Altitude has announced that the extraordinary documentary CLAYDREAM is being released in the UK. The documentary will be available via Altitude.film and other digital platforms from 21st November. A hunk of clay goes a long way in this wonderful dive into the career of pioneering animator Will Vinton. In Marq Evan’s acclaimed film CLAYDREAM, youthful ambition in freewheeling 1960s Portland comes face-to-face with the corporate behemoth. As huge fans of animation and its fasincating evolution, Claydream is sure to be an absolute treat.
After winning an Oscar in the mid-1970s, Vinton looked set for a glittering career… He made the first full-length claymation feature film, collaborated with Hollywood megastars and established a studio employing over 300 animators. But he hadn’t reckoned on death threats, claymation falling out of fashion, and business deals that would cost him everything.
Utilising a wealth of archive footage, interviews with everyone concerned in the compelling story, and plenty of examples of Vinton’s extraordinary animations, CLAYDREAM is a bittersweet, must-see examination of the often fraught relationship between art and commerce, the creator and the accountant. It’s a profoundly moving portrait of a man driven by burning ambition, whose groundbreaking technique remains influential to this day.
Known as the father of “Claymation”, and poised to become the Walt Disney of the modern age, Will Vinton revolutionised the animation business during the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. Winning the 1974 Oscar for Best Animated Short film, Closed Mondays proved a pivotal stepping stone which allowed Vinton to push the boundaries of stop-motion filmmaking using plasticine clay. Earning an additional four Academy Award nominations, Will Vinton Studios would go on to become a household name as the creator of the iconic advertising campaigns behind the California Raisins, Domino’s The Noid, and the digital M&M characters. But after 30 years of being the unrivalled king of clay, Will Vinton’s carefully sculpted American dream began to crumble after the entrance of an at-first promising outside investor. Like an entrepreneurial David vs. Goliath story, CLAYDREAM explores Vinton’s rise and eventual demise under Nike’s Phil Knight.
Check out the full trailer below:
Claydream will be coming to Altitude Film and other digital platforms from November 21st. Will you be watching? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
