For the Birds
Tags: entertaining

Plot synopsis:
A flock of small, blue, birds land and sit on a telephone wire together. Two of them start to argue, push each other. Then they all take sides until a huge goofy bird lands on a nearby pole and wants to join them. As this long, lanky, unwanted guest flies over, the wire sags all almost all of the way to the ground. The little birds get angry as they slide down to the bottom point, bumping into him. They knock the big one off with a peck, but he hangs on with on foot. The closest birds peck away at his toes until he lets go, Just before he does, a few of the little birds see what is about to happen, so they chirp about it. It is too late and poof! The little ones get slung high into the air like the wire is a sling shot, and they lose their feathers. As the naked little birds land, bounce and squeak, the hide behind the big one as he laughs.

Review: I recommend copying it from the DVD onto your hard drive, keep it handy."For The Birds" is another slick, colourful vignette from the wonderful Pixar animation studio, a delightful moral tale, and simply essential viewing for anyone following their remarkable output.A masterwork of lightening fast character sketching and feathery CGI texture work, comic at every turn, and still laugh-out-loud funny after two dozen viewings or more.
Watch out, most of the best action happens at the left hand side.The sort of thing you could imagine some Pixar genius tossing off over lunch-break, just for fun, except it probably took months to create and weeks to render.
For The Birds is the side-splittingly hilarious short animated film that preceded the rather unimpressive Monsters, Inc, and all this hype that you may have read about For The Birds in the comments index here on the IMDb is pretty accurate, with the exception of the occasional grump who calls it forgettable or just amusing or some other such nonsense.
Pixar is becoming more and more famous for the hilarity of their films (especially the short ones, if only because they are virtually uniformly hilarious), and For The Birds is definitely no exception.
What you have here is a story that is about as simple as they come - a bunch of tiny egg-shaped birds on a telephone wire who are approached by a big goofy bird, and they are all contemptuous toward her and do everything they can to get rid of her.
It's the conspiracy that these little birds come up with to get rid of this ostrich-looking bird (yes, I know it's not an ostrich, by the way) and the fact that Pixar is able to communicate it to the audience without a single piece of dialogue other than these hilarious cheeps and grunts that the birds make that makes the film so impressive and funny and, yes, MEMORABLE.
The Academy Award that For The Birds won for Best Animated Short Film for 2001 was even less of a surprise than the one that Shrek won for Best Animated feature!
It was a given!For The Birds is not the kind of short film that you watch before a rather short animated film and serves no other purpose than to make you feel like you got your money's worth because the feature film is rather short.
This is not just something to keep you in your seats for a little longer (how much of a difference would three minutes really make in that case?), this is something that Pixar throws into the mix because they're so good at what they do that they can deliver pure entertainment even with such a short film.
The old Roger Rabbit short films are the kind that are mildly amusing on a more childish level and that can be forgotten rather quickly, but For The Birds is something else entirely.
Like all the Pixar shorts - not the least of which is Geri's Game (which should not be confused with Gerald's Game, which is a strikingly different story!), one of my personal favorites - For The Birds is the kind of short film that you enjoy for only a few minutes but remember for years.
My only hope is that Pixar will someday come out with a special DVD just for all of their short films.
Observe them as they watch, understand, empathize and laugh out loud to a quirky short with no dialogue.
Shown before Monsters Inc., this short was arguably the most fun-filled five minutes of my entire life!
Monsters Inc. was a great great great film, fantastic in all aspects (10/10), and yet, "For the birds" was the biggest impression of the lot, when you left the theatre.
It really was THAT hilarious.I've always been a HUGE admirer of Pixar, and have seen all their shorts and real films (Tin Toy, Nick Nack, Geri's Game, Toy Story 1 and 2 to name but a few), but "For the birds" is their finest hour as of yet!!
I've watched this short a dozen times, and I still laugh out loud at the main gag.
This film is comic perfection.Remember how the Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons always looks plaintively at the camera whenever he makes a mistake, the pupils of his eyes narrowing just before he falls off the cliff, the boulder crushes him, or the dynamite explodes in his face?That was the kind of touch that made those old cartoons great.
And it is clear from this film that the spirits of Chuck Jones, Tex Avery and the other classic animators are alive and well at Pixar..
I think it is safe to say that "For the Birds" is the funniest short film ever made..
This three-minute cartoon won an Oscar for Best Animated Short For 2000.
To me, it was "cute" and the animation was terrific, but Pixar's animation is always top-of-the-line, so there was no surprise there.The story is simple: little birds make fun of big, dumb-looking bird who gets the last laugh when the little ones' nastiness goes too far.
I enjoyed the noises the little birds made, the music in this animated short and the facial expressions, of course.It's cute, it's clever but it's no big deal.....sorry.
This short little gem was screened before Monsters Inc. And it was the best part of the coming 2 hours or so.
It got more laughs in its 5 minutes than Monsters Inc got during its 90.I'd highly recommend this short movie to anyone.
This is a wacky little short that is about one big and dumb bird and his dealings with lots of mean little birds.
Think about it...for the category of Best Animated Short Film for the Oscars for 2002, you have several independent productions made on shoestring budgets...and this WHOPPING production made by the pioneering geniuses at Pixar Films!
I haven't even watched Monsters Inc. yet and consider the DVD worth the price of admission just to see For the Birds.
One of, if not the best animated short I have ever seen.
If you can look past the attempts to be funny, For the Birds was an excellent example of computer animation, and it deserved to win an Oscar for Best Short Animated Film..
However when he joins them on the wire they learn a very harsh lesson about accepting others.Shown before Monsters Inc. this short helped make for a longer running time and give a feeling of more value for money.
The big bird looks real goofy and it's easy to join the little birds in mocking him.
I suppose that is good because it makes their lesson our lesson.The animation is superb, the backgrounds are bright and colourful and each feather on each bird looks really realistic.
The short is very funny - funnier than it sounds, the little birds are really funny, kids will love it because all the comedy is visual, adults will love it because it's not too childish.
However as a short it manages to be short and sweet, it's not very memorable but it is a funny joke.Overall it is by no means the funniest 5 minutes of my life (!), but it is a very good one-joke short that is funnier that Monsters Inc (but lets not forget that MI actually needed a better story!).
I love it when little cartoons like these win an Oscar.
There are so many variety of little animated shorts, some that are really innovative and some that are very deep, but some just deserve the win for being so fun.
From the amazing sound effects that the birds make, to the incredibly genius ending, it's fun to keep watching this just for kicks.It's about a couple of little snobby birds who fly onto a telephone wire and start hilariously chirping at each other.
They suddenly hear a loud scream and they look over to see a funny looking big bird who wants to join in.
The bird flips and holds on with one leg and the snobby birds start playing a game of "this little piggy..." They look down and as they're taking off the last finger, they notice that the telephone wire is at ground level and that the big bird will surely just fall an inch and they will get shot up.
In a hilarious ending, the bird falls and the snobby birds fly up, losing all of their feathers.This is an animated short that everyone can enjoy.
It's something fun to watch before starting a good movie, or something hilarious to see when you're down.
It always puts a smile on your face."For the Birds" is definitely an animated short that focuses more on the humor aspect, rather than the animation and story.
The real fun comes when watching it with different people, knowing you'll all hysterically laugh once that bird falls and the snobby birds fly up.
Like everyone else who saw this quaint, little animated short, I had to see it before I could watch MONSTERS, INC.
I just really don't understand what was so funny about this short.I even watched it again after finding that everyone (literally) loved this short film.
A PIxar film about a flock of birds who congregate on a telephone wire.
This Pixar short is only three minutes long and won an Oscar for best short animation.It has a simple message.
Do not judge a book by its cover and might had been inspired by a Dr Seuss story,Some small birds are sitting on a telephone line when a large bird wants to join them.
In short treat him like an outcast.The large bird gets the last laugh as his size means their feathers are more than ruffled..
This short animation tells the story of a group of mean birds on a wire, who laughs at a big bird who wants to join them on the wire.The animation is only three minutes long, but it already tells a lot of story.
The little birds are really mean, and bullies the big bird.
It's a very funny little short film that does a good job in showing us all the true meaning of tolerance.
If you don't over think it it's just a funny little short.
What will happen to blue bird?This movie is funny.
I like the scene when the big bird comes to the wire.
The big bird looks so funny.
I laugh about it.Please watch this movie with little children.
However, it is big birdie who gets the last laugh.The wonderful thing about Pixar is that its films are dear to it.
When I first saw this short movie, I just couldn't stop laughing.
I can watch this over and over again...This company is on the top for years now, and every new movie or short that is released, adds another quality to the skills of Pixar.
'For the Birds' is also released on a separate DVD, with a collection of short animations of Pixar.So if you don't want to buy every Pixar-movie (I couldn't think of any reason why You would not want to buy the best there is), get the DVD with the collection of Pixar shorts....
this has got to be the most hilarious short (animated or not) i've seen.i first saw it (or rather, a description of it) in a computer animation/sfx magazine a half a year back and have yearned to see it since!
well, now that Monster's Inc has arrived (and being that i work at a theater) i can see it just about whenever i want.although the VERY slightest bit mean-spirited, this has got to be the funniest clean-humored ANYTHING i've ever seen, and, even if i didn't like the movie, i'd buy M's Inc on DVD just for this!.
If I remember correctly, this short was developed by Pixar as a test to show off the latest in animation technology - the feathers.
I laughed so hard it hurt!The birds on the wire are a good starting point, anybody has seen this scene somewhere...our little feathered friends do what they always do: Sitting on a telephoneline.
Possibly one of the funniest films I've ever seen, even if it is 'only' a short.
I won't tell you the rest (since there's only about three minutes of it), but this has got to be the best movie that I have seen lately, if not best of all time..
I must say that it was a long time since I laughed so much during the minutes this short played.
Pixar always deliver a good story and excellent animation, and I must say that this is one of their best shorts ever made.
This is the funniest animated short film I have ever seen.
I saw the short film For the Birds before the main feature Monsters, Inc. I hope this short will on the video and DVD when release.
"For the Birds" is only a three minute short film with a well deserved big award, the 2002 Oscar for Best Short Film, animated.
I completely understand why, "For the Birds", one of Pixar's most recent short films won the award.
Though I found Pixar's earlier work to be more enjoyable and humorous, such as their shorts from Toy Story 1 and A Bugs Life, it still was fun to watch and suitable for all ages.This film is a perfect example of karma, how your negativity can back fire on you.
It had many built in messages, most of the hidden ones recognized by the older audience, but children still get the same type of impression of what is going on and why the outcast, goofy looking bird was left out of the group of all the other birds that looked alike, because children start to build social groups at younger ages than what most people would think.The introduction animation was amazing, how the letters flowed along the telephone pole wire in front of the blue sky with extravagant white cartoon clouds, it gives you a good feeling of what your about to watch.
The birds were creative, short, chubby, but with an annoying repetitive chirp, they were also a bluish color and odd looking eliminating questions like, "What kind of birds are those?" when it shouldn't matter and isn't something that should be bothersome or a mystery.I thought "For the Birds" was hilarious and a small three minute segment that can keep people talking.
No one would know until they read about the film that four of the birds on the wires had names, Chipper, Bully, Snob, and Neurotic, and they all acted out their personalities, there was most likely no possible way to get that across unless they added something in the beginning where they introduced the birds but that might have took away from the comical value.
Pixar's features and short films have always had great animation, and For The Birds is no exception, I really admire the gorgeous colours and the sophistication of the backgrounds.
The short is beautifully orchestrated as well, the story is simplicity at its finest and the humour told through inspired visual gags and slapstick in alternative to dialogue is hilarious making it one of Pixar's overall funniest.
Among other things, it reminds us that birds are a most unique kind of animal (even when portrayed in cartoons).
The only short film that can provide laughs and a moral at the same time.
The similar-looking birds make fun of him, and...they get what they deserve.Like "Knick Knack" and just about every other Pixar short, "For the Birds" has no dialog, but isn't silent.
I suppose this contributes to all the funny goofiness.I must say, For the Birds is better than most short films out there.
Ever felt like the new kid in class?Pixar's animated short "For the birds" expresses just that feeling - and in an utterly hilarious and entertaining way.The story starts off with a group of birds sitting on a wire.
It's no wonder this little film won the Oscar for best animated short in 2001.
Ralph Eggleston, a veteran of such hit animated films as Finding Nemo and Toy Story, directs this short - which was first shown as an appetizer for the movie "Monster's Inc".
This movie is story of the birds which flock to the wire.
"For the Birds" is a three-minute movie from 15 years ago and therefore one of Pixar's shortest and earliest efforts.
It won an Oscar in the Animated Short Film category and fittingly the director behind it is named Ralph Eggleston, who also worked as a voice actor here.
Recommended and I wonder if the big bird is going to get his own film at some point.
A number of mean spirited little birds sit on a telegraph line trying to prevent a big, clumsy, good natured bird from joining them.This is the Pixar short which accompanies Monsters Inc. Retooled, like the main feature, into 3D, this remains just as funny as it was on original release.
This short film started just before the main Disney Pixar film at the cinema, Monsters Inc. This was a brand new Pixar movie and it won Best Short Animated Film at the Oscars.
The film ends with all the little birds featherless and covering themselves up with leaves.
A cute short from Pixar that is funnier in some viewings more than others.
I've seen this short several times and the first time I saw it at the cinema before 'Monsters Inc,' I found it absolutely hilarious.
After having seen this for the first time in several years upon renting the first volume of Pixar shorts on a DVD, I laughed just as much as I did on my first two viewings.The small birds are adorable and the big bird is a hoot.
The animation has impressive use of the squash and stretch principle, the birds are coloured in a lovely shade of blue and the musical score is reminiscent of those used in 'Luxo Jr' and 'Red's Dream.'Overall this is one of Pixar's funniest and most straightforward shorts.