''The ChubbChubbs!'' is a 2002 American
computer-animated
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...
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 ...
by
Sony Pictures Imageworks
Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. is a Canadian visual effects and computer animation studio headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with an additional office on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California. SPI is a unit of Sony Pi ...
. It was directed by Eric Armstrong, produced by Jacquie Barnbrook, and written by Jeff Wolverton.
''The ChubbChubbs!'' won 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 ...
in 2003.
Plot
Meeper, the janitor of an alien pub called the Ale-E-Inn, has higher aspirations—a karaoke performer. After he accidentally electrocutes a singer, he is ejected from the pub. Outside, he is told by an incautious
Gungan that "The ChubbChubbs are coming!" Meeper sees aircraft land in the distance, and huge, weapon-bearing monsters exit the craft. He assumes these are the ChubbChubbs.
Meeper rushes to warn the pub, and some
chicks he finds pecking at the ground outside, but each of his attempts further injures the singer. Once the patrons are finally warned by a different visitor, the pub is promptly emptied due to said patrons taking off in panic, leaving Meeper behind during the process. When the monsters begin closing in to the pub, Meeper hides the chicks under his bucket in an attempt to save them. He then launches into a rendition of "
Why Can't We Be Friends?
''Why Can't We Be Friends?'' is the seventh studio album by American funk band War, released on June 16, 1975 by United Artists Records. Two singles from the album were released: the title track backed with "In Mazatlan", and "Low Rider" back ...
" until, caught up in the song, he accidentally trips over the bucket, revealing the chicks. The monsters flee, screaming, "It's the ChubbChubbs!" The chicks reveal their razor sharp teeth and devour the monsters, who are actually known as Zyzaks. They gather around Meeper, who says, "So... You guys into karaoke?"
As the credits roll, Meeper and the ChubbChubbs sing a rewrite of
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
's "
Respect
Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...
" in the pub. When the song is finished, there is dead silence. The ChubbChubbs glare and reveal their teeth in a sense of threat, and the crowd hastily bursts into applause.
Cast
* Brad Simonsen as Meeper
* Jeff Wolverton as the ChubbChubbs
* Mortonette Jenkins as Singing Diva
*
Peter Lurie
Peter Lurie is an American voice actor, sports anchor and television personality who has worked in television shows, movies, and dubbed anime, since the mid-1990s. He is most well known for his role as the voice of Vulcan Raven in the ''Metal ...
as Zyzaks
*
Rick Zieff
Richard Evan Zieff (born November 1, 1961), also known as Danny Katiana, is an American actor and voice-over coach.
Career
His career in voice-overs dates back to the mid-1980s. He has also appeared in such films as '' Mississippi Burning'', '' ...
as Bouncer
* Dustin Adair, Eric Armstrong, Yakov Baytler, Mary Biondo, Sumit Das, Layne Friedman, Robert Gordon, Sully Jacome-Wilkes, Franco Pietrantonio, Rick Richards,
Chance Thomas, Julie Zackary as Glorfs
* Evan Wu as Various aliens
Production
The short was "originally conceived as a pipeline test to help determine the studio’s strengths and weaknesses in producing all-CG animation within the Imageworks production environment."
Release
''The ChubbChubbs!'' was theatrically released on July 3, 2002, along with ''
Men in Black II
''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro. It is the second film in the original trilogy and a sequel to ''M ...
''.
Due to its success, it was re-released on July 19 of that year with ''
Stuart Little 2
''Stuart Little 2'' is a 2002 American live action/computer-animated comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff and starring Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Lipnicki, and the voices of Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little and Nathan Lane as Snowbell th ...
''.
The short got a DVD release on November 26, 2002, as a bonus feature also attached to ''Men in Black II''.
On April 11, 2003, the short was released on its own DVD, and with a running time of 5 minutes, 37 seconds is considered likely the briefest DVD ever released.
''The ChubbChubbs!'' and its sequel ''
The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas
''The ChubbChubbs!'' is a 2002 American computer-animated short film by Sony Pictures Imageworks. It was directed by Eric Armstrong, produced by Jacquie Barnbrook, and written by Jeff Wolverton.
''The ChubbChubbs!'' won the Academy Award for Be ...
'' were released on October 9, 2007, for the first time on Blu-ray, attached as a bonus to ''
Surf's Up''.
Accolades
*
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 ...
Cancelled adaptations
A feature-length animated film and a television series based on the short were in development in 2003 at
Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by Son ...
.
Dan Wilson and Dave Gilbreth had been hired to write the film's screenplay, but since then, there has been no further news about the projects.
Sequel
A sequel, ''The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas'', was theatrically released on August 8, 2007, along with
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...
''
Daddy Day Camp
''Daddy Day Camp'' (also known as ''Daddy Day Care 2'') is a 2007 American comedy film starring Cuba Gooding Jr., and directed by Fred Savage in his feature film directorial debut. It is the second installment in the ''Daddy Day Care'' film se ...
'', and was produced by
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
and
Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by Son ...
.
See also
*
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events.
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 2002 by worldwide gross are as follows:
2002 was the first year to see three films cross the eight-hundred-million-dollar mileston ...
*
List of fictional aliens
References
External links
Official websiteat Sony Pictures Animation
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chubbchubbs, The
2002 animated films
2002 computer-animated films
2002 science fiction films
2002 short films
2002 films
2000s American animated films
2000s animated short films
Best Animated Short Academy Award winners
Columbia Pictures short films
Columbia Pictures animated short films
American animated short films
Sony Pictures Animation short films
2000s English-language films