Oscarless Cartoons Part 8

Oscarless Cartoons Part 8: Knick Knack (1989)

 

After Red's Dream, Pixar released their third short film in 1988 for SIGGRAPH, Tin Toy. Tin Toy is about a one-man-band named Tinny, who discovers what's it's like being played with when a baby comes near him. Billy, the baby in Tin Toy, looks even worse than the humans in Toy Story!

Tin Toy, in general, is basically a predecessor to Toy Story. It was also the very first computer-animated short film to win an Oscar. Tin Toy won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

By the time Pixar released Tin Toy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit™ came out. John Lasseter went to see it, and he decided that Pixar's next short film will be funny and cartoony. The result is today's Oscarless Cartoon, 1989's Knick Knack. It was the final Pixar short film to be shown at SIGGRAPH.

Knick Knack is about a snowman in a snow-globe named Knick. He is always upset about being in his snow-globe, but when a souvenir from Miami invites Knick to party with other exotic knick-knacks, he is determined to break out of the snow-globe.

Knick tries almost everything to break out of the snow-globe, but none of them work. However, after a dynamite explosion, the snow-globe leans near the edge of the shelf and falls off. During the free fall, Knick discovers an emergency exit at the bottom of the snow-globe and finally escapes. However, he lands in a fish bowl.

But the fish isn't the only resident in the bowl: Behind some seaweed was a mermaid decoration from Atlantis! However, before Knick could run to her, he gets trapped AGAIN in the snow-globe.

Knick Knack would be shown again in front of Finding Nemo in 2003. To make sure that the audience won't think it's from the same era as 'Nemo', this following text would be shown right before the short.

In 1989, six years before Toy Story, Pixar Animation Studios made this short film.

However, this version of Knick Knack has been edited because the female characters had rather large... Umm, lady parts.

Nether the less, Knick Knack is one of Pixar's funniest short films, and deserves a little more recognition. At least there are Knick Knack Easter Eggs in Cars and Up.

See the picture on the counter? That's the girl Knick falls in love with in Knick Knack.

That's all I have to say about this week's Oscarless Cartoon. Tune in next week when I talk about one of the greatest animated Disney short films since 2003's Destino, 2010's Tick Tock Tale!