For the Birds (2000) User Reviews

Ok - this works

[injury-65447 · 9/10 · 22 May 2020]

I remember this short vaguely from my childhood but I didn't Remember it being this funny.

It's very charming. A simple idea executed extremely well with animation that absolutely enhances the story.

A kind of morality tale for children about ostracism but can also be simply enjoyed at face value as a silly "lark".

One of the best Pixar shorts for sure.

Strong message.

[igornveiga · 7/10 · 25 July 2022]

A life lesson about difference, in the first act the birds are fighting each other and then the bigger bird appears, which is a reason for mockery and exclusion from the group, he unintentionally enters the group but the birds that used to fight get together to expel him. Of the group, they just don't realize that it will be bad for them and in the end, who ends up being different is the one who used to be prejudiced.

Probably the funniest short film ever

[nucksfan4life · 9/10 · 23 September 2002]

"For the Birds" has so much funny packed into its miniscule running time. The birds portrayed are easily the funniest looking birds I have ever seen. Their mannerisms are perfectly hilarious. The way they act as a flock all mimicking each other is great. I loved when they teased the bigger goofier looking bird. I think it is safe to say that "For the Birds" is the funniest short film ever made.

three minutes of bliss

[mr_underperson · 10/10 · 23 January 2005]

Okay an hour, if like me you watch it twenty times, and then watch it again. 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. But sure worth every single CPU cycle.

Will get a belly-laugh even from problem children.

-mu

Terrific

[karn · 10/10 · 23 May 2003]

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.

Words fail me

[ChrJahnsen · 10/10 · 13 February 2002]

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. At times, I caught myself thinking: "Would you please hold the jokes for just a minute!! I need to catch my breath here!!!!!!!!". 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!! Their humour is just so indescribably good!! For everybody who likes justice, animals and most of all, to laugh, this is for you! I can't imagine who would think this isn't humour at its very best!

Thank you, Pixar! 10/10 is simply too little for your latest short, but the scale doesn't go any higher. It is at times like when I saw "For the birds" that I wish my life had a rewind button, so that I could experience this for the first time over and over again.

Wonderful

[DanB-4 · 9/10 · 25 March 2002]

To appreciate a small miracle like For the Birds, see it with children. Observe them as they watch, understand, empathize and laugh out loud to a quirky short with no dialogue. When a director can combine a visually joyful piece that is poignant as well as entertaining to anyone of any age, an Oscar is deserved. For the Birds ranks with its Oscar Winning predecessor Geri's Game as a tiny slice of genius. Bravo. let's hope it ends up on the Monster's Inc DVD. **** out of ****.

Better than Monsters Inc.

[PlanecrazyIkarus · 4 February 2002]

This short little gem was screened before Monsters Inc. And it was the best part of the coming 2 hours or so. It's endearing, it's hilarious, and it's cute and adorable. It got more laughs in its 5 minutes than Monsters Inc got during its 90.

I'd highly recommend this short movie to anyone. Perfect entertainment.

Yeah, It's Cute & Clever But Also Over-Praised

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 27 June 2007]

This three-minute cartoon won an Oscar for Best Animated Short For 2000. It also won numerous other awards. It can be seen as a feature on the "Monsters, Inc.," DVD.

I agree with reviewer "Jack The Ripper 1888" that it was enjoyable and pretty good....but what's all the fuss about? 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 guess the fun in here wasn't the one joke, which you could see coming, but the little things that led up to it. 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. I enjoyed the other cartoon in this DVD, "Mike's New Car," more than this one, although both were fun to watch.

Yes, yes, it's all true!

[Anonymous_Maxine · 10/10 · 26 March 2002]

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. Bravo!

short and sweet

[foohm · 7/10 · 19 April 2005]

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. Along comes this "Big bird" like creature who is (oh so) eager to join in - to the displeasure of members of the group because he simply does not fit in. They plot to get rid of him, but get their just deserts in the end.

This is a simple story and one that has been re-hashed many times. Yet, one has to marvel at the attention to detail the story tellers at Pixar have put in. According to the Pixar website (www.pixar.com), each of the birds on the wire were given a name and a personality (eg. Chipper, Bully, Snob and Neurotic). Pay attention to how these differences are expressed in each bird. 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". Eggleston started out his career as an animator and gradually moved up to director, a path much unlike other directors who start out in film or TV. So perhaps it's with this film that he shows that it isn't so bad to be the odd one out amongst one's peers after all.

The Angry Birds Origin Story!

[AhmedSpielberg99 · 8/10 · 23 August 2019]

The message here may be muddled and a bit heavy-handed (I mean, the small birds wouldn't have fallen, if that goofy bird hadn't perched on the wire in the first place), but the film is really has more than meets the eye. The film is obviously about prejudice. It tells us that different doesn't necessarily equal inferior. That we should adapt to others who look different from us. And that sometimes we really need to be different. But I really liked the hidden message in this one, which is about tolerance. The goofy big bird is totally indifferent to all the rejection and harassment he gets from the small birds. I don't know whether he is tolerable, confident or simply naïve, but I liked how he insisted to stay among them despite everything.

(8/10)

Funny.

[colorthekid · 7/10 · 28 December 2019]

The clowns became the clowned.

I literally have no idea why I'm reviewing these Pixar shorts, but here you go. It's a short, and Pixar made it.

don't think kids can understand a film with no dialog?

[xoemjb15 · 1/10 · 23 October 2007]

"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. I would recommend it to anyone, especially children, though there wasn't any dialog the humor came across just as good or even better as if there was. But without dialog small facts to embrace the film can be difficult to get across. 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. I also don't think the title was appealing, it sounds kind of awkward and I didn't see the connection to the film.

Tex Avery would be proud!

[llltdesq · 10/10 · 24 January 2003]

This is one of the funniest shorts I've ever seen! Lots of things popped into my head while watching this: it's an example of instant karmic payback, for one, an equally solid example of the law of unintended consequences as well. This has got to have one of the top five closing sight gags of all time! Tex Avery would have probably loved this one! I for one hope that Pixar continues to do shorts of one stripe or another, because the ones I've seen are fabulously done. I haven't even watched Monsters Inc. yet and consider the DVD worth the price of admission just to see For the Birds. The rest is icing on the cake. Excellent piece of work and well worth watching. Most highly recommended!

Very funny one-joke short

[bob the moo · 21 February 2002]

A group of small birds nestle comfortably on a telephone wire. When a large bird wants to join them they treat him with contempt and make fun of him. 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. It is a very simple short, with no dialogue. The little birds are really cool with great facial expressions and manage to be really likeable. 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. It feels better than it is because it is a one-joke short, if they'd had to make this longer I think it would have suffered. 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!). Funny, warm but ultimately forgettable.

Perfect Brilliance!

[Bob__Loblaw · 10/10 · 24 March 2002]

Not one wasted shot! Perfect timing and structure. One of, if not the best animated short I have ever seen. After I saw this, I sat down and thought about it. I thought of how long its been since we had such a Marvelous 5 minutes of animation on the same level of Chuck Jones. How wonderful to have some creative forces to share with us this vision and hopefully more in the future.

I wonder if the little guys hate Pixar?

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 8 February 2008]

This is a wacky little short that is about one big and dumb bird and his dealings with lots of mean little birds. The big guy just wants to be friends, but the nasty little guys want him to go away and don't care what they have to do to make it happen--leading to a very funny conclusion where the little jerks get theirs!

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! It's a definite case of "David versus Goliath", though in this case Goliath definitely wins! Pixar couldn't help but win--the graphics were, as usual, superb, the writing was spot on and brilliant and it was just so gosh-darn cute and entertaining. So for the "little guys", it's definitely a huge struggle to beat such a great combination. This film definitely earned the award, but you gotta wonder how tough it must feel to be one of these other filmmakers. Perhaps, in an odd way, this film might be a metaphor about this struggle.

Ah this is just genius!!

[highkite · 9/10 · 3 August 2006]

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. For three whole minutes, this little film has you in hysterics. 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 comes over and stands with them, pulling the wire down. 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 not exactly targeted to children, nor is it targeted towards animated short buffs. 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. Definitely worth at least one viewing for pure entertainment! 9/10

A Highlight in Pixar's Catalog

[nikitalinivenko · 7/10 · 27 October 2019]

A flock of small birds goof around on a telephone wire, tease a large flamboyant bird (who is basically their Jar-Jar Binks), then wind up with their feathers floating in the air, and Jar-Jar bird laughing at them. The animation itself was a new challenge for the Pixar team, who had to figure out how to animate all those individual feathers, and their efforts were rewarded with an Oscar for animated short. Though they've topped themselves since then, this is still one of their most memorable and re-watchable little outings.

Flawless short

[neil-476 · 10/10 · 1 February 2013]

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. It is difficult to believe that so much character and communication is achievable in this small blue spiteful balls of feathers, but then one remembers how human they managed to make a metal box with a pair of binoculars on top in WALL-E.

The 3D, though not flashy, works well in this very funny, and highly recommended, short film.

Revenge of the big bird

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 18 May 2015]

"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. Surprisingly, after his Oscar win, Mr. Eggleston changed from animation department to art department in the animation sector for most of his following projects. We see a group of restless angry small birds who seem to peck after everything and everybody that annoys them, so after attacking each other, their focus is quickly on a big blue bird that makes another noise than they do. They quickly hunt him away, but he still hangs in. Too late the little fellows understand what him letting loose means. This moment of realization is possibly the funniest part of the film. So you probably know who finally has the last laugh. It's an entertaining three minutes, but I would not say it is Oscar worthy, at least not in terms of the story. Still certainly worth a watch. Recommended and I wonder if the big bird is going to get his own film at some point. Probably not.

The message behind the humor

[lukecon-63436 · 8/10 · 22 January 2021]

For the Birds is an amazing short film that manages to be interesting rather than just an entertaining experience. The really interesting message that the short has to offer basically handles our perceptions of one's weakness, and how we underestimate one's potential power and then soon realize our misjudgments. This is allegorically represented by the birds and their conflict that they encounter. How they view this particular character, however, is the misjudgment they make when he winds up wreaking havoc on them.

For the love of feathers

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 3 July 2018]

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. Thye make fun of him because he does not look like them and try to force him off the line. In short treat him like an outcast.

The large bird gets the last laugh as his size means their feathers are more than ruffled.

Meh...

[ashfordofficial · 1/10 · 12 December 2021]

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short at the 74th Academy Awards.

I have praise for the animation, but the story wasn't quite enjoyable.