The Crunch Bird

Yep it's true! The first thing you do after watching is scratch your head and ask yourself "how did THIS win an Oscar"? Then You chuckle and realise it doesn't matter and this is a funny short. Worth watching! And what else really matters huh?

Yes, it's based on a joke. (Hey, it's a SHORT animation film, right?) Yeah, it's from 1971, with 1971 technology, audio, acting, drawing, and dialog.

Still, it was humorous in its day.

As a theater manager in the mid-70s, I sometimes showed this prior to our main features (back before you PAID to see ADVERTISING on the big screen) and the audience always roared.

I'm not so harsh on this as some.... in those days we definitely needed a big laugh to escape the real world, even if for only a few minutes.

Give Crunch Bird a fair shake for what it is... a short piece of fluff that entertained the audiences of the day.

P.S. I can't speak to the points regarding the Academy selection, not having seen (or having seen but not remembered) the other contenders.

There's nothing wrong with this little film. It should have been set up better with a few more examples of the bird's horrible trait. Anyway, I had figured it out as soon as the chair was destroyed. I, too, can't imagine this little bit getting the Oscar.

Considering that the work is from 1971 and still makes me laugh, despite having a simple plot, it surprised me. Not as funny or with deep messages as other Oscar-winning animated shorts but still good.

Last week, the Cartoon Brew site mentioned the passing of one Ted Petok. He was an animator whose works appeared on "Seseme Street" and "The Electric Company" during the '70s. CB linked from YouTube Mr. Petok's Oscar-winning short whose title is up above as tribute. It's only a couple of minutes long. In this one, a lady is searching for a gift for her husband. She comes to a pet shop. She doesn't think her husband would want a dog or cat. She decides to get him a "crunch bird" even though the shop proprietor doesn't think that's a good idea. That's all I'll mention of what appears and just say I found this quite funny and maybe even a little hilarious for such a limited time animated short. Does it really deserve the Academy Award? Well, I've yet to watch what else was nominated that year so I don't know. But it was certainly entertaining for what it was. Anyway, when Petok received his award he said, in a paraphrase of the last line from this short, "Crunch Bird, my Oscar". Rest in peace, Ted.