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Hair High

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Hair High
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBill Plympton
Written byBill Plympton
Produced byBill Plympton
StarringEd Begley, Jr.
Craig Bierko
David Carradine
Keith Carradine
Beverly D'Angelo
Hayley DuMond
Eric Gilliland
Matt Groening
Don Hertzfeldt
Peter Jason
Justin Long
Dermot Mulroney
Tom Noonan
Zak Orth
Martha Plimpton
Jay O. Sanders
Michael Showalter
Sarah Silverman
CinematographyJohn Donnelly
Music byHank Bones
Production
company
Distributed byStarz Distribution
Release date
  • April 17, 2004 (2004-04-17)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$400,000
Box office$127,300

Hair High is a 2004 American adult animated horror romantic comedy film by American filmmaker Bill Plympton.[1] The film is a spoof of late-1950s and early-1960s high school films.[2]

Plot

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A gothic high-school comedy with a Carrie-like story. A bickering teen couple, Wally (Michael Showalter) and Buttercup (Hayley DuMond) visit Jojo (Keith Carradine)’s Diner for a drink. Since they have relationship issues with each other, Jojo decides to tell a story about a couple like them. The story he quotes is “a tale of the prom, of love, of Cherri and Spud.”

Cherri (Sarah Silverman) and Rod (Dermot Mulroney) are the Echo Lake high school king and queen and they justifiably rule their domain. Cherri's friend, Darlene (Beverly D'Angelo) is also in love with Rod while his friend Zip (Zak Orth) is in love with her. Spud (Eric Gilliland), the new kid in town, accidentally offends both Cherri and Rod when he scuffs Rod's car and he writes an insulting note to Cherri. He is consequently forced to become her slave.

Naturally and immediately, they hate each other, such as making him do her bidding and humiliating him after a football game, but later on, they fall in love. Cherri and Spud secretly decide to go to the prom together, and on prom night, a rejected Rod forces their car off the road and into the lake. In true 1950s ballad style, their car sinks to the bottom of the lake as they share one last kiss. Wally thinks the story is over, but Buttercup thinks otherwise, with Jojo agreeing with her.

Going back to the story, Rod lied to teacher Miss Crumbles (Martha Plimpton) that Spud stole Cherri and moved to Mexico with her, having Darlene crowned prom queen and himself designated the remaining prom king. While the bodies of Cherri and Spud lie in a timeless embrace, Rod is successful in thwarting any investigation and is able to get away with murder.

On the night of the following year's prom, the car magically comes to life and slowly drives out of the lake with Cherri and Spud, as if nothing had happened, only this time their bodies are in an advanced state of decomposition. Their rusty and water-logged car drives to the prom. Just as Rod and Darlene are about to be crowned king and queen of the prom as before, Cherri and Spud enter the ballroom. The spotlight follows them as they cross the dance floor, with all the attendees in shock. As they approach the stage, spiders, bugs, snakes, lizards and fish ooze from their sagging skin and skeletal bodies, eating Rod's friend Dwayne (Justin Long).

The prom attendees, including Darlene, freak as they mount the stairs to the stage. Spud takes the crown and places it on Cherri as the animals attack and devour Rod, allowing them to be prom king and queen. At the diner Buttercup sobs over how tragic but beautiful it was, but Wally tries to find out what the point of the story is. Jojo explains to them that Cherri and Spud created a special romance in their short lives. They laugh and joke about it, until they hear the familiar car sounds of Cherri and Spud driving to the prom. Now believing that the story is true, Wally and Buttercup make up with a kiss. Jojo asks if they believe the story. Wally says that he guesses so, and the film ends with him asking “Who made up this story?” [3]

Cast

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Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 20 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Hair High isn't first-tier Plympton, but like the rest of the animator's work, this is an assuredly odd tale that should resonate with fans of strange cinema."[4] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[5]

Release

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It had its U.S. cinema premiere on 17 April 2004 and was released on DVD on 21 July 2010.[6]

Production

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Hair High was created with a style reminiscent of old cartoons and 50s high-school dramas. The film was almost entirely hand drawn by Plympton himself, saying that he tried hiring 3 other animators, but they could not match his art style. [7] He used celluloid and hand drawings to achieve the clean look of the film. This would be his last Cel animated film, with his next project Guard Dog switching to digital scanning and digital colors for composition of frames. [8]

Releasing in 2004, Hair High is one of the last cel animated projects ever produced and the last American cel animated full-length film ever screened. The process would be all but abandoned this year with the end of 2003's Astro Boy which was the last new major cel animated project and shows like King of the Hill and Ed, Edd n Eddy switching to digital colors the same year. After Hair high, only one other cel animated project would come to the west, with the British short film The Last Belle in 2011, while 2006's Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea would be the last time cel animation would be used majorly for any feature length film. The process would officially be abandoned in October 2013 with its last holdout Sazae-san switching to digital color.

References

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  1. ^ Bill Plympton Studio - New Merchandise
  2. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
  3. ^ ‘Happy Days’ Meets ‘Carrie’
  4. ^ "Hair High". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "High Hair". Metacritic. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  6. ^ Bill Plympton's Hair High DVD Now Available
  7. ^ [1]/
  8. ^ [2]
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