I love the song more so than the animation
They work well together though
11 Reviews
I'm here for the song
injury-6544721 May 2020
Hard To Explain, Better To Just See It
ccthemovieman-14 February 2008
There is no story in this animated short: just wild and crazy contortions drawn on a face who is singing a song about "your face." As he sings, almost every conceivable oddity occurs, such as facial parts changing position, head being twisted, cut, pulled inside-out, being chopped into pieces and reforming and so many things you can't describe.
This really is a three-minute piece showing the imagination of the artist. It kept me riveted to my seat, wondering what crazy thing will I see in the next few seconds. Basic, but fascinating material. It was up for an Academy Award.
You can see it on the DVD called "Plympton: The Complete Early Works Of Bill Plympton."
This really is a three-minute piece showing the imagination of the artist. It kept me riveted to my seat, wondering what crazy thing will I see in the next few seconds. Basic, but fascinating material. It was up for an Academy Award.
You can see it on the DVD called "Plympton: The Complete Early Works Of Bill Plympton."
The First True Plymptoon
Into_The_West28 May 2005
As odd as this may sound, I first saw "Your Face" on the Lifetime Channel as I was laying in a hospital room, recovering from major surgery. "Your Face" seemed to fit then and it seems to fit now and always.
Although Plympton had made several cartoons prior to "Your Face," this is the fist time we see the style his work is noted for: impossibly grotesque body deformations done for laughs, and funny, too. We watch and see everything that could possibly happen to the singer's head, including abstract reduction. All through the strange looking singer seems blissfully unaware of what's being done to him as he sings a song that is a perfect parody of the ballad and touching, as well.
As with later films, Plympton does little if anything to signal us if we should laugh, be horrified, or just creeped out. This sense of subtlety is what makes his films so enjoyable to me.
Although only three minutes long, this is a perfectly complete, self-contained masterpiece of animation.
Bill Plympton rules!
Although Plympton had made several cartoons prior to "Your Face," this is the fist time we see the style his work is noted for: impossibly grotesque body deformations done for laughs, and funny, too. We watch and see everything that could possibly happen to the singer's head, including abstract reduction. All through the strange looking singer seems blissfully unaware of what's being done to him as he sings a song that is a perfect parody of the ballad and touching, as well.
As with later films, Plympton does little if anything to signal us if we should laugh, be horrified, or just creeped out. This sense of subtlety is what makes his films so enjoyable to me.
Although only three minutes long, this is a perfectly complete, self-contained masterpiece of animation.
Bill Plympton rules!
Stellar example of Plimpton animation
FrogFear8 November 1999
This cartoonist is absolutely brilliant. His work is more fun than nitrous oxide and more beautifully disturbing than the root canal that comes with it. This piece is a must-see for anybody pursuing a career in the animation/cartoon field, and probably also for anybody who ever liked looking at stuff.
Try to get your head around this! The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Spondonman27 September 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I was weaned on the cartoons of Tex Avery, the master of the grotesque but never gruesome. This was the first cartoon I saw from Bill Plympton back in the late 80's; obviously I was fascinated/ couldn't understand it - but I still laughed like a drain. Over the years since all the daft and savage work from Plympton I watched began to make some sense until I now regard this as somewhat of a classic; some things take time. And it's only 3 minutes long too!
A caricature of a crooner warbles a weird Your Face Is Like A Song while his face contorts in utterly mind (and head-)boggling ways - that's all there is, what more could anyone want from a spoiler? It's literally side-splitting sometimes and eye-poppingly gruesome at others, although actually Plympton was holding himself back and got even more grotesque later. I needed some final barbarity at the end of the cartoon though; did the Earth merely have to smack its lips after swallowing up the crooner? My personal Plympton favourite was 25 Ways To Quit Smoking mainly because it was very apt for me at the time... although generally the advice given in either that or How To Kiss are best ignored! He can be very hit or miss at times, but is so quick and bizarre he's usually worth a look - this is the best starting point.
A caricature of a crooner warbles a weird Your Face Is Like A Song while his face contorts in utterly mind (and head-)boggling ways - that's all there is, what more could anyone want from a spoiler? It's literally side-splitting sometimes and eye-poppingly gruesome at others, although actually Plympton was holding himself back and got even more grotesque later. I needed some final barbarity at the end of the cartoon though; did the Earth merely have to smack its lips after swallowing up the crooner? My personal Plympton favourite was 25 Ways To Quit Smoking mainly because it was very apt for me at the time... although generally the advice given in either that or How To Kiss are best ignored! He can be very hit or miss at times, but is so quick and bizarre he's usually worth a look - this is the best starting point.
More bizarre than good really
Horst_In_Translation14 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Your Face" is a 3-minute cartoon by Bill Plympton that brought him one of his two Oscar nominations. And while I can see some creativity in here, I still must say that this was not a good watch overall. It is pretty bizarre, almost awkward to watch, but in terms of what I saw exactly I was not too impressed. A head keeps transforming for 3 minutes basically into the weirdest shapes before it gets sucked in by the ground. And fittingly with that strange little movie we also hear a song, named like the film, where I am not sure if it was really bad or not. It was very unique though, so I guess that's a good thing right? I personally thought all in all the song and the film as a whole were fairly mediocre and not Academy Award (nomination) worthy. I do not recommend this almost 30-year-old film. Thumbs down.
Pure Plympton--though lacking some of the violence we've all come to love!
planktonrules11 February 2008
While this isn't one of Bill Plympton's best cartoons (it's way too "normal" compared to many of his shorts), it is amazing to watch--especially when you notice that this is all done with what appear to be colored pencils--a rather labor-intensive process. I really liked his insurance ads from a decade ago more--they were very violent yet charming--but still, this is pretty good stuff. Plus, after seeing the PLYMPTOONS DVD, I realize that it's the first film he made that is the classic Plympton style.
The concept is simple: a guy's face and upper body are all you see and rather annoying operatic-style music plays as his face begins to do mega-strange things. His lips pop off and move about, his face repeatedly turns inside out, etc. Also, oddly enough, I thought the guy looked a lot like President Lyndon Johnson.
Very captivating and deceptively simple. You just can't stop watching the weirdness once it begins despite there really being no plot.
The concept is simple: a guy's face and upper body are all you see and rather annoying operatic-style music plays as his face begins to do mega-strange things. His lips pop off and move about, his face repeatedly turns inside out, etc. Also, oddly enough, I thought the guy looked a lot like President Lyndon Johnson.
Very captivating and deceptively simple. You just can't stop watching the weirdness once it begins despite there really being no plot.
I need to start watching more of Bill Plympton's cartoons
lee_eisenberg5 July 2019
Bill Plympton's Academy Award-nominated "Your Face" goes the Bob Clampett route, with a man's face changing in all sorts of ways while he sings. This short shows the heights that animation can reach when one puts one's imagination to it. It was certainly a neat one. Available on YouTube.
A remarkable piece of animation by Bill Plympton
llltdesq6 December 2001
This short, nominated for an Academy Award, is visually exceptional and conceptually wonderful. From what I've seen of his work, it's also one of the most conventionally "normal" pieces he's done! It's a kick to watch. Plympton is an acquired taste and I seem to have done so. If you like good animation that messes with the boundaries and sometimes colors outside the lines, try Plympton. By all means, catch this one! Most recommended.
The power of a simple idea, elegantly implemented
rzajac7 October 2016
The beauty of "Your Face" is in the way Plympton got a very simple idea--How many ways can you morph a face?--and then elegantly and effectively hand-illustrated the frames to bring that creative idea to rampaging life on the screen.
It took the short animation scene (via the old Tournee) by storm; an immediate fave of one and all!
One of the wonders of it, as the piece proceeds, is seeing Plympton's knack for imagining and capturing the "dynamics"--a surprisingly close approximation of the behaviors of the physical system he's "modeling".
And it all couldn't have happened to a nicer guy: Met Plympton in Angouleme in 2000, and he was a pleasure to chat with about his latest (at the time) project.
It took the short animation scene (via the old Tournee) by storm; an immediate fave of one and all!
One of the wonders of it, as the piece proceeds, is seeing Plympton's knack for imagining and capturing the "dynamics"--a surprisingly close approximation of the behaviors of the physical system he's "modeling".
And it all couldn't have happened to a nicer guy: Met Plympton in Angouleme in 2000, and he was a pleasure to chat with about his latest (at the time) project.
Must Have Taken an Incredible Effort
Hitchcoc25 October 2021
This is really simple to describe. We have a central figure whose face changes over a hundred times. The faces are creative as well as photographic. The have been done with drawings and then integrated. Quite remarkable. Apparently the song we here has some significance.
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