Documentary Review: Will Vinton Receives a Wonderful Tribute in 'Claydream'

Claydream (2021)

Directed by Marq Evans

Written by Documentary

Starring Will Vinton, Bill Plympton, Jerry Beck

Release Date August 5th.2022

Streaming Not Currently

Will Vinton was an almost accidental visionary. An artist by trade, Vinton stumbled on to the art of claymation with his friend Bob Gardiner, a visionary in the art of claymation. The pair met in college at the University of California-Berkley and moved to Portland in 1970 where they began their influential collaborations in the basement of Vinton’s home. The collaboration led to a breakthrough in 1974 when Vinton and Gardiner won an Oscar for their animated short, Closed Mondays, about an inebriated man who wanders into a closed art gallery.

Closed Mondays was just the proof of concept the pair needed to launch Will Vinton studios in Portland. Sadly, mental health issues plagued Gardiner and he left the business in 1976 after they’d created their second claymation short. Vinton then took the techniques he learned from Gardiner and combined them with his own talent for innovating camera technology in claymation to create a legacy that has outlived Vinton himself who passed away in 2018.

It’s a checkered legacy but a beloved legacy nevertheless. It’s a life and work filled with great highs and lows, marked by a lawsuit that brought Vinton’s life and career to its lowest point, and the new movie Claydream is a brilliant examination of the life and work of Will Vinton. Centered on a narrative that switches from Vinton and Gardiner’s remarkable beginning to the epic lawsuit between Vinton and Nike founder, Phil Knight who became a financial force at Will Vinton Studios before becoming the majority shareholder and firing Vinton in 2002.

Director Marq Evans weaves the story of Will Vinton’s life through remarkable archive footage of Will Vinton Studios behind the scenes and never before seen recordings of nasty legal depositions given by both Vinton and Phil Knight between 2002 and 2005 when Vinton sued Knight to get his name and company back. It’s a complicated narrative that paints Vinton as both a beloved genius and a man incapable of getting out of his own way when it comes to spending money and taking big risks.

In fairness to Vinton, many of the big risks he took in the 70s and 80s paid off in big ways. Will Vinton Studios put Claymation on the map in America with one remarkable piece of work after another. Vinton’s work in commercials created a number of iconic moments including creating the California Raisins. Vinton also created a number of television specials, of a kind that simply aren’t made anymore, and won several Emmy awards for his effort.

Vinton made feature films including the bizarre but truly unforgettable Return to Oz, he and his team made Michael Jackson into clay for a segment in the King of Pop’s iconic Moonwalker short film, and years later in television, Vinton brought Eddie Murphy to Claymation life with the series The PJ’s. That series was ultimately short lived for a number of reasons but remains a landmark moment in animated television nevertheless. It’s also the last great achievement of Vinton’s career before the bitterness of his falling out with Phil Knight and Knight’s son, Travis who eventually was elevated to the head of the studio.

Today, Will Vinton’s legacy is well remembered as much for the work he created as for the work he influenced. Among those who celebrate Will Vinton today is, arguably, the best claymation animated director working today, Henry Selick. Selick directed and animated Coraline while working for Laika, the company that was raised out of the ashes of Will Vinton studios after Vinton was forced out. Selick to this day credits Vinton as an inspiration for his wildly imaginative and creative films.

Claydream doesn't hold back in showing Will Vinton the beloved, eccentric genius and the Will Vinton gutted and bitter man who felt victimized by Phil Knight's cold approach to business. It's an ultimately fair and comprehensive story, exceptionally well told. It's a pitched battle between an artist and a businessman, the artist just wants to make art and the businessman wants to make money. It's a fundamental disagreement of philosophy, rendered bitter and nasty by the clashing personalities of Vinton and Knight.

Speaking of Henry Selick, you can find my 2009 review of Selick's masterpiece, Coraline, linked here, on my archive blog. Find my archive of more than 20 years and nearly 2000 movie reviews at SeanattheMovies.blogspot.com. Follow me on Twitter at PodcastSean and follow the archive blog at SeanattheMovies on Twitter. Listen to me talk about movies like Claydream on the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast on your favorite podcasting app. If you've enjoyed what you've read consider subscribing to me here on Vocal. You can also pledge to support my work on a monthly basis or leave a one time tip below.