Those who have enjoyed Bill Plympton's dark-edged "Plymptoons" over the years - in international cartoon collections, commercials and MTV spots - should have a great time with "The Tune," his first feature-length effort.
The story is sort of a "Wizard of Oz"-"Alice in Wonderland" blend, with hapless songwriter Del encountering one zany character after another in the land of Flooby Nooby.
The plot, if it can be called that, has Del being ordered by his boss, Mr. Mega (of Mega Music) to come up with a hit song pronto, or he can forget about marrying his sweetheart, Mega's secretary Didi.
Daydreaming on the freeway, Del suddenly finds himself in Flooby Nooby, where he meets up with an Elvis-impersonating dog, a crooning waitress, a zany bellhop, a cab driver who's lost his nose, dancing food, two businessmen who aggressively attack one another in an exaggerated Tom & Jerry/Three Stooges routine, etc.
Most of these vignettes also provide opportunities for 10 enjoyable songs by Maureen McElheron, which spoof various pop styles, from blues to rock to country.
For the uninitiated, Plympton's style is unique. His drawings - which he does entirely by himself - are done with pencil and have a sort of wavering look to them. (His most famous shorts are probably "25 Ways to Quit Smoking" and "How to Kiss," and a couple of segments in "The Tune" were farmed out as separate cartoon shorts to help raise money to complete this feature.)
As a result, it takes a few moments to adjust the eye - especially if the eye expects Disney-style, full-blown, fluid animation.
But "The Tune" is very enjoyable and well worth any effort.
This film is not rated, though the exaggerated violence would probably garner a PG; it might be a bit strong for very young children.