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

animated short Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

by Alison Snowden 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 The 67th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 27, 1995, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the cer ...

, and serves as the pilot to the animated series ''

Bob and Margaret ''Bob and Margaret'' is an adult animated sitcom created by David Fine and Alison Snowden and co-produced by Nelvana Limited and Channel 4 as a collaboration, both financial and artistic. The last two seasons were co-produced without Channel 4 ...

''. 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; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

'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, and suggests that Margaret should find another husband. He 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. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' 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), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nominee for Best Theatrical Short Film at the

15th Genie Awards The 15th Genie Awards were held on December 7, 1994 to honour Canadian films released in 1993. Actor Graham Greene hosted the ceremony. Building on the success of its Genie specials of the last two years, the academy and the CBC produced two show ...

."Exotica dominates Genie nominations". ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', October 20, 1994.

References

External links