Nibbles (2003) User Reviews

It's amazing what an 8 year-old can do if you let him make an animated film!

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 17 February 2008]

This is an amazing film for the average 8 year-old to have made. The animation, while very crudely drawn, has a certain charm and the story, though very simple, made me laugh a few times because the action was just so silly and over-the-top.

Unfortunately, Chris Hinton, I assume ISN'T really a child even though the animation sure looks the the doodlings of a precocious child. While there is some charm to the silliness of it all, I am absolutely amazed that this was chosen as an Oscar Nominee for Best Animated Short Film. Seeing it in the same category as GONE NUTTY and HARVIE KRUMPET is just surreal and I don't know what possessed the Academy in 2004.

Rip snorting fun

[acmelita · 10/10 · 10 January 2008]

I know this is based on the animator's own true story but it feels like he had a window into all of my family fishing trips as well. Waking up before dawn (ugh), the road food (greasy, yum), the over-eating, the mosquitoes, the competition to see who could catch the biggest fish. It's all so familiar but Hinton displays in a new, unique way that condenses the whole day into one fast, frenetic joy ride.

If you can, I recommend "catching" this animated short. I believe they have it available over at www.Filmporium.com for $5 on a DVD with another Academy Award nominee "Badgered" and the compelling "Swamp." It's definably worth a nibble.

Fast Food...

[organgrinder101 · 8/10 · 6 March 2004]

This film follows in the steps of Bill Plympton, only on fire and at a 120 mph. Unlike Plymptoon's, which only succedes in presenting isolated bits of novelty animation, "Nibbles" steps it up a notch, creating a jarring rythm and pace that lurches to a halt, then takes off, then backs up, and takes off again. By the time the film ends, you barely know what hit you. The sounds are perfect, the content well chosen, and overall, this is a very complete short that leaves you very content, yet hungry for more. The animator has a VERY keen sense of motion, and knows how to exhaggerate it without losing a sensitivity to natural physics. This is a fantistic five minute adventure in animation.

Quite a Mouthful

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 31 October 2021]

Very primitive animation is used to show pure gluttony. The characters are on their way to a fishing trip. But along the way they devour huge amounts. The gulp sodas, eat anything they can find, and all is captured. The end involves the actual arrival.

Three variations of "Nibbles" here

[llltdesq · 8/10 · 18 March 2014]

This short was nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Short. There will be spoilers ahead:

Very minimalist in nature, the drawing and animation are very basic, but the story is quite funny and creative. It's about a fishing trip where more time is spent getting to the lake, gassing up the car and gassing up the fishermen.

"Nibbles" would, of course, refer to a fisherman getting tentative bites from fish. But it also refers to two other things-the constant eating of the fishermen on the trip and the bugs who bite the fishermen as they fish. The bugs are reminiscent of Blackfly, Hinton's masterpiece. I don't think that's entirely coincidence.

It's not quite five minutes long and it's very good. Chris Hinton has done entirely too little work for my tastes and I hope he starts doing animation again. This short is available on DVD and is well worth seeking out. Recommended.

Take a bite

[injury-65447 · 9/10 · 25 May 2020]

Very underrated short! The animation is sublime, reminiscent of Quentin Blake. Sets a cracking pace, full of manic energy and wacky critters. A fun watch.