Cheatin'

Director/animator Bill Plympton became famous for his detailed, surreal colored pencil animations that became something of a trademark, but his feature-length films have bounced between different processes and styles, and have, at times, lost some of the impressionistic charm of his shorts and early work. For his last feature, Idiots & Angels, he combined pencil-drawn frames with digital coloring, and in so doing managed to preserve the beautiful sketchy style that he's best known for.

Cheatin' continues Bill's tradition of experimentation and evolution, with some truly stunning results. While it seems to use a similar technical process to Idiots & Angels, it's about as far from that film's dingy noir as you can get. Every frame of Cheatin' is filled with vibrant colors, for a pastel watercolor look. Long, exaggerated shadows dance across scenes that always seem to take place at dawn or sunset. The character designs themselves are likewise a bit of a departure, with exaggerated anatomy that borders on grotesque. Whether by virtue of new technology, or just experience, this seems to be Bill's most fluid animation to date, as well. It certainly doesn't approach the liquid-smooth 24 frames per second of Disney animation, it's the closest Bill has ever come.

Cheatin' also provides further evidence that Plympton has matured -- and yes, perhaps mellowed -- in recent years. While not without its surreal twists and turns, Cheatin' is more grounded in reality and has a stronger human component that any of Plympton's earlier films. We're introduced to Ella, a beautiful woman who has closed her heart, preferring the solitude of books to the company of others. When the muscular, handsome Jake rescues her from a perilous bumper car accident, she opens her heart at last and falls madly in love. The two marry and move in together, but others jealous of their love seek to tear them apart, beginning a spiral of self-destruction, infidelity, and revenge.

This story is told visually, without any dialog, but it seems less concerned with the sight gags and slapstick violence that drive Bill's earlier works. The net result is a movie that seems more focused on its story, if perhaps not as laugh out loud funny. Some might see this as a toning down, but it's equally apparent that this is still not a movie for kids. There may not be as much blood and guts, but there's still plenty of sex and adult themes.

It's great to see someone as established as Bill moving out of his comfort zone and exploring new territory, both artistically, thematically, and technically, and the result is one of his strongest works yet.

After a chance encounter involving bumper cars, Ella, a woman normally engrossed in books, and Jake, a muscular gas station attendant, have sparks fly literally and fall in love. However a misunderstanding engineered by a jealous women creates a rift between the two and Jake starts cheatin'. That is the gist of the story without too much elaboration and no spoilers.

This tale is very beautifully and poetically told with no actual spoken words and portrays the highs and lows of relationships with great depth and much humor. It is not a children's cartoon in either what it shows visually or its themes - that is, it is about things that concern adults, and it is not just about sex.

The pacing is about the best of all the Plympton feature films and the story is quite coherent. The only problem it has, like most of his features, is feeling a bit stretchy about three quarters in but not intolerably so.

There are many rewards to reap from viewing this film, both visually and emotionally and it gets to the heart of the complexity of relationships better than many live action movies. If it weren't for the pacing issues on the last quarter of the film (which aren't as bad as I'm making them sound) I'd give this film a 9 or a 10.

A few years ago, my oldest daughter invited me to go along with her to New York ComicCon....usually not the sort of place I'd choose to hang out for a few days, as I really hate crowds. Most of the comic book guests and video games didn't interest me very much and I was resigned to just walking about the convention center...bored to tears. That is, until I learned that Bill Plympton HIMSELF was going to be there! I have been a major Plympton fan...and I would now have a chance to meet him! I am sure it wasn't necessarily the highlight of Mr. Plympton's ComicCon experience, but it certainly was for me. I not only got a chance to talk with him but to get a couple nice drawings and autographs. A year later, my daughter met Mr. Plympton again...and this time she bought me one of his amazing books and even had him draw a picture of me inside! This is something I'll definitely treasure.

Why am I telling you this? Well, I just wanted you to know that this is NOT an unbiased review. No, I have a very strong bias towards his wonderful and weird sense of humor and his one of a kind hand-drawn animation. After all, in this age of fancy CGI, you normally don't expect to see an entire cartoon animated with colored pencil drawings...but they work very well. And his bizarre sense of humor in shorts such as Guide Dog, Hot Dog as well as One of Those Days make his cartoons something you won't soon forget.

Bill's latest is a full-length animated film called Cheatin'. It debuts on April 3rd in theaters and will be released on the internet through Vimeo on Demand on April 21st....and I strongly suggest you see it. However, it is very different from his hilarious short films. Instead, Cheatin' is an amazingly surreal and occasionally absurd sort of love story. To understand, you just have to see it to get the full effect. His characters never talk and it's amazing how much feeling they actually convey through grunts, sighs and moans. And, speaking of moans, this love story is NOT for kids...nope, definitely not. There is nudity, a decent amount of cartoon sex and a plot that isn't the best thing for younger audience members. However, it did work in the story and didn't seem gratuitous...most of the time.

The bottom line is that even if you have seen the Plympton shorts, you may be taken totally by surprise by Cheatin'--I know I was. It's incredibly artistic, the music is AMAZING and the film very sentimental and, at times, touching and hilarious. It's a strange confection...but one I would like to see more of from the Plymptoons folks-- especially because it's so unlike what we would normally think of when we think of a cartoon. It's more...an experience.

I stumbled across this film during college. I've never seen a film or short of Plympton's before so I went into this with zero expectations. I was horrified and delighted all at once with the animation. The colors and the sounds... wow. It overwhelmed my senses sometimes but overall it maintained a good story. The film speaks for itself honestly. It's sad, yet magical and really made me question if love could survive in such a cruel, jealous world.

Being in a new relationship at the time, the movie certainly struck a nerve. The situation that came about with Jake and Ella's love story was one I never wished upon myself. I cried, in fact. I sometimes relate too closely with movies to the point where they can be too much to bear to watch again. Experiencing this one once more though, with all that's happened in the space between the first viewing and now... it hurts a little less and it's still beautiful.

If you haven't seen it, you should.

Slow, hollow, melodramatic and pretentious. The only redeeming qualities Cheatin' 2013 had is the unique art style and animation. At times it felt like an animation show reel instead of an actual telling of a decent story.

Sometimes the art style and acting doesn't fit well with the tone. The exaggerated and flippant animated scenes didn't help either. Felt very amateurish

Everything stops making sense at the end. It will leave you telling yourself 'oh okay that's happening'

I have to mention that it isn't all bad. There are scenes that I can't imagine being any better.