Short film outlet ShortsHD has acquired indie animation legend Bill Plympton’s entire library of shorts and features for distribution on all ShortsTV and ShortsHD platforms in its biggest movie deal to date. The distributor is best known as the theatrical presenter of all the Oscar nominated shorts in theaters and as a 24-hour channel devoted to the format. Plympton with his usual gregariousness will be shooting intro and outro segments to tie in with his films as part of the deal. Additionally, iTunes and Amazon Instant Video will launch the entire catalog worldwide later this year.
“I love this guy. Audiences love this guy. Bill’s shorts and features are some of the world’s leading cult animations. Why? The craftsmanship is amazing and Bill’s observations on life are just screwed up enough, surreal enough and edgy enough to make watching them a riot,” says ShortsHD Chief Executive Carter Pilcher. “Few animators have the prowess, the talent or the sheer fortitude to personally draw frame after frame as Bill does. Imagine this: in his upcoming feature-length movie, Cheatin’, he hand drew 40,000 frames of animation!”
Plympton’s Cheatin’ won the Jury Award at the Annecy festival this week. His other animated features include Idiots and Angels, Hair High, Mutant Aliens, I Married a Strange Person and The Tune. Among his rich catalog of animated shorts are The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger, The Fan & the Flower, Guard Dog, How to Make Love to a Woman, 25 Ways to Quit Smoking and Your Face, among dozens more. The director has been nominated for two shorts Oscars and been honored by the Annies, Cannes Film Festival and more.
