Review by Andrea Birgers

Since much of Plympton's colored-pencil animation isn't seen outside of film festivals, Bill Plympton's Dog Days will be a treat for his fans, and a good introduction to his work for those who have never heard of him. It has seven short films made from 2004-2008, music videos, segments from television specials, documentaries, as well as some interesting bonus features.

The dog in the title is the protagonist of three of the shorts, Guard Dog, Guide Dog and Hot Dog. He's pudgy and yellow, and inexplicably, has a belly button. His body vaguely resembles a bulldog, while his attitude is that of a smaller dog. He wants very badly to please humans, but he's much more enthusiastic than competent.

Plympton's best work toys with audience expectations. The dog is an appealing character who deserves to succeed, but things never work out the way we or he hope. Another example is Spiral, which starts out as abstract animation. Just when viewers might start feeling bored, the story takes a surprising turn.

The most interesting bonus feature is an episode of "Art or Something Like It," a show on a New York City cable channel. The 22-minute segment features an interview of Plympton illustrated with clips of his work. It's a good overview of his career and Plympton makes a good subject. When he was finally offered that dream job with Disney in the early '90s, he was able to turn them down.

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