Automania

The NFB's 22nd Oscar®-nominated film.

This animated short proposes what many earthlings have long feared – that the automobile has inherited the planet. When life on Earth is portrayed as one long, unending conga-line of cars, a crew of extra-terrestrial visitors understandably assume they are the dominant race. While humans, on the other hand, are merely parasites. An Oscar® nominee, this film serves as an entertaining case study.

In this animated short, Frank proves he’s no ordinary rabbit. He's a highly intelligent "wrabbit" with a philosophical world view that affords him great comfort. Unfortunately, his outlook is challenged when the farmer's carrots disappear. His quick wit allows him to survive and prosper. In Frank the Wrabbit, filmmaker John Weldon tells a deceptively simple tale with a subversive twist.

This funny yet serious short film demonstrates the effectiveness of advertising and the marketing machine. Its comic appeal lies in the characters and the absurd situations they find themselves in, but it also shines a harsh light on our tendency towards needless consumerism prompted by a steady flow of commercials.

The NFB's 53rd Oscar®-nominated film.

This wonderful wacky animation film looks at two simultaneous conflicts, a macrocosm of global nuclear war and a microcosm of a domestic quarrel, and how each conflict is resolved. Filled with warmth and unexpectedly off-the-wall humour, the film leaves it to viewers to decide which Snit has really been the Big One.

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The NFB's 30th Oscar®-nominated film.

In this short animation, adapted from E.B. White's tall tale, we meet a family of seven who live happily in isolation on a small island in Barnetuck Bay. Somehow, word gets out that they are in distress and an ill-conceived rescue attempt makes for some unexpected adventures.

For more background information on this film, please visit the NFB.ca blog.

The NFB's 56th Oscar®-nominated film.

This hilarious animated short is based on the century-old folk song of the same name. Old Mr. Johnson makes increasingly manic attempts to rid himself of a little yellow cat that just won't stay away...

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In this animated short, the traditional folklore tale of Pinocchio takes a wry turn. This time around, the hero, a carved wooden puppet named Spinnolio, is totally devoid of mobility and human consciousness. Noted for his "cool head" and unruffled personality, he makes a totally passive, though quite successful go at life, until his employer decides to replace him with a computer. A reflection on consciousness, the work ethic, interpersonal relationships and the citizen in society.

In this animated short, Richard Condie offers up a history lesson about one of the most sensational get-rich-quick schemes that took place in France over 200 years ago. With economist John Law at the helm, the plan was to open a bank and exchange bank notes for gold at wildly inflated share prices to mask the fact that the country's gold had been depleted in the building of Louis XIV's palace. When the inevitable rush to cash in the notes takes place, poor John Law is left broke and broken-hearted.

For more background info on this film, visit the NFB.ca blog.

Easily one of the most often-requested films in the NFB collection, this lighthearted animated short is based on the song “The Log Driver’s Waltz” by Wade Hemsworth. Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing along to the tale of a young girl who loves to dance and chooses to marry a log driver over his more well-to-do competitors.

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This lively satire uses animation and a pseudo-documentary style to depict Canada's search for a national identity. The National Scream explains, amongst other elements of Canadiana, how and why the beaver became the country's symbol.

The NFB's 62nd Oscar®-nominated film.

In this animated short, the classic tale of temptation is revealed in the form of a comic opera. In a room full of wind-up toys, our hero sets a chain of events into motion that ends up disturbing both his own, and the viewer's, sense of reality. La Salla has won many awards and earned an Oscar®-nomination.