While at Comic Con I passed by the Bill Plympton booth as I usually do, to see what cool merchandise and rad things he might have on his table. I got around to talking to him a bit and he was very kind and always asks me if I want to be an animator and if I have work on me he could look at... good fella right? Anyway, I gave him my business card and he was kind enough to contact me to invite me to see a screening of his animated series Tiffany the Whale: Death on the Runway. Animation + Fashion? You could imagine my utter joy and fascination.

Tiffany the Whale is about a whale who tries to make it as a model in the fashion world to seduce the man she fell in love with, male model Conrad. The only issue is that Tiffany isn't very well accepted in this community. It's a tough world for her. Fitting into dresses, heels, and ignoring her love for krill which is her kryptonite in a sense. A model named Pilar is especially bitchy to her, she's the nemesis in this story. She seems to be intimidated a bit by the attention Tiffany's getting in the model scene.



Lets talk a bit about the fashion industry shall we? There's a lot of competition and it's hard to have a true friend. That's when frenemys (friend + enemy's) come along... you know, those people who are only nice to you in public or are nice to you because you're more popular than them or simply want your contacts. You know who you are!!! It's a tough dog eat dog world out there. I've been to plenty fashion shows behind the scenes. I see a lot of particular behavior and a lot of models are super divaish and don't seem like they even want to be there! You have your friendly models here and there also who occasionally crack a smile for you.
I believe Plympton picked up this vibe nicely and you'll notice it in the animated short. Fake laughs, sarcasm, and a touch of cruelty... You might say it has a Regina George Mean Girl vibe to it. When I asked Plympton where he searched for inspiration he mentioned Americas Next Top Model as one of his sources, makes sense.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Bill Plympton, some of his work is very edgy and inappropriate in a fantastic way!  By this I mean I can't help but wonder if a little bit of Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll may take place in Tiffany the Whales life. I guess this depends on what network may be interested.  If Plympton is new to you, waste no time and check out his Wikipedia and his Website. He has quite an impressive resume under his belt.

I enjoyed Tiffany the Whale and liked seeing fashion and animation together. I would love to see this on a network as a regular series. There's nothing on television like it right now!

Check out Bill's shared blog Scribble Junkies and keep up with his Facebook and Twitter to know when he'll be screening or presenting something somewhere near you.

Extra: Myself and Bill Plympton Comic Con 2011 when I cosplayed as Emma Frost.