by Rafael Gallegos
Daily Lobo
Fans of animation and hijinx, listen up.
This weekend playing at the Southwest Film Center is "The Don and Bill Show," an evening of animated shorts by Don Hertzfeldt and Bill Plympton. The program contains cartoon goodies for the whole family.
Hertzfeldt's seemingly simplistic line drawings feature great social commentary and grotesque humour. Plympton's style is easily recognizable, even to the MTV crowd. His genius lies in creating magnum opuses of everyday life - Plympton's short "Eat" surrealistically shows a series of people eating.
Hertzfeldt's "Rejected," an Oscar nominated short, is a few vignettes that Hertzfeldt supposedly submitted to the fictitious Family Learning Channel after being contracted to do their advertising campaign. The short is really pure genius animated.
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His "Lily and Jim" is a sort of documentary of a couple on a blind date. Complete with inner-monologue bubbles and excruciatingly painful silences, "Lily and Jim" made me literally laugh out loud.
"25 Ways to Quit Smoking," by Plympton, is a must for those on either side of the proposed smoking ban in restaurants.
Kudos to the crew at the Southwest Film Center for continually bringing such entertaining, unique programs to UNM. Last week, they presented a great film titled "Downtown 81," with Jean-Michel Basquiat, and now we have the opportunity to see animation at its best with "The Don and Bill Show." Next weekend, the Ann Arbor film festival will be closing out the Film Center's run for the semester.
Hertzfeldt and Plympton's work is inspiring in its simplicity and poignancy, proving that anyone with an idea and some creativity can go a long way.
"The Don and Bill Show" plays Friday through Sunday at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tickets are $5. No one has an excuse to miss this show!
