Knick Knack (1989) User Reviews

Nice early Pixar short

[rbverhoef · 8/10 · 9 February 2005]

'Knick Knack' starts with a couple of souvenirs taken from vacation in Florida. We see some palm trees dancing and a beach bunny dancing on a nice little tune. Then we take a look at the other end of the table. A souvenir from Alaska, a snowman in a glass dome, wants to join the hot party and especially the hot girl. He tries to break the glass of the dome in any way possible.

This animated short directed John Lasseter ('Toy Story', 'A Bug's Life') is a pretty impressive early film from the Pixar studio. It looks great and is inventive. The ending gives us the biggest laugh, but before that there are quite some funny moments.

Proves Pixar was onto something

[Agent10 · 7/10 · 11 June 2003]

Even when the whole idea of computer animation was still in its infancy, Pixar displayed ingenuity which wasn't even being thought of in the current industry. It just goes to show that Pixar is here to stay, and the serene cuteness of this little film proved to be one of the building blocks for a future empire.

A funny and good Pixar short

[emasterslake · 8/10 · 16 April 2005]

This is another Pixar short made during their early years.

It's about Knick Knacks, and the characters are knick Knacks resembling Warm places. While one is a snow globe with a Snow Man in it. He wants to join with the other Knick Knacks but he's stuck in his own Snow Globe.

Through out the short he tries all he can to escape from the Snow Globe. This short contains allot of Chuck Jones like references. And has some good animation on the snow flakes in the snow globe.

You're able to see it off of Find Nemo DVD.

Rate: 8/10 Very memorable and funny wish they start making a collector's line up of these knick knacks.

Judge this by 1989's standards and you'll realize its brilliance

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 12 February 2008]

If you watch this today, you're bound to enjoy this short quite a bit because of its wonderful humor and decent computer generated animation. However, when you realize that it was made almost 20 years ago AND the state of computers and computer graphics at that time, you'll know just how creative ahead of its time it was when it debuted. Think about it--most homes didn't have computers. Those who did had 386 processors or even less powerful processors and Windows 3.0 (a mess) was just about to debut. Serious animation STILL needed to be done with enormous and ridiculously expensive computers and the software for rendering these images couldn't be bought--it had to be created by Pixar. Unlike more modern CGI,where Dreamworks, Fox and even people at home can make nice quality graphics, this was all done from scratch. Talk about a huge undertaking!!!! So in light of all this, KNICK KNACK was an absolutely incredible film. Heck, even today, it's still incredibly funny and watchable. I might even put it STILL in the top 2 or 3 of Pixar's films because the script is so hilarious and poignant. A masterful achievement in every respect. So,...then WHY wasn't this film even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film?!?! Several other Pixar films were but not KNICK KNACK--yet I loved this film and almost anyone (except the absolute worst curmudgeon) would also love this film! If anyone knows the answer to this conundrum, please drop me a line--I'm dying to know.

Short and very funny

[bob the moo · 10 July 2004]

In a room full of ornaments and toys, a group of dolls, little models and decorations all sit enjoying the warm temperature and glow of an unseen sun.

All, that is, except a single snowman, trapped inside a 'greetings from Alaska' snow dome. With a doll waving him on, he attempts to break out and enjoy the party.

Found on the DVD for Finding Nemo, I found this film to be funnier and much more enjoyable than the feature (although both were good). It stands to show that Pixar were onto something as, even if the graphics are a bit blocky compared to Nemo, the comedy is great and the characters are well enough created to be fun. The routine is basic – snowman tries to break out without much success, however it has such energy, pace and solid imagination that I was laughing consistently despite a slow start (ie the first 20 seconds – what a moaner!).

The animation is slick if not perfect and my early worries over the snowman were never realized. I thought he looked a bit too sinister to be a sympathetic character, but his mishaps helped win me round even if his features were still pretty rough and unlikely to get him the dolls in question! He is a great lead and you can't help but feel sorry for him – but not to the point where you stop laughing at him!

Overall this was a very pleasant surprise and the continuation of a very clever ploy in regards Pixar DVD's. I for one love the short films on many of their DVD's and I hope they continue doing it even if I would rather see them release a compilation DVD with all of them on one disk. Anyway, this was very well put together even if it has aged a bit and I laughed the whole way through it to the bittersweet ending – well worth seeing if you get the chance.

four minutes of the cutest Pixar animation yet

[Quinoa1984 · 10/10 · 21 October 2006]

This is a perfectly goofy time with Knick Knack, especially before a feature. It's four minutes of a situation, with a little snowman in a snow-globe pining for a little woman in the mix of a group of boppin-souvenirs. He finally gets out, but to a disastrous finale. It's very to the point in every measure, and all the while cute without actually being only for kids. In fact, I think I laughed at this harder now than I did when I first saw this as a kid. It's got a sense of humor to it that starts with the first shot, and continues all the way to the very end. Is it laugh-out-loud funny? Not entirely; it's got me 'heh-heh' type laughs all abound, with a few of the biggest laughs coming with the obvious pratfalls and errors. But even the music used is done with a big wink and a grin, especially during the end credits as the little voices are accompanied by a 'blah-blah-blah' voice. It's an Oscar-caliber little ruby of a short that, much like the early Disney shorts, doesn't overstay its welcome, and has an appeal ranging from 2 years old to 92 (to put it like a typical critic). It's a sweetly cruel piece of fluff.

one of Pixar's early efforts

[disdressed12 · 7/10 · 22 August 2008]

i thought this early animated short from Pixar was quite good.it's funny and ironic,plus it has a very catchy and infectious tune.it's also very low key,and movies at a nice sedate pace,which i liked a lot.it's from 1989,so it's a lot different than the animated films we have today.it's a very simple short with a simple story.considering it is nearly 20 years old,it's actually very well done.it's also much more clever than many animated shorts from today,and certainly back then.i'd check it out if you have the chance.you might be surprised at how much you enjoy it.or you might not be.either way,it's not like you're losing a couple of hours.for me,Knick Knack is a 7/10

Great short-film!

[m0rpher · 10/10 · 25 July 2003]

This is truly a wonderful short-film. I love it!

The animation was great, the storyline is clever, and every time I've watched it, it's made me smile.

(Oh, and thumbs up to the amazing Bobby McFerrin for the awesome background music.)

Early Pixar

[TheOtherFool · 7/10 · 16 July 2004]

Funny little short comedy by the Pixar people, which I saw as an extra on the Finding Nemo DVD.

A snowman is trapped in one of those glass snow domes, but he wants to break out as all the other toys are having a good time in the sun. So he tries to break/blow his way through but things just don't work for him. When he and the dome finally fall down, we think he can escape but again, the dome gets the better of him...

Well made and fun, we can see why Pixar became such a huge company over the years. If you have the Finding Nemo DVD, make sure you check this one out.

7/10.

A Solid Animation Short

[travisimo · 8/10 · 6 December 2003]

Before computer animation was all the rage, I bet the Pixar guys made this little gem simply as a labor of love. From this early creation, you can take a glimpse of the clever storytelling that would become a staple of Pixar's full-length features. This short gives you a chuckle as the disgruntled snowman struggles to get out of his snow globe to hang with the knick-knack ladies of Hawaii and Atlantis. It's quite a cute feature, but it can only go so far. I wouldn't consider it a classic like other animation shorts like `Mickey's Trailer' and `Duck! Rabbit, Duck!' but I think it will become a nice little treasure in the Pixar vault.

My IMDB Rating: 8/10

Not much to say...

[patrick_dunne · 7/10 · 22 January 2006]

Knick Knack is simply a short film that the theaters showed right before the movie. (I forgot which one it was- FInding Nemo or Monsters Inc?) I think it was one of Pixar's earliest short films. The story is about a snowman in a globe. He wishes to join all the other souvenirs outside of his globe, especially the hot Miami Beach souvenirs. So, he tries to break out of his snow globe.

I don't know what to say. It's a short film with no dialog. Instead, it has some psychical humor and a funny sense of irony at the end.

I suppose that I would recommend it, because Pixar is good at humor, and because it's only a couple minutes long. What else is there to say?

7/10

Feel free to send me a Private Message regarding this comment.

A wonderful, wonderful film

[rashah · 10/10 · 18 February 2003]

I first showed this to my business unit in 1996, to show that we needed to keep trying to achieve our goals, despite the setbacks along the way.

It became a kind of anthem for our team as we grew, and we ended up showing "the snowman film" at every group biannual meeting since.

I totally love the soundtrack, the animation, the story and everything about it - a real 10/10!

Rhythmical Short Pixar Film

[rosechocoberry · 6/10 · 11 July 2018]

***This review may contain spoilers*** This is a story of humanized toys, which reminds me of Pixar's animation films because of the huge hit of Toy Story series. A cute little snowman in a snow globe tries to escape the snow globe and company with attractive mermaids who live with tropical toys. As the easy songs is played on the background through the film, the film itself is very rhythmical and story goes with a good tempo. Although the snowman tries to escape in many ways and failed again and again, those changes of the actions with the certain tempo makes the film fun, and keep the audience expecting what the snowman do the next. The snowman cannot make it after all, and he ends up in the fishbowl, being stuck in his snow globe. The ending was a little bit rough in my opinion. I want the snowman to get out of the snow globe as the ending, because in that way, he can finally make his dream come true. He has tried a lot for getting out and hang out with mermaids, but his effort leads him to be worse trouble which he has to live in a fishbowl. I think the story will be better if it has more positive meaning that if we try something so hard, we can change how we are destined to be.

Evolution of 3D Animation

[aci_J · 4/10 · 27 June 2018]

It's always incredible to see how fast technology moves in the modern age, and nothing shows that more than the evolution of 3D computer animation. Back when Pixar was owned by Apple founder Steve Jobs and merely six years before their first feature Toy Story, the animation studio produced several shorts that showed off the potential of their in-house software that would later go on to become Renderman. One of those shorts was Knick Knack, which follows a snowman in a snow globe as he tries to break out of his glass dome to join the other 'knick knacks' at a summer pool party. Although the animation is now considerably dated, particularly in the areas of texture detail and character motion, the humor still shines through to make it entertaining. Even so, the lack of a proper resolution to the story except for a cheap laugh means that it's unlikely you'll remember the short in the long term. The studio has certainly come a long way.

An early Pixar gem

[skad13 · 10/10 · 4 June 2003]

I first saw this Pixar short when it appeared in theaters in 1989 as part of a short-film project sponsored by American Express. It was like a great delight that popped up on the screen and then anonymously disappeared. I just saw the theatrical Pixar release Finding Nemo, and Pixar has had the great good sense to preface their new feature with this charming short. It's a 4-minute gem, with hilarious gags and great music by Bobby McFerrin. I hope Pixar puts this out on the Finding Nemo DVD. In the meantime, if you're seeing Finding Nemo, don't be late--Nemo is very good on its own, but this short is worth the price of admission in itself!

Excellent computer animated short

[James L. · 26 August 2000]

The animation is truly excellent, using dynamic structures and design. Very amusing script about a snowman in a snowglobe,as well as other " Knickknacks". Interesting concept and very good computer animation make this a gem. By Pixar, who later , after a series of milestone shorts, worked with Disney on several computer animated features.

Stone wall may not make a prison, but a snowglobe works fairly well here!

[llltdesq · 10/10 · 19 March 2002]

This has got to be one of the most delightful animated shorts I have ever seen in my life! It was once said that a man's reach should exceed his grasp. Watching this, I wondered if that includes snowmen! The ending of this was magnificent! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! Pixar did a grand job here. While I know features are their bread-and-butter, I fervently hope they continue producing these little darts that score bullseyes most of the time. Pixar, please put your shorts back in circulation! Pardon me, but I need to get a certain snowman something that will cut through plastic! Most joyously recommended. A grand slam!

one of early works by Pixar

[satoshiwindow · 7/10 · 31 May 2022]

"Knick Knack" is a short-animated comedy film by Pixar in 1989. This movie is 3 minutes and half long.

At the beginning of the film, there are many souvenirs from countries with a warm climate which gather at the same place on a shelf. There is one more ornament, which is a snow globe with a snowman, and it is a little far from the others. One of the ornaments, Miami girl, invites him to join them. To go there, he has to get out from the dome. At first, he tries to break the glass with Igloo. He tries a hammer, a concrete breaker, a welder, and dynamite, but he fails. Suddenly, he realizes he is at the edge of the shelf, and starts to fall.

The movie has animation quality and cute characters. Even though this film is made almost 35 years ago, the quality of computer graphic is beautiful. The characters move without any delay, so I watch this without any stress. In addition, this film succeeds to show characters as very cute. Especially, the behavior and action of the snowman is so cute. I'm not sure everyone will like this but, I do recommend this.

very early Pixar

[Siloty · 10/10 · 18 June 2008]

this is a very early Pixar animation which i saw when i watched Finding Nemo at the cinemas and i found it an enjoyment.

a little snowman in a snow-globe sees a mermaid toy he is attracted to and tries all these different ways to get out of the snow-globe to get to the mermaid toy. you somewhat feel sorry for the snowman as none of his efforts actually succeed, and then the one that does, which is very simple, turns out against him in the end.

this is quite a simple yet entertaining little flick and i find every minute of this short counted. enjoyed by young people and older alike. Pixar have a thing for making good shorts.

poor little snowman

The snow globe and the tropical world

[minamiakiiku · 7/10 · 1 November 2021]

"Knick Knack" is a short computer-animated movie created by Pixar in 1989. On a bookshelf, a snowman in a snow globe is looking enviously at small knick-knacks next to him enjoying music. Then he finds a charming toy girl, and determines to break his globe to meet her. I was amazed by the snowman's humorous efforts. For example, in order to get out of the container, he manipulates a variety of construction tools many times, but he fails. Then the shift of his emotions is shown distinctively in his expressions, which made me chuckle. If I dare to find a message from this funny story, it could be that it is challenging to escape from your traditional life. I think every group of toys represented a different social community. For example, we can find the snowman in the snow globe and tropical-fashioned toys were in a constructive group in this case. Therefore, I thought this film depicted the man who dreams of outer world but fails to get in. To summarize, I enjoyed this movie with an interesting message a lot, so I recommend it to you.

The funny animation beyond your imagination

[le-94371 · 8/10 · 17 July 2017]

This story is produced by Pixar in 1989. It's an animated movie. The characters in this movie are all toys. There is a snowman in a dome. He is a snow globe. He tried to get out his dome, because he wants to get close to a doll which looks like a sexy girl on the beach. But he does many ways to break out his dome, he couldn't. I would like you to see what happened next so that I don't write about it this time, but I can promise you it's beyond your imagination. I liked background music as well. You might think this kind of movie is only for children, but it's actually for everybody. This movie is so unique that people will be surprised. As I mentioned, all are toys. Yet, we can easily imagine what they might think and feel. This is outstanding. Even though they don't talk, we can see what is going on. The movie makes people feel happier, smile, and surprised. This is what an animated movie is. I couldn't believe it was made in 1989 when I have heard for the first time. Pixar is the most amazing movie company ahead of its time.

good ending

[enamiyamoto · 7/10 · 11 October 2023]

'KNICK KNACK' is a comedy about a snowman who always stays in a snow globe. One day he wants to meet a girl who is on the outside of the snow globe, and he decides to escape from the snow globe. The story is so funny and adorable. The character's facial expression change is very clear and make it easy to understand how he feels. This story has no dialogue, and I can understand what every character wants to do. He tries many different ways and unbelievable ways. His plan becomes more and more extreme as the story progresses. But all avenues he explores do not go well and he is usually damaged. These action scenes are very dynamic and humorous. Finally, he can exit the snow globe in an unexpected way, and everyone thinks he is sure to succeed. However, he unfortunately is captured in the snow globe again. This story has a charming main character and a good ending.

impressive movie

[yuuuuuchi-333 · 9/10 · 8 June 2022]

Knick Knack is a short and animated film broadcasted in 2003. A snowman in the snow globe wants to escape the snow globe and take part in other dolls. He attempts to escape the snow globe in many ways like using a hammer, a drill, and a TNT bomb.

This film has no chat or dialogue, so we guess what will happen on the next scene referring to the character's actions and expressions. However, it is easy for us to guess what will happen in the next because not only actions and expressions but also sound effect is used effectively.

In addition, while I see this movie, I find the snowman to be courageous. It is because he does not give up escaping the snow globe. I was encouraged by the snowman and I will also keep continuing doing something.

For these reasons, this movie gives us a courage to do something, so it is worth watching.

Great movie

[daikibaseball-04275 · 7/10 · 21 July 2022]

The short film "KNICK KNACK" is a story about a snow globe snowman struggling to escape from the inside. He uses a variety of tools, such as hammers, drills, and dynamite, to meet beautiful women, but it's hard to get out.

The reason I like this short film is that the desperate snowman is so cute and is a soothing character. It's interesting that he also does dangerous things to escape from the snow globe. The depiction of the snowman trying to get out of the snow globe is very cute and makes me smile. I was laughing at the ending. Also, this movie has no dialogue, only BGM. The calm BGM conveys the cuteness of the snowman to the viewer. I am soothed because the BGM and expression of the snowman are very good.

For these reasons this movie is very interesting and I like it. I think this movie will make you forget your tiredness.

Dreadful humor and image about women.

[Wheepuppy · 2/10 · 2 July 2018]

In an alternative universe where toys are alive, a snowman dreams about joining the summer party taking place next to him, while it is trapped inside a snowball. The main and almost only motivation after this snowman to get out the snowball and approach the other toys partying is the presence of a skin and wavy blonde doll, with a huge and impressive sunglasses and a brilliant smile which helps her to fit in the perfect and standardized canon of a woman nowadays everyone should desire to be or to date. The short film deals with this subject in a humoristic way, showing the snowman going through different situations in order to finally meet this doll and be with her. But for what concerns me, the jokes are far from being funny or original, the story is simple and quite predictable, what in addition to the motivation under the plot made me unable to enjoy the film. The good part of the short film might be the good animation Pixar Studios never fails to show, the colors and the sound which make the piece audio visually attractive, thus even when there is no dialogue we are able to follow everything that is going on and read the expressions and feelings of the toys on screen when they are not even human nor real.