Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, which may be the reason Adventures in Plymptoons (Cinema Libre Studio), Alexia Anastasio’s flattering new video documentary on cult animator Bill Plympton, suffers from some of the same problems as Plympton’s feature-length animations. A master craftsman of surreal sight gags, Plympton shines brightly in his short films (39 to date) and his countless TV spots, while the features I’ve seen (Hair High, Idiots and Angels) are so vaguely plotted that they grow tedious after a while despite their wildly imaginative art. In the same way, Anastasio proceeds chronologically through Plympton’s life and career, but her 85-minute video is strung together with more than a dozen chapter headings—”How to Win Attention,” “How to Turn Down $1,000,000,” “How to Make Feature Films,” etc—that serve no other function but to grab your attention in case you might be wondering what’s in the refrigerator or whether the clothes are ready to go into the dryer.