CLAYDREAM (2021, dir. Marq Evans, US) by Patrick McElroy
I recently went to see Marq Evans’ documentary Claydream not knowing much about it, it was a whim based on my love of stop-motion. It tells the story of Will Vinton, one of the pioneers of claymation. I had heard Vinton’s name mentioned before, but knew nothing of him. While watching the film I was fascinated by his story, his techniques, and the persistence of his spirit.
For those of you who don’t know, in the 1970s he set up his own company in Portland, Oregon. He then won an Oscar in 1975 for his short “Closed Mondays”, which would open up his company to employ a number of eccentrics and form a band of outsiders making offbeat short features. In 1985 he directed the first Claymation feature film The Adventures of Mark Twain, which flopped at the box-office, but would gain a cult following.
While the failure hurt him, his biggest years were still ahead, when The California Raisins hired him to do TV ads for them in 1988, which became an inescapable part of pop culture, and started a whole trend of Claymation TV commercials. The documentary chronicles the rest of his life, which becomes more complicated beyond that.
While watching the documentary, what was fascinating was how selfish he could be at moments, yet grow into humility later in life. It’s also fascinating to see him talk about the decisions and mistakes that he would make throughout his career, that have you shaking your head, but also moved by his candor.
Vinton in the end turns out to be a creative inspiration for nyone, in any field, because he never let failure stop him, and he loved collaborating with others who had offbeat ideas. He was almost like the protagonist in a Capra picture. So I suggest seeing this documentary if you can. If you can’t, then check out some of his work, in which you witness innovation.
Patrick McElroy is a movie writer and movie lover based in Los Angeles. Check out his other writing at: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.mcelroy.3726 or his IG: @mcelroy.patrick