The Chubbchubbs!

This 5 minute, 41 second computer-animated short can be found on the second disc of the 2-DVD special edition of "Men in Black 2". And at such a short running time manages to be much more enjoyable then the main feature. The cartoon deals with an alien janitor named Mupps, and his dreams of singing in the intergalactic bar that he works at. A bar inhabited by a great many recognizable patrons. When he find out the Chubbchubbs are coming, he tries to warn everyone with comical consequences. I won't give away any more except to say this cute short deserved the two awards that it won from the Academy.

My Grade: B+

This short movie won the makers the Best Short Animation Oscar in 2003. I agree with it. This is a funny, beautiful and unique story with merry songs. The main character is a tender alien who likes singing a song and longs in be a singer. However, it does not seem to come true. One day, big enemies attacked the town, what does he do then? In the film, there are various unique and cute aliens including Yoda who is in a StarWars. So, the person who love alien like me may really enjoy it. In addition, I also like the music. Their singing and dancing are strange and funny, but very cute. However, I don't recommend watching for young children. It's totally cute, but the scenes of the fight are too frightened. If you are not too easily scared, you should watch right now and then go to karaoke! It's only 5 minutes and their visuals and music are fantastic!

'The Chubbchubbs!' is a nice animated short that won the Oscar in its category. I have to admit it is pretty funny. There are a lot of references to science-fiction films. Obvious references are Darth Vader, Yoda and Jar Jar Binks from 'Star Wars' and we see E.T. in a bicycle. Harder to find but also there are references to 'Alien', 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' and 'Lost in Space'.

So the short is fun because you can spot the little references, but without those things it is quite good anyway. The animations are very well done, the story has a nice little twist and simply said, it is funny. Most animated short films have the biggest laugh in the end, 'The Chubbchubbs!' is no exception, but there are quite some good moments before that as well.

The story is quite simple. A whole bunch of recognizable aliens are at a night club where a singer is belting out RESPECT. A janitor alien thinks he can sing. When the Chubbchubbs show up (monstrous giants with evil intent) the place is deserted, leaving our hero to confront them. But there is a surprise for these guys. It's visually fun and mostly predictable.

I saw this as an added extra on the DVD Special Edition of Men In Black II. The movie was thoroughly forgettable, but The Chubbchubbs was worth the price of admission alone! Only about five minutes in length, but packs in quite a bit for such a comparatively short piece. It has the best bar scene since Star Wars (check out the "cameos"), unusual renditions of "Respect" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?" and some truly side-splitting one-liners! If Men In Black II had one-tenth the charm, wit and creativity of this little thing, it would have been worth watching. The Chubbchubbs was nominated for, and could well win, the Academy Award for Animated Short. That would suit me just fine. Highly recommended.