''Hot Stuff'' is a 1971

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 ...

directed and animated by Zlatko Grgic and written by Don Arioli. Produced by 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 ...

for the Dominion Fire Commission, a department of

Public Works Canada Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC; french: Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada)''Public Services and Procurement Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Public Works ...

, the nine-minute short on

fire safety Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...

offers a humorous look Internet Archive
/ref> at the origins, benefits and dangers of fire.

Production

Grgic was recruited by for the NFB by producers

Robert Verrall Robert Verrall (born January 13, 1928 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian animator, director, film producer and administrator who worked with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) from 1945 until the 1980s. One of the first to join the NFB's fled ...

and

Wolf Koenig Wolf Koenig (October 17, 1927 – June 26, 2014) was a Canadian film director, Film producer, producer, animator, cinematographer, and a pioneer in Direct Cinema at the National Film Board of Canada. Early life Born in Dresden, Germany, Koenig em ...

after they saw his film ''Scabies''. Much of ''Hot Stuffs humour had been initially

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

; Gerald Budner, who was himself an animator, ad-libbed voices for two of the characters, a snake and a cat. Arioli had been annoyed with Budner's banter, but Koenig insisted on retaining these

aside An aside is a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention, the audience is to realize that the character's speech is unheard by the other characters on stage. It may be addressed to the audience expressly (in charact ...

s. Grgic was also given freedom to improvise by the producers.

Release

''Hot Stuff'' was one of seven NFB animated shorts acquired by the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

, marking the first time NFB films had been sold to a major American television network. It aired on ABC in the fall of 1971 as part of the children's television show ''

Curiosity Shop ''Curiosity Shop'' is an American children's educational television program produced by ABC. The show was executive produced by veteran Looney Tunes director/animator Chuck Jones, sponsored by the Kellogg's cereal company and created as a comme ...

'', executive produced by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

. It also aired (minus the opening & closing credits) on ''

The Great Space Coaster ''The Great Space Coaster'' is a children's television show that was broadcast in first-run syndication from 1981 to 1986. Production The series was co-created by Kermit Love (original Muppet designer and builder for Jim Henson) and Jim Martin ...

'' in the 1980s.

Awards

* International Animation Film Festival, New York: Grand Prix - Silver Praxinoscope, Educational, 1972 *World Festival of Animated Films,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

: Best Educational Film, 1972 *

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is a long-running, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a ...

: Gold Medal, Safety, 1972 * Melbourne Film Festival,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

: Diploma of Merit, 1972 *

International Short Film Festival Oberhausen The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, founded in 1954, is one of the oldest short film festivals in the world. Held in Oberhausen, it is one of the major international platforms for the short form. The festival holds an International C ...

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

, Germany: Diploma of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations, 1972 * National Committee on Films for Safety, Chicago: Bronze Plaque, 1972 *

23rd Canadian Film Awards The 23rd Canadian Film Awards were held on October 1, 1971 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 93-95. The ceremo ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

: Best Screenplay, Fiction, Don Arioli, 1972

References

External links

Watch ''Hot Stuff'' at NFB.ca
*
''Hot Stuff'' on Amazon
1971 films National Film Board of Canada animated short films Fire prevention Sponsored films Social guidance films Canadian comedy short films 1970s animated short films 1971 animated films Films produced by Robert Verrall 1970s Canadian films Canadian educational films {{1970s-short-animation-film-stub