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Claydream

2021

Documentary, Self: Craig Bartlett, Peter Lord, Bill Plympton ...

Documentary The meteoric rise and dramatic fall of "Father of Claymation" Will Vinton is the subject of this fascinating portrait of one of cinema's unheralded innovators.

	Author	Review
United States	Elizabeth Weitzman The Wrap	"Through copious clips of studio work and bittersweet interviews with Vinton, his former colleagues and his family members, we get a sense of both the artist’s strengths and weaknesses"	POS
United States	Ben Kenigsberg The New York Times	"The career-highlights structure is perhaps overly familiar, but 'Claydream” benefits from extensive interviews with Vinton and his many associates, and from the fact that Claymation is an engaging onscreen subject"	POS
United States	Alex Billington First Showing	"I'm glad this doc exists, even if it's a bit aimless, because it offers everyone a chance to learn the truth about who Vinton was, and hear in his own words the story of his studio and his dream to tell stories with clay"	POS
United States	Peter Debruge Variety	"'ClayDream' is a cleverly packaged oral history exercise, centered on an interview with Vinton himself"	POS
United Kingdom	Leslie Felperin The Guardian	"Strictly as a documentary it's conventional and a bit snoozy, but animation geeks will revel in the chance it affords to learn more about Vinton, a mostly genial chap (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Jared Mobarak The Film Stage	"Marq Evans’ documentary 'Claydream' couldn’t be more necessary to memorialize Vinton and place his career in context while also trying to set the record straight as to how it all fell apart"	POS
Canada	Reuben Baron CBR	"[It] is compelling viewing even if you aren't familiar with [Vinton's] cartoons (...) He was not the next Walt Disney, but 'Claydream' makes a strong case that he's a figure in animation history worth celebrating"	POS
United States	Sheri Linden The Hollywood Reporter	"Evans’ take is sympathetic, but his film’s strength is its attention to the complexities of a man who was closed off from his own feelings. The portrait that emerges from the new interviews archival footage is (...) compelling"	POS
United States	Richard Whittaker Austin Chronicle	"'Claydream' is a reminder of a master artist and visionary who revolutionized an art form. His work was gorgeous, as was the work of the team he assembled –another aspect of his genius (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Michael O'Sullivan The Washington Post	"A fascinating saga, especially for fans of animation (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS

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