The Tune

VSD Exclusive

Legendary animator Bill Plympton's first feature, a musical comedy set in the surreal, delightful town of Flooby Nooby.

THE TUNE (1992, 69 min.). Legendary animator and cartoonist Bill Plympton's first feature, THE TUNE is a wildly surreal animated musical comedy about a struggling songwriter named Del (voiced by Daniel Neiden), desperate to write a hit tune to save his relationship with his long-suffering girlfriend Didi (voiced by Maureen McElheron, who co-wrote the script and composed the music). On his way to meet her and his boss, Del gets sidetracked in the cheerfully deranged Alternate Universe of Flooby Nooby: a strangely nostalgic vision of 1950s middle-class America as filtered through the affectionate-but-twisted sensibilities of David Lynch, Talking Heads and classic Warner Bros. Bugs Bunny cartoons. There's a Doggie Elvis who croons about his pompadour; a love duet between a Burger and Fry, a slice of Cherry Pie and a Scoop of Ice Cream; and a joyfully sadistic Bellhop at The Love Sick Hotel, all singing lovably warped tunes like "Dig My Do," "No Nose Blues" and "Tango Shmango". Plympton's famed animation style, done in colored pencils with a gorgeous pastel palette, is perfectly suited to this beautifully off-kilter saga of a man who loses his way only to find his heart: "Lost?" "No, I just don't know where I am." New VSD Exclusive limited slipcover!

Bonus Materials

• VSD Exclusive Limited Edition slipcover
• 3 classic Bill Plympton short films: 'Your Face' (1987), 'How To Kiss' (1988) and 'Guard Dog' (2004)
• • 'The Flying House - Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend' - famed animator Winsor McCay's last film from 1921, restored / re-scored / newly voiced by Plymptoon Studios in 2011.
• Video interview with director/writer/producer Bill Plympton, composer/co-writer/voice actor Maureen McElheron, and voice actor Daniel Neiden, moderated by Dennis Bartok of Deaf Crocodile
• Trailer for Plympton’s new feature film SLIDE with special video introduction by Bill Plympton
• Commentary track by animation producer and podcaster Adam Rackoff and podcaster and film critic James Hancock
• Booklet with essay by film critic Walter Chaw (Film Freak Central).
• Archival audio commentary from 2004 with Bill Plympton and Maureen McElheron