For the Birds (film)

For the Birds is a 2000 computer animated short film produced by Pixar and directed by Ralph Eggleston. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2001.[1] It premiered on June 5, 2000, at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France,[2] and was shown alongside the theatrical release of the 2001 Disney/Pixar feature film Monsters, Inc.[2]

For the Birds
Film poster
Directed byRalph Eggleston
Produced byKaren Dufilho-Rosen
Written byRalph Eggleston
StarringRalph Eggleston
Music byRiders in the Sky
Edited byJennifer Taylor
Tom Freeman
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • June 5, 2000 (2000-06-05) (Annecy Festival)
  • November 2, 2001 (2001-11-02) (with Monsters, Inc.)
  • December 19, 2012 (2012-12-19) (with Monsters, Inc. 3D)
Running time
3 min. 27 sec.

It is also available on home video versions of the film. In 2012, the short was re rendered into 3D, and it was theatrically re released alongside the 3D re-release of Monsters, Inc.[3] The short was also released in 3D on Monsters, Inc. Blu-ray 3D, on February 19, 2013.[4]

Plot

A small blue bird lands on a telephone wire and makes itself comfortable, only to have a second small bird land next to it. The two birds quickly start to squabble as others land on the wire and join in. They are interrupted when a large, gangly, awkward looking bird sitting on top of the pole honks to them. Soon, the small birds start mocking the large one by puffing up their feathers to resemble his plumage and imitating his honk.

They then slide farther out along the wire and chatter suspiciously among themselves, ignoring the large bird's attempts to befriend them until he settles in the middle of all of them out on the wire. However, his weight causes the wire to sag almost to the ground and all the small birds slide down toward him, which causes him to lose his balance and flop over to hang upside down by his feet. The two nearest to the center start pecking at his toes, egged on by the rest of the crowd. One of the other birds suddenly panics, realizing how low the wire is and tries to stop the pecking.

The others understand and stop too late; when the large bird's last toe slides off, the wire snaps upward and flings all the small birds out of sight like a slingshot. The large bird is so close to the ground that he's unaffected by the whole thing, but is accompanied by a shower of feathers from the small birds.

One of them falls to the ground, having lost all its feathers and the large bird laughs and offers it a leaf to cover itself. The others soon tumble down as well, without feathers, and hide behind the large bird as he laughs even harder. A white splatter with the words, "The end", on it against a black screen, marks the end of this film.

Awards

For the Birds won the following awards:

A For the Birds sculpture in Vasylkiv, Ukraine

Easter eggs

A reference to For the Birds was put in the 2006 Disney–Pixar movie Cars. When Lightning McQueen is in the back of Mack, they drive down the freeway and pass a section of power line with the birds resting on top, which is accompanied by the squeaks the birds made to communicate with each other.[5] A similar appearance occurred in Inside Out, while Riley and her family are driving to San Francisco at the beginning of the movie.[6]

A cameo appears in The Star, where a wall with resting birds are seen distracting each other (one even falls).

Releases

For the Birds is one of two short films on the DVD and VHS release of Monsters, Inc. The film was also released as part of Pixar Short Films Collection, Volume 1 in 2007.

References
  1. "The 74th Academy Awards (2002) Nominees and Winners". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. March 22, 2002. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  2. Linder, Brian (February 13, 2002). "Oscar Spotlight: Animated Short Film". IGN. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  3. Tipton, Janelle (December 19, 2012). "Behind the Scenes of 'Monsters, Inc. 3D', 'Oz' Trailer Debut in Theaters". The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved January 7, 2013. With this release, audiences also get to see “For the Birds” the original short that ran with Monsters, Inc., take off in 3D, as well as a brand-new trailer for Disney’s March release Oz The Great and Powerful!
  4. "Monsters, Inc. 3D Blu-ray Detailed". Blu-ray.com. January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  5. Hill, Jim (December 8, 2007). "A special "Where's WALL-E" edition of Why For?". Jim Hill Media. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  6. Dyce, Andrew (June 20, 2015). "'Inside Out' Easter Eggs, Trivia & Pixar References". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
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