Hair High

"Hair High" is a full-length Bill Plympton cartoon that is very different from his hilarious shorts. Instead, it's more story-oriented, less funny and a bit padded. Many scenes seem to be drawn out....and the experience is certainly different.

Spud is a new student at the high school. Soon he draws the ire of Rod, the school bully and quarterback of the football team. To punish Spud for existing, Rod forces Spud to be Cherri's slave...and Cherri is Rod's girlfriend. Eventually, however, the plan backfires when Cherri and Spud falls in love and decide to go to the prom together. In response, Rod runs the pair off the road...killing them. While this should be the end of the story, it isn't...and the dead pair are determined to get to the next prom.

Like many of Plympton's cartoons, this one is certainly NOT for kids. It's filled with sexual material and violence...the sort of stuff teens and adults will enjoy but certainly NOT kids! In fact, I talked with Mr. Plympton a few years ago at ComicCon New York, and he said he did NOT want kids watching some of his films. They just can, in some cases, be way too adult for the little ones! It also is a film NOT for the casual viewer, as the material and especially the pacing are not typical of a Plymton cartoon...so I recommend that those not familiar with his work try something else first. Worth seeing despite its pacing...and very, very strange....sort of like the John Waters film "Cry Baby"...but on acid!