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The ChubbChubbs!

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The ChubbChubbs!
Poster
Directed byEric Armstrong
Written byJeff Wolverton
Produced byJacquie Barnbook
StarringBradford Simonsen
Jeff Wolverton
Eric Armstrong
Mortonette Jenkins
Peter Lurie
Rick Zieff
Edited byRobert Gordon
Music byChance Thomas
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
Running time
5 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

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 in 2003.[1]

Plot

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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?" 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's "Respect" 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

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  • Brad Simonsen as Meeper
  • Jeff Wolverton as the ChubbChubbs
  • 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

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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".[2]

Release

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The ChubbChubbs! was theatrically released on July 3, 2002, along with Men in Black II.[3] Due to its success, it was re-released on July 19 of that year with Stuart Little 2.

The short got a DVD release on November 26, 2002, as a bonus feature also attached to Men in Black II.[3][4] The short was also included on the release of the puzzle game Frantix for the PlayStation Portable which also included Meeper as a playable character.[5] 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.[6] 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

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Cancelled adaptations

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A feature-length animated film and a television series based on the short were in development in 2003 at Sony Pictures Animation.[9][3] Dan Wilson and Dave Gilbreth were hired to write the film's screenplay,[10] but since then, there has been no further news about the projects.

Sequel

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A sequel, The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas, was theatrically released on August 8, 2007, along with TriStar Pictures Daddy Day Camp, reissued with Surf's Up, and was produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation.[11][12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The 75th Academy Awards". Oscars. March 23, 2003. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  2. ^ Raugust, Karen (May 30, 2006). "The Value of Shorts". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Gold, Noe (December 9, 2003). "The hubbub over 'ChubbChubbs'". Variety. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  4. ^ Siechen, Todd (November 26, 2002). "Men in Black II". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  5. ^ Allen, Jason (July 13, 2005). "FRANTIX Gets Star Power". IGN. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  6. ^ Kleinmann, Geoffrey (April 15, 2003). "The Chubbchubbs!". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  7. ^ "Short Film Oscar® Winners in 2003-Oscars on YouTube". Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ Sony Pictures Digital (May 9, 2003). "Sony Pictures Animation Announces Projects for Directors Jill Culton, Anthony Stacchi, Roger Allers, Brenda Chapman and the Brizzi Brothers" (Press release). PR Newswire. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  10. ^ Brodesser, Claude (October 22, 2003). "Short 'Chubbchubbs' is going long for Sony". Variety. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  11. ^ "The ChubbChubbs are Back!". ComingSoon.net. August 6, 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  12. ^ PIMPJOE_ESB (August 8, 2007). "Catch the ChubbChubbs Saving Xmas With "Daddy Day Camp"". CountingDown.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
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