User Reviews

'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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.)

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.

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

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

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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!

This movie is a short 3D animation. In only three minutes, I was satisfied and enjoyed this. This story is very simple and the end of it is funny. A buoyant tune is played all through the film. I like this music very much. It makes us relaxed and happy.

The most brilliant thing in this film is sound effects. There are many kinds of sound and they are appropriate to the action of the characters, so I was feeling as if I had been looking at the toys in front of them. My favorite one is the sound of the explosion in a dome. I think it's difficult to create, but It's very nice.

While watching this, I was remembering my childhood. When I was a little kid, I liked to watch animations which is just fun and is essentially meaningless. Not only children but also adults can enjoy this film. This may take you back to your childhood.

Given that Toy Story was made six years after this film, Knick Knack might have an effect on Toy Story more or less. This film may be an important work.

Everything in the movie is very simple; the story, characters and music. However we find it funny that the Snowman in a snow dome tries to get out. The taste of picture is cute and friendly, so we can easily watch it. Things floating in the snow dome seem real in animation.

The Snowman living in winter and toys in summer look are in contrast. We sympathized with him because he is lonely. At the same time, we can't stop feeling he is charming because his tries to get out the snow dome just to talk with a cute girl. He moves a lot and fails many times with full expression that also make him lovely.

The situation that toys are moving when we don't look at them is a dream of every child Pixar formed that as this animation to keep not only children but adults wondering, and it's easy to guess that this idea leads to the most popular animation, "Toy Story."

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!

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.

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!

''Knick Knack'' This movie is both a comedy and a bit of tragedy, about a snowman trying to escape from his snow globe. He struggles to escape to reach the woman outside the snow globe. This story is so funny that everyone who watches this film will chuckle unintentionally. Also, it is such that anyone can empathize with his feelings of wanting to escape from the situation he is in. The main character is clever in coming up with various ways to escape and trying them out, but he's also goofy, such as when he uses a bomb to break the glass of a snow globe, which causes an explosion inside the globe and sends him spinning inside. This is a wonderful film that is both funny and tragic in just 4 minutes, and develops into an unexpected twist. Although there is no dialogue among the characters, the snowman's facial expressions tell us everything, making it a work that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

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

First of all, is it a short film for children or adults? There are no lines, only music and mood music, so everybody can understand the story of the film. When I was a little girl, I watched many film that were made by Pixar Animation Studio. Also Ican understand a story and what is a thing that the film want to tell us. Now, I can enjoy these films as much as when I was a little. This film is the same, all of us enjoy it. that is the best point of the film. In the film, there is a world that is created by character. The color, music, and motion match together. Then we are attracted to the world without notice. If you aren't interested in animation, you should watch the film. You will enjoy it and become interested in animation.

This film is a very unique story! A snowman is a humorous and funny character. I want to cheer him seeing his efforts to get it out of a dome which filled water. Development of the story is clear, so it was easy to understand the connects of the story. Even if children watched this film, they can enjoy this movie, too! The story composition is also worked out well although this film is very short because the end of the story is solid and impressive.

Why do the mermaid and the woman wearing bathing suits have the same face? They aren't same person, are they? So I was amazed the snowman because he fell in love with the mermaid although he loved the woman wearing bathing suits until a short time ago. He saw only their face. I thought his personality was that he would he cheated by bad women.

There are many toys which are all enjoying the hot summer. A snow man that is the main character of this film and in a snow dome is enviously staring at them and trying to meet a girl in a bikini but it isn't easy to do.

The snow man is so cute and a little sad. Because many summer toys are getting into the music but he may not even hear the music. His efforts are not a waste even if it is not a success. I have learned this from only 3 minutes short film.

The snow man is so cute.

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.