For the Birds

For the Birds

First released in 2000, For the Birds short was written and directed by Ralph Eggleston and produced by Pixar.

The short won the Academy Award for best animated short film in 2001 and was the short that accompanied the film Monsters Inc. The short was made into a 3D film in 2012.

Plot

A small blue bird flies, then lands on a telephone line, making himself comfortable. Another small blue bird joins him, and they argue a little, then are joined by more small blue birds, all viewing for space on the line.

A large, awkward-looking bird looks, and waves in a friendly way from a nearby telegraph pole, and the smaller birds laugh and start to mock him.

The bigger bird flies and plonks himself in the middle of the group of small birds, his weight causing the telephone line to sink towards the ground and causing the small birds to slide down the wire and become squashed together.

The small birds start complaining and pecking at the giant bird's toes, making him fall backwards and hang upside down by his toes.

Two small birds continue pecking at the toes, which start to release one by one from the telephone line, which doesn’t seem to bother the big bird.

Suddenly, one of the smaller birds recognises that if the large bird falls, the line will act like the wire of a bow, but it’s too late. The large bird hits the ground releasing the wire and the smaller birds, firing them off-screen.

A few seconds later, small blue feather stars fall from the sky, and the big bird plays with them. Another few seconds pass, and the smaller birds start crashing all around him, now naked. The big bird starts laughing and offers a leaf to the first crashing bird. As the small birds continue to hit the ground, they start hiding behind the large bird for cover as he continues laughing.

Like many shorts, this uses no voices, relying on the characters' expressions and plot lines to develop the story.

If you have a few minutes, please take a look at this well-constructed short.

For the Birds