SHORT SYNOPSIS:

"Plain and Simple" is a "children's book come-to-life," combining a unique mixture of animated creatures, sets, and props, with real-life actors.  This short film is essentially a moral tale about the value of inner beauty and the struggle to belong.  The story is centered upon the plight of a plain little penguin named Pauly who is threatened with removal from the birdhouse of a zoo run by money-grubbing capitalists simply because he does not generate enough interest to guarantee profits.

PRODUCTION STORY:   "Two is a team"

"Plain and Simple" is truly a labor of passion and perseverance. After Merrin finished writing the script and after imagining all the sets and characters, she realized the film’s look must keep faith with the type of story written—a children’s story.  Thus, she decided to draw the entire world of "Plain and Simple" and combine it with real-life actors. In such a world, her imagination was her only limit—a pen and paper her only tools.  When Merrin and Jose decided that the film was going to be made entirely on two Macintosh personal computers, they did not realize how time consuming the process was going to be. Regardless, after seeing the real-life actors interact with a world of hand drawn sets and characters, they both knew this was a film they absolutely had to finish. Only the two of them, in their free time, did the entire process. Juggling full-time jobs and render times of up to 95 hours per shot, "Plain and Simple" was an every day struggle that lasted 5 years. In the end, all their efforts hopefully paid off, creating a unique looking film with a compelling story that audiences will enjoy.