For the Birds

Starring: Ralph Eggleston (uncredited)
Directed by: Ralph Eggleston
Rating: G
Genre: Animation, Short, Comedy
Length: 3 minutes
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A flock of small birds on a telephone wire aren't happy when a strange new bird arrives.

Review:

Tim: Three years or so after their latest Academy Award for Best Animated Short, Pixar releases For the Birds, another film that goes on to win Best Animated Short. Whereas it made a lot of sense why Geri's Game won an Oscar, I have to admit I'm a little surprised this film won. There's nothing wrong with this movie- it's a cute little story. I wasn't quite sure what was so award worthy, though.

The story is understandably straightforward. A flock of birds are standing on telephone wire. A new, different bird shows up, much to their consternation. They don't treat the bird very kindly, and their mean actions causes karma to pay them a visit. It's simple, but the film is 3.5 minutes long, so it needed to be. I suppose there's a lesson here- don't be mean to people who are different. I'm not sure my kids fully grasped this.

The animation is cute, though. The colors and the details are impressive, especially the rendering of the feathers. The little birds are entertaining. My 19 month-old daughter loved this movie both times she watched it. She just laughed and squealed at the little birds. It was quite entertaining for her (and us). My 5 year-old son enjoyed the movie, too. Pixar is obviously quite good at computer animation and this movie is impressive to see. I don't know enough about this movie to know how much it pushed the boundaries of computer animation. It was cute and looked beautiful, though.

For the Birds is a decent little short. It wouldn't be one of my favorite Pixar ones, but it's entertaining and I don't have any complaints. It's a bit lightweight, but it's enjoyable.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Geri's Game