''The Killing of an Egg'' (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

title ''Ei om Zeep'', literally "Egg for Soap") is an animated short directed by Paul Driessen and produced by Nico Crama in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1977.

Synopsis

The film starts with a bald, obese man in a bright yellow shirt preparing to eat breakfast, a

soft-boiled egg Boiled eggs are eggs, typically from a chicken, cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while soft-boiled eggs may leave the yolk, ...

. As he taps the shell with his spoon, a voice (in heavily accented English) says "Hey, who is it?" As the man continues to tap, it becomes clear the voice is coming from the egg. The man continues tapping away over the egg's protests, ultimately sadistically crushing the egg with his hands. He has no sooner stopped than he hears a tapping from outside his home. He says, in a voice identical to that from the egg, "Hey, who is it?" He sees no one at the door, but the tapping continues, and the unseen force starts smashing the roof and walls, until the whole house implodes and crushes the man over his horrified objections.

Production

He worked on this and ''David'' after his first few films at

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 ...

Legacy

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

aired the short film in between its regular programming throughout the 1990s. This short film influenced

Stephen Hillenburg Stephen McDannell Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 – November 26, 2018) was an American animator, writer, producer, director, and marine science educator. He is known for creating the Nickelodeon animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants' ...

to consider the field of animation.Stephen Hillenburg: marine biologist whi created Spongebob Squarepants, The Independent, The Independent
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External links

British Film Institute's entry on The Killing of an Egg
*
The entire film on YouTube

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Killing Of An Egg Dutch animated films 1970s animated short films 1977 films 1977 animated films Films directed by Paul Driessen Dutch animated short films 1970s English-language films