Lucas, the Ear of Corn (1977)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Bill Plympton

Writers:

Gene Gorelik (story)
Bill Plympton (writer)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Short

Plot:

The story of Lucas, a young ear of corn, from his days in the cornfield with his mother to the moment he ultimately meets his fate as a meal for a young boy.

Plot Keywords:

Unfinished Film | Vegetable | Mother Son Relationship | Boiling Alive | Talking Corn

Cast

Bill Plympton

...

Lucas (uncredited)

Runtime:

USA:4 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Trivia:

Although almost completed, this animated short was abandoned by Bill Plympton and never finished.

Quotes:

Lucas: What's gonna happen to us?
Lucas's Mother: Lucas, how can you skip from topic to topic to topic?
Lucas: Never mind. I guess I just don't wanna know anyway. I'll just let it happen and see what happens.

You've come a long way, Bill Plympton

This early effort from the now-famous cult animator Bill Plympton tells the mournful story of a curious little ear of corn named Lucas who gets separated from his mother and sent off to the city to be sold as food. The crude artwork looks to have been made with crayons and construction paper, and the animation is primitive and shoddy, but that's what gives this amusing little number its charm. The voice acting surpasses the animation in terms of quality, with Lucas's mother sounding appropriately affectionate and nurturing, and Lucas himself having a cute and innocently inquisitive voice. LUCAS, THE EAR OF CORN is very unlike any of Plympton's more recent work in both style and content, but it does demonstrate his knack for originality and the darkly bizarre, almost dadaist sense humor that is consistent throughout all of his animation.