''The ChubbChubbs!'' is a 2002 American 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 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 four chicks under his bucket in an attempt to save them. He then launches into a rendition of " Why Can't We Be Friends?" 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. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

's "

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or deferential 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 th ...

" 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 * Zachary Gordon as Brad Spoylt * Mortonette Jenkins as Singing Diva * Peter Lurie as Zyzaks * Rick Zieff 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-CGI animation within the Sony Pictures 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 based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in ass ...

''. The short got a DVD release on November 26, 2002, as a bonus feature also attached to ''Men in Black II''. The short was also included on the release of the puzzle game '' Frantix'' for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

which also included Meeper as a playable character. On April 11, 2003, the short was released on its own DVD, and with a running time of 5 minutes and 37 seconds is considered likely the briefest DVD ever released. ''The ChubbChubbs!'' and its sequel ''The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas'' were released on October 9, 2007, for the first time on Blu-ray, attached as a bonus to '' Surf's Up''.

Accolades

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. (also referred to as Sony Animation Studios and abbreviated to SPA) is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and found ...

. Dan Wilson and Dave Gilbreth were 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 part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The compan ...

'' Daddy Day Camp'', reissued with '' Surf's Up'', and was produced by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

and

References

External links

Official website
at Sony Pictures Animation * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chubbchubbs, The 2002 computer-animated films 2002 science fiction films 2002 comedy films 2000s American animated films 2002 animated short films Best Animated Short Academy Award winners Columbia Pictures short films Columbia Pictures animated short films American animated short films 2000s English-language films English-language science fiction films English-language short films