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Will Vinton

Will Vinton

Directing

Biography

Award-winning co-director of "Closed Mondays", the first Claymation (tm) film. Will Vinton was born on November 17, 1947 in McMinnville, Oregon, USA as William Gale Vinton. He was a producer and director, known for Claymation Easter (1992), Martin the Cobbler (1977) and Moonwalker (1988). He was married to Gillian Allred and Susan Shadburne. He was a Claymation artist who coined the term. His studio created numerous Claymation characters for ads, most notably the California Raisins, which gained fame in an ad set to the Motown hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". He died on October 4, 2018 in Portland, Oregon.

Known For

Moonwalker
7.0

This fantastical movie inspired by the music of Michael Jackson features imaginative interpretations of hit tracks from the iconic 1987 album “Bad”.

Moonwalker

1988
The PJs
6.9

Thurgood Stubbs lives with his wife, Muriel, in the Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs housing project, where he is the superintendent. This animated comedy follows the adventures of the Subbs and their friends, while taking a satirical view of the ups and downs of life in a big-city housing project.

The PJs

1999
Prisoners of Gravity
5.9

Prisoners of Gravity was a Canadian public broadcasting television news magazine program that explored speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic books — and its relation to various thematic and social issues. Produced by TVOntario, the show was the brainchild of former comic retail manager Mark Askwith and writer Daniel Richler, and was hosted by Rick Green. The series aired 139 episodes over 5 seasons from 1989 to 1994.

Prisoners of Gravity

1989
LIGHT & MAGIC
7.8

When George Lucas set out to make Star Wars, little did he know he would end up revolutionizing an industry. This is the story of a team of creative geniuses who put the magic in the movies we love.

LIGHT & MAGIC

2022
Gary & Mike
7.0

Gary & Mike is a television show that aired on UPN in 2001 and Adult Swim on 2002. The show was produced in stop motion and lasted only one season. A total of thirteen episodes were produced.

Gary & Mike

2001
The Wild
5.5

An adolescent lion is accidentally shipped from the New York Zoo to Africa. Now running free, his zoo pals must put aside their differences to help bring him back.

The Wild

2006
Return to Oz
6.7

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

Return to Oz

1985
The California Raisin Show
4.8

The California Raisin Show is an animated television series based on the claymation advertising characters The California Raisins. The show is based on an Emmy Award-winning claymation special, Meet the Raisins!, which originally aired on CBS in 1989. After the show's 13-episode run, a sequel to the original special, Raisins: Sold Out!: The California Raisins II, aired in 1990. While the characters are traditionally depicted in claymation, the TV show was cel animated by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson. It did, however, maintain Will Vinton as creative director and executive producer. It takes place in a world populated by anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables and focuses on the main characters, the California Raisins: A.C., Beebop, Stretch, and Red. Each episode has one or more musical numbers.

The California Raisin Show

1989
The Adventures of Mark Twain
6.8

Based on elements from the stories of Mark Twain, this feature-length Claymation fantasy follows the adventures of Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn as they stowaway aboard the interplanetary balloon of Mark Twain. Twain, disgusted with the human race, is intent upon finding Halley's Comet and crashing into it, achieving his "destiny." It's up to Tom, Becky, and Huck to convince him that his judgment is wrong and that he still has much to offer humanity that might make a difference. Their efforts aren't just charitable; if they fail, they will share Twain's fate. Along the way, they use a magical time portal to get a detailed overview of the Twain philosophy, observing the "historical" events that inspired his works.

The Adventures of Mark Twain

1985
Claydream
6.8

A modern day Walt Disney, Will Vinton picked up a ball of clay and saw a world of potential. Known as the “Father of Claymation,” Vinton revolutionized the animation business during the 80s and 90s. But after 30 years of being the unheralded king of clay, Will Vinton’s carefully sculpted American dream came crumbling down. Structured around interviews with this charismatic pioneer and his close collaborators, the film charts the rise and fall of the Academy Award and Emmy winning Will Vinton Studios.

Claydream

2022
Animation Outlaws
6.3

Walt Disney said “We have created characters and animated them in the dimension of depth, revealing through them to our perturbed world that the things we have in common far outnumber and outweigh those that divide us.” Outside of Walt himself there are few people who have brought together and united more animators in the history of the genre than Craig "Spike" Decker and Mike Gribble, known to all as Spike & Mike. They created an animation festival that helped launch the careers of John Lasseter, Peter Lord, Will Vinton, Bill Plympton and Mike Judge to name just a few. Their Spike & Mike festival had an enormous impact on animation that was felt the world over. The festival was known as much for the breakthrough animation it presented as the outrageous antics of the founders.

Animation Outlaws

2019
Shadow Play
5.2

A playwright, who lost her fiance to suicide, is haunted by his spirit while staying on a remote island with his mother.

Shadow Play

1986
No image
2.0

A documentary film about Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton. This is a portrait piece that includes interviews with family, friends, colleagues, critics, and fans.

Adventures in Plymptoons!

2011
Remembering Return to Oz
N/A

The gathered memories and warm recollections of the cast and crew of the 1985 Walt Disney Pictures film, RETURN TO OZ. For the first time, we get intimate details about the production of the cult classic fantasy, from such names as director Walter Murch, producers Paul Maslansky and Colin Michael Kitchens, the late Gary Kurtz, and actors Fairuza Balk, Emma Ridley, Justin Case, Pons Marr, Deep Roy and Sophie Ward.

Remembering Return to Oz

2021
Will Vinton's Claymation Comedy of Horrors
6.1

Wilshire Pig and Sheldon Snail discover a map to uncover Doctor Frankenswine's monster. All kinds of mishaps ensue in their quest.

Will Vinton's Claymation Comedy of Horrors

1991
The Online Adventures of Ozzie the Elf
7.0

Ozzie's a temp in Santa's workshop, but he wants to become a permanent helper, so he begins to make points by showing Santa how computers and automation can help production. But when the reindeers walk out, Ozzie's going to have to figure out how to get them back and the true meaning of Christmas.

The Online Adventures of Ozzie the Elf

1997
Claymation Christmas Celebration
7.2

Herb and Rex, the Jurassic odd couple, guide a Christmas choral celebration in this Emmy Award-winning special, guest-starring the California Raisins! Segments feature the Three Wise Men, singing camels, ice-skating penguins, and the hilarious Paris Bellharmonic Orchestra.

Claymation Christmas Celebration

1987
Meet the Raisins!
6.3

An animated mockumentary follows a group of anthropomorphic raisins from their early beginnings to musical stardom, decline, and eventual comeback. Through interviews, performances, and archival-style footage, the special explores the group’s history and rise to fame.

Meet the Raisins!

1988
Martin the Cobbler
8.0

A poor cobbler has a dream in which he hears the Lord promise to visit him. Instead poor people in need of food, clothing, warmth, and understanding come to him. In the end he understands that this is how the Lord visits men today.

Martin the Cobbler

1977
The Little Prince
6.6

The Little Prince questions the universe in this story of innocence and wonder.

The Little Prince

1979