Moonbird

I had all I could do to make it through the cacophony of those voices as these two brothers stomp around in the woods. The little one is quite insufferable and before long he is joined by the bigger, older one in this woeful wail. I'm sure that one could say it is cute, and I am not an old crab, but I failed to see the point.

While the style of this cartoon was unique (enough to help it get the Oscar for Best Animated Short), this cartoon signaled to me the death of animation. It wasn't until the 1980s that a resurrected respect for decent animation occurred and fortunately today animation is once again respectable. In the interim, studios like Hannah-Barbera, Trans-Lux and Lou Scheimer reveled in horridly low frame-rates, cheap repetitive backgrounds and simplistic animation. Heck, to call some of this animation is a joke--it was more like a fast slide show since the frame rates of 24 fps were reduced in half or worse! While I can't blame MOONBIRD completely (after all, Columbia studios, Creston Studios and others produced cheap animation well before MOONBIRD), it is shocking when you compare the ultra-simple Eric Carle-style cartoon here with gorgeous MGM or Looney Toons cartoons in their heyday.

However, MOONBIRD manages to do something these other hack studios didn't. In this film they basically let two toddlers prattle non-stop and they animated it. The problem is that 2 and 3 year-olds aren't that interesting--at least not for 10 minutes straight!! Watching this film is like being locked in a room with an obnoxious small child who has always been told by his parents that he/she is the next Judy Garland or Marlon Brando. To me, this was about as welcome as a year-long migraine. Do yourself a favor and don't watch this film.

The first time I saw this movie, it had me cracking up. I have a two year old so I could really identify with the baby in the movie. Everything about the baby reminded me of my son; the way he talked, his mannerisms, and when he cried to dig the hole.. HAH. I couldn't stop laughing. This movie is absolutely adorable and I would recommend it for all ages, especially children or people with children or grandchildren. I have never seen a cartoon so cute, and endearing. I honestly can say I've never watched a better one. The animation is a little different, but I think the artists did that on purpose to put the viewer in a more childlike mindset.

The older brother in this video reminded me a lot of the kids I used to babysit where the older sister would always boss the little brother around, but in a nice way. It was cute that the older brother was helping his brother and was very tolerant and patient with him. Definitely a must see movie. I found it on a DVD my son got for his birthday, on a Pop Eye DVD w/ various other old cartoons on it. They're sold at Walmart for 1 buck! Who can beat that? It's better than watching the same thing over and over and over.. lol.

I viewed a screening of this animation last night at the "OSCARS IN ANIMATION: THE MOVIES" as part of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 75th year celebration of on-going events of films that became standards of performance over those same years. The chatter and banter of two boys in their surrealistic evening hunt to capture a bird was indeed original, creative and lead the viewers back to their own childhood. The animation floated in a very minimalist manner, forcing one to focus on the dialogue between two boys caught up in their simple vocabulary, misspoken words, sibling dueling while pretending to be adult, and pure fun. And I am sure the bird won all of those issues in the closing moments. This short film was well worth the 10minutes of its existence on the screen.

Two little boys go for a secret nighttime adventure and have an encounter with a MOONBIRD.

This absolutely charming little film is based on the (apparently) unscripted dialogue between two young brothers, Mark & Hampy Hubley. Created & designed by their parents, John & Faith Hubley, the effervescent quality of the conversation is matched by the limited-animation format which takes the simple story into flights of fancy.

Winner of the 1959 Oscar for Best Animated Short.