''Get a Job'' is a 1985 comedic musical animated short by Brad Caslor, featuring a rendition of
the song of the same name, made famous by
The Silhouettes
The Silhouettes were an American doo wop/ R&B group, whose single " Get a Job" was a number 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. The doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song's lyric ...
.
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 ...
in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, the project took Caslor seven years to complete, from conception to release. Caslor began the film as a
social guidance film
Social guidance films constitute a genre of educational films attempting to guide children and adults to behave in certain ways. Originally produced by the U.S. government as "attitude-building films" during World War II, the genre grew to be a co ...
for the Canadian government, however, during production it evolved into a more comedic work, incorporating a wide range of classic animation characters and techniques, including the styles of
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American a ...
and
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer. He was best known for his work on the '' Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows '' ...
.
Al Simmons
Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...
and
Jay Brazeau
Jay Brazeau is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Sam Fisher in ''Cold Squad'', as Harlan in ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and for voicing Uncle Quigley in '' Sabrina: The Animated Series''. He is also known for his role as Bobby in ...
performed the music in the film, which received the
at the
8th Genie Awards
The 8th Annual Genie Awards were held on March 18, 1987 to honour Canadian films made the previous year.Greg Quill, "Decline rises to top Genie nominations". ''Toronto Star'', February 5, 1987.
The awards were dominated by Denys Arcand's ''The De ...
.
Fellow Winnipeg animator
Cordell Barker
Cordell Barker (born 1956) is a Canadian animator based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He began animating in his late teens after taking on an apprenticeship at Kenn Perkins Animation. A two-time Academy Award nominee, Barker is an animation filmmaker wi ...
did animation work on the film.
Synopsis
A unemployed cartoon dog named Bob attempts to get a job on hilarious occasions.
Plot
The cartoon begins with Bob Dog walking into town. Suddenly he meets three singers and attempts to find a job, but it backfires when Bob got booted out for each attempt. Discouraged, Bob returns to his apartment and watches television about
a couple getting divorced. He doses off to sleep and starts to dream.
In Bob's dream, he encounters several singers about jobs ending with a trio of singing female pigs. He gets his resume and strolls into the city, dodging cars and enters a building with his scheduled resume appointments. He enters a room filled with a bunch of angry people staring at him. When the attendant calls Bob's name, he nervously walks to the office with the people still staring down at him. Just as he arrives at the office, the attendant instantly kicks him out. The singing pigs appear again, giving him a second chance. This time, Bob becomes aggressive and grows into a muscular size. He barges into a boss's office and attacks him, throwing him into a wall. He tries to have a job at this office, but the angry boss grabs Bob and kicks him out, and crashes into an elevator. The singing pigs once again give him one more chance. Another boss calls out “Next!”, and Bob enters with a bunch of instruments attached to him, only for the boss to use the trap door on him.
Bob finds himself out on the streets in a trash can, and meets a group of street cats. They mock him about getting a job. And Bob screams while the cats continue to taunt him. Suddenly Bob wakes up from his dream with the television still on. The telephone rings and Bob answers it, and he received a call from his dad that he got the job, much to his delight, ending the cartoon.
See also
*
K-Tel
K-tel International Ltd is a Canadian company which formerly specialized in selling consumer products through infomercials and live demonstration. Its products include compilation music albums, including ''The Super Hits'' series, ''The Dynami ...
*
Doo-wop
Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...
*
The Andrew Sisters-whom the singing female pigs resembled
References
External links
''Get a Job''at the National Film Board of Canada
*
{{ACCT Short Films
1985 animated films
1985 films
1980s animated short films
Cinema of Manitoba
National Film Board of Canada animated short films
Best Animated Short Film Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Animated comedy films
Animated musical films
English-language Canadian films
1980s Canadian films