Hair High

I wonder if Pink Floyd's The Wall animations helped inspire this little animation gem. I wish this had had greater circulation. The Triplets of Belleville comes to mind as well. The story is strange, the animation brimming with nicely realised ideas. I guess you could compare it to Carrie. It's sort of a grand All-American nightmare. I found this movie at an op shop. Another lucky day for me!

I viewed HIGH HAIR today in Los Angeles -- perhaps three years after it was originally screened. Comments on IMDb said it was a retro 50's style high school story line which drew my attention.

I am a child of such an era having graduated in 1959 (at the cusp of the next decade of the 50's) from high school.

I entered the theater with an invited friend. I was a bit anxious whether my experience would be the same as another person's opinion as we left the screening and talked.

We both had the same movie experience: It took about 20 minutes to get into it and at one moment in time, there was a hook that carried the film into its conclusion and enjoyment. I suppose this is a cult film, but it works well with those who were in high school in the era of the film despite the fact that this was not my own experience.

My enjoyment was the fusion of Japanese anime into contemporary American animation as a borrowed skill with a true technique honed by Bill Plimpton.

He pulled it off without a finger print of evidence that would tie him to such a cinematic crime of imitating Japanese Anime and not his own invention.

It worked. Just fine. Pure fusion.

"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!

Hair High is a take-off of retro high school dramas, as a mild-mannered student finds himself being tortured by the top echelon at his new school. The story is little more than a frame for a series of insane set pieces that range from flies having sex to a crazed car battle.

This episodic, gag-first approach keeps one from caring much about the characters or events, but it's pretty consistently funny.

Bill Plympton has a weird sense of humor, but his mix of surreal cleverness and outrageous is always lots of fun. Hair High isn't quite as good as his shorts, but it is thoroughly enjoyable.

Such a great work.One of the best animations that I've ever watched, although the story is very common; popular guy and cheerleader go out together but a "a new kid in school" falls for this popular cheerleader.

Drawings are very expressive you can almost taste the life they are living at the screen. I think this animation deserves more than just congratulations.

The thing about this animation is it makes you wonder and at the same time makes you want to watch over and over again.

If you haven't still watched it you may be missing a lot in my opinion.

Enjoy.