This month, in addition to "Hair High", we want to highlight some of Bill's other projects, along with some news from other corners of the Plympton Tooniverse -

First off, Bill has finished a new short film, called "Guard Dog". Bill was inspired by a small dog he saw in a park that was barking at many harmless objects. The film will have its U.S. premiere at the Philadelphia Film Festival, April 8-21, and its European premiere at the Cartoons by the Bay Festival in Positano, Italy, April 21-25. The film will also be shown before select screenings of "Hair High" - see the schedule below.

Next up, as announced in the April 13 issue ofVariety, the Sundance Channel has acquired two feature films and nine classic shorts for a May spotlight called "Get to Know: Bill Plympton". This triple-feature, premiering May 2, will include the U.S. TV premiere of "Mutant Aliens", the 1992 classic "The Tune" and a short film program of "Eat", "Parking", "Your Face", "One of Those Days", "How to Kiss", "25 Ways to Quit Smoking", "Draw!", "Plymptoons" and "Nosehair".

The Sundance Channel is also sponsoring free screenings of "The Tune" at the Tampa Theater in Tampa, FL, on Apr. 29, the Historic West Theatre in Green Bay, WI, on May 12 + 15, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX on June 4.

Speaking of "The Tune", we are happy to announce that Bill's first animated feature is returning to DVD. It will be released on July 27, 2004 by New Video. This groundbreaking musical film follows the adventures of Del, an aspiring songwriter as he struggles to write the perfect hit song and deliver it to his boss, Mr. Mega, in just 47 minutes. The film made animation history by being the first feature film animated by one artist. DVD extras will include a commentary track by Bill, and "Twisted Toons", a documentary about the making of the film.

Two of Bill's Flash-animated shorts will be appearingthe new edition of Spike and Mike's Sick + Twisted Animation Show, which kicks off at the Village East Theater, 181 2nd Ave., New York NY, April 16-May 8, Call theater for showtimes: 212-529-6998 Visit http://www.spikeandmike.com/
to see when the show will be appearing in your area.

Bill also made an appearance as a "Guest Artist" on Nickelodeon's show "ChalkZone". The episode premiered in February with high ratings, and was shown again in March on CBS. Watch for rebroadcasts of "ChalkZone" on Nickelodeon and on CBS Saturday mornings.

In the episode, titled "That Thing You Drew", the show's star, Rudy Tabootie, meets his favorite comic-book artist, named Drew Yerface (hmmm...) and invites him to speak at his school on career day. When Drew disappears, however, Rudy must use his magic chalk to track him down, and along the way he meets a bunch of characters from Drew's drawing board, including several 1950's-style teens - with very high hair. (Hmmm again....)

We are happy to announce that more copies of "Mutant Aliens" on DVD are now available. Special DVD features include the multi-part behind-the-scenes documentary "The Plympton Diaries", an aliens mutations game, and commentary by Bill Plympton. Now available at www.plymptoons.com for just $20, and you can now use PayPal to buy the DVD or any other available merchandise.

Also available is the new DVD called "Avoid Eye Contact:
The Best of NYC Independent Animation", which features 2 short films by Bill and 16 other animations from Patrick Smith, Jesse Schmal, John Dilworth, Michael Overbeck, John Schnall, Aleksey Budovsky, PES, George Griffin, Signe Baumane and Fran Krause. Copies can be ordered from www.plymptoons.com and more information on the films and animators is available at:
http://www.squarefootagefilms.com/