What on Earth!

Some Martians have visited Earth, not landing, but making visual scans. It is determined that our cars and other vehicles are the indigenous Earth people. Once that is assumed, all the activities of motorized vehicles seem to parallel a kind of civilization. They investigate travel, garages, junk yards, used car lots, road signs, on and on. The pompous narrator really helps because at no time does he get anything right. But his tone makes it seem like this is the way it is.

I've stumbled upon this short animated feature by accident but was absolutely fascinated by its premise - it is a fictional documentary made from a perspective of Mars scientists and their beliefs about life on Earth. It grabs your attention from the get-go and 9 minutes pass by very quickly; the idea of having cars as true inhabitants of Earth is not new but it's the way it's presented that keeps you interested. People are shown as parasites that stand in the way of real progress and the whole cartoon can be interpreted as a satirical commentary on current life that people are living. Machines are doing everything for us now and what are we doing to leave a trace on this Earth? Exactly! Great short feature and a very well-crafted piece of art.

Is there life on Earth? From a Martian perspective, their scientists discover that humans have four wheels, guzzle fuel and basically just party through life before undergoing the ultimate process of recycling/sex! This animation is great fun, as is the narrative - it pokes fun at the simplest of activities we do in our cars - petrol stations, traffic jams, car washes and it even attributes human traits to the humble traffic light! Accompanied by a swinging soundtrack, this is well worth a watch, as the Martians wonder what is the purpose of an "Earthling"! Produced by the Canadian National Film Board.

This short, nominated for an Academy Award, is a very funny and very pointed satire that really deserves to be more widely seen than it has been. Produced under the auspices of the NFBC, it scores points in quite a few areas, lampooning aspects of modern culture. Produced in 1967, the points it makes are just as cogent and valid today. Until recently, Cartoon Network showed this occasionally on the very late-night series, O Canada, which, sadly, is not currently airing. Cartoons are not just for children and much of the output from the National Film Board of Canada shows that they understand this. Try and catch this somewhere if you can. It's most definitely worth seeing. Most recommended.

Earthlings. They have strange names that consist of two groups of three letters and numbers. They have strange lives, as they play on complicated running fields all day. Their reproduction process is most confusing, and most efficient also. They communicate by making strange honking sounds. But thanks to painstaking research by Martian scientists and Martian probes, we are understanding them more and more, and hope to make contact with them one day.

This satirical short is only ten or so minutes long, but in that time it accomplishes plenty. It cuts to the truth of this world. What is the dominant species of the planet Earth? Why, automobiles, of course. This excellent short, while not perfect (the reproduction sequence took a little too long), takes a very amusing look at the people of Earth and their strange habits. 9/10.