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Will Vinton

Will Vinton

Award-winning co-director of "Closed Mondays", the first Claymation (tm) film.

Will Vinton was born on November 17, 1947 in McMinnville, Oregon, USA as William Gale Vinton. He was a producer and director, known for Claymation Easter (1992), Martin the Cobbler (1977) and Moonwalker (1988). He was married to Gillian Allred and Susan Shadburne. He was a Claymation artist who coined the term. His studio created numerous Claymation characters for ads, most notably the California Raisins, which gained fame in an ad set to the Motown hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".

He died on October 4, 2018 in Portland, Oregon.

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Movies Made By Will Vinton (34)

The Wild (2006)

An adolescent lion is accidentally shipped from the New York Zoo to Africa. Now running free, his zoo pals must put aside their differences to help bring him back. ...

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The Morning After (2005)

A woman talks to a friend and a lover the morning after a great evening. ...

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Día de los muertos (2002)

Dia de los Muertos is a film that captures the beauty, mystery and sacredness of the ancient Meso-American holiday that honors and remembers those who have died. Combining stop-motion animation and sets with computer generated characters, backgrounds and e ...

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The Online Adventures of Ozzie the Elf (1997)

Ozzie's a temp in Santa's workshop, but he wants to become a permanent helper, so he begins to make points by showing Santa how computers and automation can help production. But when the reindeers walk out, Ozzie's going to have to figure out how to get th ...

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Bride of Resistor (1997)

Mr. Resistor tries to catch himself a woman. ...

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The PJ's (1997)

Unaired test pilot for the Eddie Murphy/Will Vinton Studios sitcom, "The PJ's". ...

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Mr. Resistor (1994)

In a basement, Mr. Resistor, who's made out of wires and spare parts, goes in search of some new arms. ...

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Hammer Time (1994)

What a hammer is used for, how it works, and how it differs from other tools. ...

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The World's Greatest Animation (1994)

A whirlwind tour of first-class animated shorts, The World's Greatest Animation assembles, for the first time, an eye-popping assortment of Academy Award winners and nominees from the years 1978-90. From the Orwellian vision of zoo life Creature Comforts, ...

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Will Vinton's Claymation Easter (1992)

Claymation Easter marks the return of Wilshire Pig, with an absurd plan to kidnap the Easter Bunny just days before the holiday and launch himself as the first ever Easter Pig. As one would expect, things go terribly wrong for Wilshire in a serious of disa ...

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Will Vinton's Claymation Comedy of Horrors (1991)

Wilshire Pig and Sheldon Snail discover a map to uncover Doctor Frankenswine's monster. All kinds of mishaps ensue in their quest. ...

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Raisins Sold Out: The California Raisins II (1990)

This special has the band hiring a slick-talking new manager in an attempt to make a comeback. Under his guidance, the Raisins try their hand at various new musical genres, including Disco Polka, Country Rap, and Demolition Rock, to humorous effect. The gr ...

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Meet the Raisins! (1988)

An animated mockumentary follows a group of anthropomorphic raisins from their early beginnings to musical stardom, decline, and eventual comeback. Through interviews, performances, and archival-style footage, the special explores the group's history and r ...

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Moonwalker (1988)

This fantastical movie inspired by the music of Michael Jackson features imaginative interpretations of hit tracks from the iconic 1987 album "Bad". ...

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Speed Demon (1988)

Chased by fans and the paparazzi, Michael Jackson dances his way through trouble, while dressed as "Spike," a fictional rabbit. This short film is one of several segments and one of four music videos from Jackson's anthology film, Moonwalker. ...

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Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987)

Herb and Rex, the Jurassic odd couple, guide a Christmas choral celebration in this Emmy Award-winning special, guest-starring the California Raisins! Segments feature the Three Wise Men, singing camels, ice-skating penguins, and the hilarious Paris Bellha ...

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Dinosaurs: A Fun Filled Trip Back in Time (1987)

Everyone in Philip's science class has a great idea for a report--everyone that is, except Philip. That evening, he listens to a son playing on his boom box, and it provides him with inspiration: DINOSAURS! The next day at the museum, Phillip discovers t ...

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The Festival of Claymation (1987)

A sampler of the work of Will Vinton's animation using clay figures, including the shorts "Dinosaur," "The Great Cognito," "A Christmas Gift," and "Vanz Kant Danz. ...

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Shadow Play (1986)

A playwright, who lost her fiance to suicide, is haunted by his spirit while staying on a remote island with his mother. ...

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Return to Oz (1985)

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies. ...

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The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)

Based on elements from the stories of Mark Twain, this feature-length Claymation fantasy follows the adventures of Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn as they stowaway aboard the interplanetary balloon of Mark Twain. Twain, disgusted with the human ra ...

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The Great Cognito (1982)

The film tells of a music hall impressionist who caricatures personalities from the second world war. Animated by Barry Bruce at Will Vinton Productions. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012. ...

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The Creation (1981)

The film is based on a poem by James Weldon Johnson depicting the power of the southern black American preacher's telling of the biblical creation story. ...

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God's Trombones (1981)

A trilogy of African-American poems that applies artistic interpretation to religious parables. ...

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A Christmas Gift (1980)

On Christmas Eve, a lonely young boy, shut out from the shiny world of presents and holiday parties, peers into a candlelit window, where a gray-haired lady sits sadly at a bare table. Taking the last bit of bread and cheese from his pocket and adding wine ...

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Dinosaurs! (1980)

Everyone in Philip's science class has a great idea for a report - everyone, that is, except Philip. That evening, he listens to a song playing on his boombox, and it provides him with inspiration: DINOSAURS! The next day at the museum, Philip discovers t ...

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Legacy: A Very Short History of Natural Resources (1979)

Legacy takes the audience on a rapid-fire journey through the evolution of the world, starting with a cosmic bang, evolving through billions of years of plants, animals and the creation of natural resources, ending with man and his bounty – "sitting on h ...

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The Little Prince (1979)

The Little Prince questions the universe in this story of innocence and wonder. ...

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Rip Van Winkle (1978)

Rip Van Winkle, a lazy American man, wanders off one day with his dog Wolf into the Kaatskill mountains where he runs into an odd group of men drinking and playing bowls. He drinks some of their mysterious brew and passes out. When he wakes up under a tree ...

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Claymation: Three Dimensional Clay Animation (1978)

A look inside the Will Vinton Studio, with specializes in stop-motion animations with clay. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013. ...

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Martin the Cobbler (1977)

A poor cobbler has a dream in which he hears the Lord promise to visit him. Instead poor people in need of food, clothing, warmth, and understanding come to him. In the end he understands that this is how the Lord visits men today. ...

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Mountain Music (1976)

Mountain Music illustrates what happens when technology gets too advanced too soon. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012. ...

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Closed Mondays (1974)

An intoxicated man trespasses into an art gallery after hours. ...

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Gone for a Better Deal (1974)

Feature-length documentary film about the California counter-culture movement, which toured college campuses in various film festivals of the time. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013. ...

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Movies Starring Will Vinton (5)

Claydream (2022)

A modern day Walt Disney, Will Vinton picked up a ball of clay and saw a world of potential. Known as the "Father of Claymation," Vinton revolutionized the animation business during the 80s and 90s. But after 30 years of being the unheralded king of clay, ...

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Remembering Return to Oz (2021)

The gathered memories and warm recollections of the cast and crew of the 1985 Walt Disney Pictures film, RETURN TO OZ. For the first time, we get intimate details about the production of the cult classic fantasy, from such names as director Walter Murch, p ...

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Animation Outlaws (2019)

Walt Disney said "We have created characters and animated them in the dimension of depth, revealing through them to our perturbed world that the things we have in common far outnumber and outweigh those that divide us." Outside of Walt himself there are f ...

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Adventures in Plymptoons! (2011)

A documentary film about Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton. This is a portrait piece that includes interviews with family, friends, colleagues, critics, and fans. ...

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The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)

Based on elements from the stories of Mark Twain, this feature-length Claymation fantasy follows the adventures of Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn as they stowaway aboard the interplanetary balloon of Mark Twain. Twain, disgusted with the human ra ...

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