''Bob's Birthday'' is a 1993 Canadian-British

animated short Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

Alison Snowden Alison Snowden (born 4 April 1958) is an English animator, voice actress, producer, and screenwriter best known for ''Bob and Margaret'' alongside her Oscar-winning short ''Bob's Birthday'' which was also co-directed by her husband David Fine (f ...

and David Fine, winner of the

Academy Award 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 67th Academy Awards, and serves as the pilot to the animated series '' Bob & Margaret''. It features a humorous look at how Margaret plans to throw a surprise birthday party for Bob on his 40th birthday, as he struggles with the sudden impact of middle age. ''Bob's Birthday'' has won 10 awards, one of which includes 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 ...

's 60th Oscar nomination. The film was inspired by the creators, Alison Snowden and David Fine, both turning 30.

Plot

Bob Fish's wife, Margaret, is attempting to throw a surprise birthday celebration for Bob while he is at work; she tells him that they are going to a restaurant when she calls him. Bob works as a dentist and is seemingly going through a mid-life crisis on his 40th birthday. The short film shows Bob staring at a young woman in the office while his wife is at home working on the surprise party. She has a closet full of decorations to make the celebration fun for everyone. Back in the office, one of Bob's patients goes on to tell him that he had read that dentists have the highest suicide rate of all professions and continues to ask about his hours and salary while Bob works on the patient's teeth. The film continues at Bob and Margaret's home where all of their friends have arrived for the party. As they await Bob's presence, Margaret watches the time and quickly checks the window to notice he is driving down the road and tells the guests to hide until she gives a signal for them to come out. When Bob arrives, he walks directly to the kitchen, disregarding Margaret, and then asks her if she is bothered that they never had children and questions whether he should leave his job as a dentist. The guests continue to hide while Bob goes upstairs to change. As he is changing he comes down the stairs not wearing pants and Margaret frantically tells him to put pants on. He takes this to offence and says that she used to love when he did that, furthering his mid-life crisis even more. Bob continues speaking about how all of their friends, who are hiding behind couches and listening, are not really their friends and that they do not even like them. He goes on to say that Margaret should find another husband and becomes jealous. Bob yells up to Margaret, who is in the bedroom and upset over the disaster of a surprise party, and says that they should have children. He goes on to ask if she finds him attractive while she brings down pants and trousers for him. Bob goes outside to wait in the car because he still believes they are going out for dinner. Margaret follows him, knowing the party she had planned is now destroyed, and leaves all their friends she had invited behind.

Cast

Production

The short film took two years to complete. The movie had a budget of $335,000, partially financed by the

. David Fine and Alison Snowden met as students at the National Film and Television School in 1980, and later went on to produce this Oscar winning short animated film.

Critical reception

The short film has had few critics to share how well the movie portrays a mid-life crisis at the age of 40. One critic review from the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' in 1995 said "The National Film Board's animated short, Bob's Birthday, Canada's only contender for an Oscar this year, is not a party for kids. It's not a party at all. It's a wry tale of could-be-real, mid-life crisis that animators Alison Snowden and David Fine need just 12 minutes and 18 seconds to tell more effectively than most documentaries on the subject." The film was a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

nominee for Best Theatrical Short Film at the

15th Genie Awards The 15th Genie Awards were held in 1994. Nominees and winners The Genie Award nominees, with winners in each category shown in bold text: References External links Genie Awards 1994 on imdb {{Canadian Screen Awards 15 Genie Genie J ...

."Exotica dominates Genie nominations". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', October 20, 1994.

References

External links

* *Watc
''Bob's Birthday''
at the