''Blowhard'' is a Canadian animated
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
, directed by Brad Caslor and
Christopher Hinton for the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
in 1978. A satire of
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
, the film centres on a businessman who moves to Blowhard, a town populated by
dragons but without electrical power, and formulates a plan to profit and become rich by exploiting the dragons as a power source.
[William Beard and Jerry White, ''North of Everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980''. ]University of Alberta Press
University of Alberta Press (UAlberta Press) is a publishing house and a division of the University of Alberta that engages in academic publishing.
Overview
UAlberta Press is situated in the Rutherford Library on the University of Alberta campu ...
, 2002. . p. 76.
The film was made for the NFB's ''Renewable Society'' series.
[ It also served as a subtle comment on Western Canadian alienation, as businessman J. B. Edwards was "from the East" and the town of Blowhard was "in the West".][ It was narrated by Maara Haas, and also featured Wayne Finucan as the voice of J. B. Edwards.
The film received a ]Canadian Film Award
The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...
nomination for Best Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...
at the 29th Canadian Film Awards in 1978 and it won a Golden Sheaf Award for Best Animation at the Yorkton Film Festival
Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada.
In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...
.United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
on Cartoon Network's ''O Canada
"O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...
'' anthology series of NFB animated shorts.
References
External links
*
1978 films
1978 animated films
Canadian animated short films
National Film Board of Canada animated short films
Animated films about dragons
1970s English-language films
1970s Canadian films
Films directed by Christopher Hinton
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