just rent this film, buy it!
Between 1-10, this film gets a "9.9", (because what film is perfect?)
The Tune - Bill Plympton's Masterpiece
neonboy61921 August 2010
The Tune is an animated musical made by Oscar winning animator Bill Plympton (Your Face) who also did every single drawing in this feature. A first for animated movies. With Bill Plympton's drawings and music by the talented Maureen McElheron, The Tune becomes a unique classic. The story follows songwriter Dell on a journey to write a song so he could live happily ever after with the girl of his dreams, Didi, also played by Maureen McEhleron. He travels through the wonderous place of Floobynooby and learns to write songs with his heart, and not his pancreas. Drawn solely in a style that looks like colored pencil, the look of the film tends to be uneven, but Bill Plympton's style itself is so unique and invitingly strange that one tends to ignore the style shift as each song in the story is presented with a unique look. The music is in this movie is what really makes the film. Mauren McElheron juggles so many styles that it's hard to believe that she's the sole composer. We go from Old Broadway to Country, to 60's Beach Rock. We even get some Rhythm and Blues and a Tango Piece. The music in The Tune really celebrates the old American Classics. The Tune really suffers during some long drawn out sequences and songs that do garner laughs, but many might seem to think that they detract from the story. (Namely a scene with a wise man and another scene with two business men inflicting torture upon each other's faces.) Still, even with these scenes, it's very easy for me to recommend a viewing of this film.
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Perfect Plympton
jonskerr27 August 2005
The Tune is a truly great film for any age. Funny and even (in places) sophisticated for adults, with plenty of wackiness and crazy Bill Plympton stuff. The music is also great, in fact I started out looking for a soundtrack and ended up here bragging on this film. It's silly fun in the traditional 4-frames-per-second that Plympton if famous for, as well at a few bits similar to his famous "How to Quit Smoking" cartoon. A plot synopsis is sort of a requirement to fill enough space here on IMDb, but the plot is really less than half the point. As far as the plot goes, it's pretty thin. A songwriter has a bunch of adventures getting from his home/office to the Mega Music building where evil corporate scumbag Mr Mega waits like a spider in its web. The main character, Del, is a dweeb, and his apple-cheeked girlfriend Didi is Mr Mega's secretary. The point of the movie is to enjoy some crackin' animation, hear some weird but great songs, and in general have fun. The subplot of Del's struggle to gain his lady love by collecting these songs is nice, even poignant in places, but still secondary. Mostly just have fun. My DVD has a weird place near the end where the sound drops a good bit for that last number.
Best animated film of all time? Maybe!
RiffRaffMcKinley18 March 2007
"The Tune" is amazing, a fantastic blend of low-quality animation and hilariously ridiculous songs. The characters are the most amazing ever seen-- doggy Elvis, a cab driver without a nose, a bellhop with a very large streak of sadism... they're all memorable head to toe. Perhaps the best moment in the movie involves Del's girlfriend Didi filing music notes ("C sharp... B flat....") What's not to like? Any movie that features a hot dog and a hot dog bun running towards each other in a meadow in slow motion is okay by me. The movie ranks in the pantheon of great cartoons with "Dilbert," "Family Guy," and even "The Sword in the Stone." If you're looking for a safe, boring, sane award-winner, "The Tune" is definitely not for you!
A Nutshell Review: The Tune
DICK STEEL21 November 2006
This is a story about a song writer called Del (voiced by Daniel Nieden), who's working on the latest hit for his boss, Mr Mega (Marty Nelson). However he's suffering from creator's block, and couldn't find the inspiration to finish the tune. At the same time, his relationship with Mr Mega's secretary, Didi (Maureen McElheron), may start to fall apart should he not be able to complete the tune, and this just adds to the pressure.
What follows is something like an adventure in Alice's Wonderland, as Del, en route to submitting his incomplete work to Mr Mega, finds himself on the wrong end of a highway, and gets transported to the extremely weird world of Flooby Nooby, where it seems like everyone is able to hold their own tune. The secret of course is to write from the heart, and he embarks on this quest within Flooby Nooby to learn just how to do that.
There are more than 10 songs featured in the movie, which just gets better and better with each song being played, ranging from pop to folk and even the blues. The songs are naturally the highlight of an animated film hinging on them, and Maureen McElheron certainly created the tunes that combined perfectly with Bill Plympton's visuals.
Del encounters different folks with different strokes, and I'm still in awe at the immense creativity that Bill Plympton has featured in the characters of this movie. Infusing great humour, there are plenty of mini episodes which could stand alone as comedic animated shorts, like the two violent men, the sad story of a taxi driver, and of course my personal favourite, probably the precursor to The Matrix Reloaded's Architect in the Wiseone (Chris Hoffman).
What's amazing too is the different animation styles adopted by Plympton within the film, and truly, this is great stuff. You have animators who, after discovering a style they're comfortable with, sticks to it and you can see the style replicated in their drawings. Plympton's so diverse, you can hardly classify his works as they are extremely wide-ranged. The shorts who have provided this hint, but I didn't expect him to combine the styles into one coherent feature length movie so seamlessly.
Before the screening began, Bill Plympton shared with the audience that The Tune costed around US$150-175K in those days, and it took him about two and a half years to make the film. You see, rarely does the creator animate his own stuff, but Bill probably is the first who did it, for a feature length animation. Though he prefers to admit that he's not too diligent and likes to spend time travelling, which of course, adds to the production schedule.
He's been able to recoup the cost of production only recently, thanks to the advent of technology like the Internet and DVD sales. He also shared that his stuff is wildly popular in Korea, that it is a huge market for him. And for budding animators, his advice would be to own their own creations. When asked a question about opportunity cost between working independently, and for a studio / production house, he highlighted his preference for having the creative freedom to do what he wants, instead of having someone else provide the directions and nagging if something is too politically incorrect or too violent.
What follows is something like an adventure in Alice's Wonderland, as Del, en route to submitting his incomplete work to Mr Mega, finds himself on the wrong end of a highway, and gets transported to the extremely weird world of Flooby Nooby, where it seems like everyone is able to hold their own tune. The secret of course is to write from the heart, and he embarks on this quest within Flooby Nooby to learn just how to do that.
There are more than 10 songs featured in the movie, which just gets better and better with each song being played, ranging from pop to folk and even the blues. The songs are naturally the highlight of an animated film hinging on them, and Maureen McElheron certainly created the tunes that combined perfectly with Bill Plympton's visuals.
Del encounters different folks with different strokes, and I'm still in awe at the immense creativity that Bill Plympton has featured in the characters of this movie. Infusing great humour, there are plenty of mini episodes which could stand alone as comedic animated shorts, like the two violent men, the sad story of a taxi driver, and of course my personal favourite, probably the precursor to The Matrix Reloaded's Architect in the Wiseone (Chris Hoffman).
What's amazing too is the different animation styles adopted by Plympton within the film, and truly, this is great stuff. You have animators who, after discovering a style they're comfortable with, sticks to it and you can see the style replicated in their drawings. Plympton's so diverse, you can hardly classify his works as they are extremely wide-ranged. The shorts who have provided this hint, but I didn't expect him to combine the styles into one coherent feature length movie so seamlessly.
Before the screening began, Bill Plympton shared with the audience that The Tune costed around US$150-175K in those days, and it took him about two and a half years to make the film. You see, rarely does the creator animate his own stuff, but Bill probably is the first who did it, for a feature length animation. Though he prefers to admit that he's not too diligent and likes to spend time travelling, which of course, adds to the production schedule.
He's been able to recoup the cost of production only recently, thanks to the advent of technology like the Internet and DVD sales. He also shared that his stuff is wildly popular in Korea, that it is a huge market for him. And for budding animators, his advice would be to own their own creations. When asked a question about opportunity cost between working independently, and for a studio / production house, he highlighted his preference for having the creative freedom to do what he wants, instead of having someone else provide the directions and nagging if something is too politically incorrect or too violent.
hmm...how to put it gently...
valerie-1021 July 1999
Best thing animation has ever produced
presputnik26 May 2003
Praise the heavens for IMDB! I saw this movie when it first came out. I was about 8 then and for some reason it slipped away in the cracks of memory. Whenever I used to bring it up, people would never know what the heck I was talking about. On a whim I looked it up, and, wouldn't you know it!
This was honestly one of the greatest, most entertaining and downright brilliant pieces of animation I have ever come across. I don't know how much I can recommend it. Any amount seems like hardly enough.
Loved it, Loved it.
SEE IT! (or be sad forever)
This was honestly one of the greatest, most entertaining and downright brilliant pieces of animation I have ever come across. I don't know how much I can recommend it. Any amount seems like hardly enough.
Loved it, Loved it.
SEE IT! (or be sad forever)
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