Will Vinton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Will Vinton
Vinton in 2015
Born	William Gale Vinton (1947-11-17)November 17, 1947 McMinnville, Oregon, U.S.
Died	October 4, 2018(2018-10-04) (aged 70) Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation	Animator, filmmaker, editor, screenwriter, voice actor
Years active	1969–2008
Children	3

William Gale Vinton (born November 17, 1947 – died October 4, 2018) was an American animator and filmmaker. He was famous for his amazing Claymation work. He also created popular characters like The California Raisins. Will Vinton won an Oscar and several Emmy Awards for his studio's work.

Who Was Will Vinton?

Will Vinton was born in McMinnville, Oregon, on November 17, 1947. His father sold cars, and his mother was a bookkeeper.

Will Vinton's Education and Early Films

In the 1960s, Vinton studied physics, architecture, and filmmaking. He went to the University of California, Berkeley. He was inspired by the artist Antoni Gaudí.

During this time, Vinton made a black-and-white documentary film. It was about the counter-culture movement in California. The film was called Gone for a Better Deal. It was shown at film festivals on college campuses. He also made other films about student protests. His first animation was called Culture Shock.

Vinton earned his architecture degree from UC Berkeley in 1970.

Will Vinton's Animation Career

Working with Bob Gardiner

In the early 1970s, Vinton met Bob Gardiner. Gardiner was a clay animator. Vinton invited him to Portland. They used Vinton's basement to make a short test film. It was a 1½-minute clay animation called Wobbly Wino.

They started working on an 8-minute film in 1973. It was about a man who entered a closed art museum. He interacted with the paintings and sculptures. This film, Closed Mondays, was finished in 1974. It won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1975. This was the first film from Portland to win an Oscar.

Vinton and Gardiner later stopped working together. Vinton then started Will Vinton Productions in Portland. This company later became Will Vinton Studios. He hired new animators and made many commercials.

Will Vinton Studios

Will Vinton's Solo Work

With a small team, Vinton made three 27-minute fairy tales. These were Martin the Cobbler (1977), Rip Van Winkle (1978), and The Little Prince (1979). Rip Van Winkle was nominated for an Oscar. These films were later shown together as Trilogy.

In 1978, Vinton made a documentary called Claymation: Three Dimensional Clay Animation. It showed how they made clay animation. Vinton later trademarked the word "claymation." This word is now used for all clay animation.

Making Films in 35mm

Vinton started using 35mm film. He made more short films like Legacy (1979) and Dinosaur (1980). Other Oscar-nominated films included The Creation (1981) and The Great Cognito (1982). He also made a music video for John Fogerty.

Vinton stopped doing the animation himself. He focused on producing special effects for TV shows and movies. His company made effects for Bette Midler's Divine Madness! (1980). They also created an Emmy-winning part for the Moonlighting TV series (1987). Their animation for Disney's Return to Oz (1985) was nominated for an Oscar.

In 1985, Will Vinton Productions released their first movie, The Adventures of Mark Twain. Disney also hired Vinton for Captain EO (1986) and the Speed Demon music video (1988).

Famous Commercial Characters

Vinton's studio created many famous commercial characters. These included the California Raisins, the Domino's Pizza Noid, and the M&M's characters.

The California Raisins became very popular. They sang "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" in their first TV ad. They even starred in their own TV specials: Meet the Raisins (1988) and The Raisins Sold Out (1990). They also had a cel-animated show, The California Raisins Show.

CBS also ordered more prime-time specials. These included Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987), Claymation Comedy of Horrors (1991), and Claymation Easter (1992). Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration and Claymation Easter won Primetime Emmy Awards.

In the 1990s, Vinton's studio had a program called Walkabout Program. Animators could create their own films. Craig Bartlett made short films that led to the TV series Hey Arnold! for Nickelodeon.

Using Computer Animation

In the mid-1990s, Vinton's studio started using computer animation. This was used for the M&M's character commercials. They also made a short CGI film called Fluffy.

From Claymation to Foamation

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Vinton Studios made TV series. These included The PJs for FOX and Gary and Mike for UPN. For these shows, they used a new animation style. They replaced most clay figures with models made of molded foam rubber. This new process was called Foamation.

Changes at the Studio

By the late 1990s, Vinton's studio needed more money for movies. They brought in outside investors, including Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. His son, Travis, also worked there as an animator.

In 2001, the studio's animated shows The PJs and Gary and Mike were canceled.

In 2002, Will Vinton lost control of his studio. Phil Knight became the main owner. Vinton was later dismissed from the studio. In 2005, Will Vinton Studios changed its name to Laika. This studio now makes movies like Coraline and ParaNorman.

After Will Vinton Studios

Vinton started a new company called Will Vinton's Free Will Entertainment. He also taught at The Art Institutes in Portland. In 2005, he made a short film called The Morning After. He also created a musical called The Kiss.

Later Life and Passing

In 2006, Will Vinton was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer. He retired from making films in 2008. He passed away in Portland, Oregon, on October 4, 2018, at age 70. A documentary film about him, Claydream, was released in 2021.

Will Vinton's Work

Movies

• Gone for a Better Deal (1974) – director, producer
• Return to Oz (1985) – claymation director, producer
• The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) – director, producer
• Shadow Play (1986) – producer
• Festival of Claymation (1987) – director, producer
• Moonwalker (1988) – segment director, producer for Speed Demon
• Brain Donors (1992) – segment director
• The Wild (2006) – executive producer

TV Series

• The California Raisin Show (executive producer)
• Klay's TV, TV Series Pilot (director, executive producer)
• 5 Cecille shorts for Sesame Street (producer)
• Adventures in Wonderland (Caterpillar's Stories) (executive producer)
• Hammer Time short for Sesame Street
• The PJs (executive producer) – Emmy Winner
• Boyer Brother, TV Series Pilot (executive producer)
• Gary & Mike (executive producer) – Emmy Nominee
• Slacker Cats, TV Series Pilot (executive producer)

TV Specials

• Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987) (director, producer) – Emmy Winner
• Meet the Raisins! (1988) (executive producer, producer) – Emmy Nominated
• The Raisins: Sold Out! The California Raisins II (1990) (director, producer) – Emmy Nominated
• Claymation Comedy of Horrors (1991) (executive producer, producer) – Emmy Winner
• Claymation Easter (1992) (executive producer, producer) – Emmy Winner

Short Films

• Wobbly Wino (director, producer)
• Culture Shock (co-director, producer)
• Closed Mondays (1974) (co-director) – Academy Award Winner
• Mountain Music (1976) (director, producer)
• Martin the Cobbler (1977) (director, producer)
• Claymation (1978), documentary (director, producer)
• Rip Van Winkle (1978) (director, producer) – Academy Award Nominee
• The Little Prince (1979) (director, producer)
• Legacy: A Very Short History of Natural Resources (1979) (director, producer)
• Dinosaur (1980) (director, producer)
• A Christmas Gift (1980) (director, producer)
• Creation (1981) (director, producer) – Academy Award Nominee
• The Great Cognito (1982) (director, producer) – Academy Award Nominee
• The Diary of Adam and Eve (director, producer)
• Vanz Kant Danz (John Fogerty music video) (1985) (director, producer)
• Mr. Resistor (1994) (executive producer)
• Zerox and Mylar (1995) (executive producer)
• Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension (1996) (producer)
• Bride of Resistor (1997) (executive producer)
• The Stars Came Dreaming (1998) (executive producer)
• Go Down Death (director, producer)
• The Lost 'M' Adventure (3-D short film) (2000) (executive producer)
• Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) (2002) (executive producer)
• The Morning After (2005) (director, producer)
• The Martial Artist (2007) (director, producer, writer)

Musical Theatre

• The Kiss (2014) (director, producer)

Images for kids

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  Vinton in 2015

See also

In Spanish: Will Vinton para niños