In Annecy, it looks like he is at home. Despite an absence of five years, many people hail him in the street to chat with him. With his cactus green hat and his black shirt where you can read his first name embroidered in gold thread on the left pocket, Bill Plympton seems very happy.
Dashing septuagenarian, the author of The Impitoyable Honeymoon! or Space Mutants came to show Duel à Monte-Carlo del Norte (Slide), a crazy western where a character à la Clint Eastwood finds himself immersed in the delirious cauldron of Monty Python. Each time he presents his Annecy audience, he warns that “his film is not yet finished, and that the black and white passages will be colorized this summer”, for a theatrical release which should take place in mid -December. At the end of one of these screenings, the one who is nicknamed not without humor “the pope of American independent animated cinema” was kind enough to answer questions from Le Figaro.
LE FIGARO. – Why did you want to make a western, as funny and wacky as it is?
Bill PLYMPTON. – One day, I saw an animated film where I recognized a song by Hank Williams, a country singer that I really like. It reminded me of the Fleischer brothers who had signed a terrific cartoon with Betty Boop, Minnie the Moocher, which starred Cab Calloway. I thought it was wonderful to see how music and animation can go so well together! So, I started.
Your hero, Slide, is not very talkative. He has a Clint Eastwood side, but we feel that he loves the forests and the grandiose scenery he crosses…
You should know that I grew up in Oregon, a very wooded state of California with lots of forests, pines galore, and a whole bunch of real cowboys. In my childhood, I spent my time playing in the logs. I have a lot of affection for lumberjacks. And then when I was little, I watched a lot of westerns. I dressed as a cowboy and with my fingers, I made as if I had pistols. This film pays homage to my childhood, when I loved watching westerns with Roy Rogers…
How could you sum up the plot of Duel à Monte-Carlo del Norte?
It is the story of a silent cowboy who appears in Sourdough Creek, a logging town plagued by corruption. Using his only slide guitar, and a giant cockroach-shaped monster, he will battle the evil mayor and his equally selfish twin, in order to purge logging of their nefarious hold.
What does the Annecy festival mean to you?
The first time I came there was in 1986 to defend my short film Your face! Otherwise, it’s been five years since I returned to Annecy. I missed it. Since I arrived, I’ve found that I’ve become something of the last of the indie animation Mohicans for all animators who want to get into the business.
That’s to say ?
While walking in the street, I am called out regularly. “Hey Bill! Bill!” Young people I don’t know hail me from the terrace of a café to chat with me. Above all, everyone remembers me. It makes me very happy !
What do you enjoy most about this festival?
I love all the enthusiastic discussions that can be had around animation. It is exciting. And then, we can meet Nick Park at the terrace of a café, see Tim Burton strolling in the streets of the old town, or discover Guillermo Del Toro at the table of a restaurant, without being attacked by cheering fans. Everyone walks around quietly without a cohort of people accompanying them. It is a very simple festival. Annecy is a kind of Cannes Film Festival without ego, without a limousine and without a red carpet! (Laughs)…
