Known as the “Father of Claymation,” Will Vinton revolutionized the animation business during the 1980s and 90s, creating such iconic characters as the California Raisins and Domino’s The Noid. But after thirty years of being the unheralded king of clay, Vinton’s carefully sculpted American dream came crumbling down.

Structured around interviews with this charismatic pioneer and his close collaborators, along with a treasure trove of clips of their work together, CLAYDREAM charts the rise and fall of the Oscar®- and Emmy®-winning Will Vinton Studios. Documentarian Marq Evans brings to life the battle between art and commerce in this affectionate, insightful portrait of an artist who put so much of himself into his craft.

For in-depth thoughts on Claydream, please see my colleague Cody Allen’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Claydream arrives on Blu-Ray with a terrific 1080p presentation that allows the film to look its best. The film features a variety of materials to help tell this story from newer talking head interviews to archival shorts, candid moments, and court testimony. The recent interviews look crisp and clear thanks to the stable filming conditions with textures within clothing and the background. The archival shorts and other such footage look as good as the source will allow. It is mentioned in the commentary track that many of Vinton’s shorts had been preserved by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All the footage within the film looks as lovely as you could hope for in high definition. There are no digital anomalies present that are not native to the source. Oscilloscope Laboratories has treated this very well.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a strong DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that brings this material to life exactly as needed. Many talking heads and voiceovers comprise the feature, and all dialogue is rendered crisp and clear. The creative team does an admirable job of capturing the subjects and ensuring all information comes through with perfect clarity. The music of the California Raisins is an important part of this feature, and all of these songs permeate the room with prominence. Other songs and the score likewise maintain a faithful fidelity that never comes up short. Ambient noises emanate with precision within the subtle soundscape. The audio track gets the point across thanks to careful handling from Oscilloscope. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for those who desire them.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Marq Evans and producers Tamir Ardon and Kevin Moyer provide a commentary track that delves into the production of the film, combing through the vintage animation, the sound design, unique facets you might overlook, how they got certain artists to cover songs for them, and more.

Will Vinton’s Animated Short Filmography from the 20th Century: This disc provides an array of entertaining works that add so much value to this already rewarding disc.

- Closed Mondays (1974) (7:25)

- Mountain Music (1976) (8:17)

- Martin the Cobbler (1977) (27:47)

- Claymation: Three Dimensional Clay Animation (1978) (17:21)

- Rip van Winkle (1978) (28:09)

- The Little Prince (1979) (27:54)

- Legacy: A Short History of Natural Resources (1979) (5:15)

- Dinosaur (1980) (12:54)

- A Christmas Gift (1980) (8:19)

- The Creation (1981) (8:30)

- The Great Cognito (1982) (4:12)

Gone For A Better Deal (1974) (1:23:20): A feature-length documentary from Vinton created in the 1960s after college is provided here in full.

Randy and Lodge Animatic: An eight-minute look at an abandoned original claymation that was going to be inserted throughout the film. It is cool to get a glimpse at what could have been.

An Odd, Uncut Voicemail from Michael Jackson to Will Vinton: The full three-minute collection of voicemails from Michael Jackson that can be heard in the film.

Photo Gallery: A look at some of the imagery from the film is included in a gallery.

Trailer: The nearly two-and-a-half-minute trailer is provided here.

Welcome to My Daydream Promo Reel: A four-minute extended look at the film is provided.

Final Thoughts

Claydream explores the fascinating world of claymation and the drama that surrounded one of its pioneers. For as much as Will Vinton brought into the world, the documentary does not let him off the hook when he let his ego get in the way of running his business fairly. The relatively balanced approach makes the film all the more engaging, even if it is somewhat straightforward in its approach. If you think a documentary about this subject sounds like a good time, you will not be disappointed. Oscilloscope Laboratories has provided this film with a Blu-Ray that sports a top-notch A/V presentation and an invaluable assortment of special features. Animation fans will not want to miss this slice of history. Recommended

Claydream is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Oscilloscope Laboratories has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.