The Tune

source: The Tune

The Tune

Praise the heavens for IMDB! I saw this movie when it first came out. I was about 8 then and for some reason it slipped away in the cracks of memory. Whenever I used to bring it up, people would never know what the heck I was talking about. On a whim I looked it up, and, wouldn't you know it! This was honestly one of the greatest, most entertaining and downright brilliant pieces of animation I have ever come across. I don't know how much I can recommend it. Any amount seems like hardly enough. Loved it, Loved it. SEE IT! (or be sad forever)

this movie kind of sucked. the songs were kind of generic and weren't catchy at all. while i'll admit that it did have some pretty cool animation, i thought the movie itself was pretty dumb.

Del is a songwriter for Mr. Mega, and he's trying to write a song his boss will accept. He has a tune, but can't find the words. With a deadline facing him, and anxious to make good so he can marry the boss's secretary Didi, he gets into his car to drive to Mega Corp, but an impossibly complicated cloverleaf sends him on a journey past seemingly hundreds of people performing in a variety of pop styles, from tango to beach movie music, while environment and characters go through transformations. Enjoying Plympton's cartoons means enjoying his surreal transformations, like Melies' work, but elastic to the point of.... well, cartoonishness. The best sequence is one without any sound, in which two men torment each other like characters in a Laurel & Hardy short as it might have been animated by Teniel. I don't think there's any real point to this movie; Del's quest for a song is an excuse to enjoy these extended gag sequences, and I enjoyed them very much.

This films belongs in some kind of hall of fame place, because nothing about this film is bad. It tells the story of a man who needs to write the perfect song, if he doesn't he looses his job, his girl, and his life. Okay well maybe not his life. Then out of nowhere he ends up in the land of Floobie Noobie where he meets a lot of weird and off the wall people. This film has some GREAT songs in it. I really love the song about HOME. This film is great, and I say get it! Do NOT just rent this film, buy it! Between 1-10, this film gets a "9.9", (because what film is perfect?)

The original songs for this movie are amazing, but not nearly as amazing as Plympton's animation. Well worth shutting yourself in to watch, perhaps with other examples of excellence in feature length, independent animation. This ranks with the work of Bakshi, and it's worth supporting animators who don't work for Disney, simply for the fact that their work is not homogenized or dictated by the studio. Plympton gave us this twelve years ago, and we haven't had many animators of note since who could give us a quality product like his. It begs the question, "why not?" I think this film is a must-see for any aspiring animator, to show them that it can be done, and done well.

"The Tune" is amazing, a fantastic blend of low-quality animation and hilariously ridiculous songs. The characters are the most amazing ever seen-- doggy Elvis, a cab driver without a nose, a bellhop with a very large streak of sadism... they're all memorable head to toe. Perhaps the best moment in the movie involves Del's girlfriend Didi filing music notes ("C sharp... B flat....") What's not to like? Any movie that features a hot dog and a hot dog bun running towards each other in a meadow in slow motion is okay by me. The movie ranks in the pantheon of great cartoons with "Dilbert," "Family Guy," and even "The Sword in the Stone." If you're looking for a safe, boring, sane award-winner, "The Tune" is definitely not for you!