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!

What image do you have about the title of "Knick-Knack"? This short film is held between knick-knacks, so the main characters are small objects in the ordinary room. There are objects which symbolize summer, but one of them is a snowman who is living in the snow dome. He wants to join summer and tries to get out of his dome. It is interesting that the knick-knacks having their feeling and they are living. It's funny that imagined my knick-knacks are also moving when I get out. I would like to recommend not only children but also adults watching this film. We are apt to waste everything compared with old days. So, I want you to think about that problem. On the other hand, I became to dislike the snow dome. I often bought the snow dome for souvenirs, but I thought it is like a transparent prison for snowman. I cannot buy it anymore.

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!

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

This film is just a few minutes long. So it is not a movie but an animation. There are few story lines, but we can enjoy just the picture enough. The movement of the snowman who struggles to go out from the snow globe is very cute and interesting. But I wonder where the snowman brought various tools to break a wall from. Though it was made in 1989, in other word twenty four years ago from now, the high technology of the computer graphics is wonderful. For example, the movement of everything in the water and the comical movement of characters were very realistic. In those days, this film must have been at the forefront of popular works. In fact, Pixar produces many movies used wonderful computer graphic technology such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and so on. I think that you can enjoy this film even if you watch it many times.

A single snowman is trapped inside a snow dome. With a doll waving him on, he attempts to break out his snow dome and enjoy the party. This is a great short film. There are two reasons why I feel so. First, this is an early film. It is from 1989 so it is a lot different than the animated films we see today. It is a very simple short with a simple story. Considering it is nearly 20 years old, it is actually very well done. It is also much more clever than many many animated short films from today. second, the composition of the story is interesting. This film contains many waves of feelings about the snowman. We can enjoy this film as not only children but also adults.

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.

After winning the Academy Award with 'Tin Toy', Pixar continued experimenting with its, at the time, genre capabilities. This time dabbling into pure visual comedy, reminiscent of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons like 'Tom and Jerry' (damn, I miss that show). The reliance of slapstick humour, crazy antics and a disposable premise made for a slightly entertaining watch. However its technical merit has somewhat depreciated and is a step down from 'Tin Toy'. This computer animated cartoon sees a snow globe snowman attempt to break out of its prison so that it can join a summer themed party of other souvenirs. I'm sure the primary question you are asking yourself is: how does a snowman break out of a snow globe? Well my friend, easy question. A cutting torch, carrot chisel, jackhammer and the detonation of TNT. A mightily equipped souvenir, clearly. Watching it unleash all of these constructive (yet destructive) tools will certainly keep younger viewers entertained for its three minute runtime. The jazzy a cappella accompaniment also adds to its zaniness. Yet, something was missing. It almost felt too derivative, lacking the memorability of the previous shorts. The animation was squandered, with supposedly curved edges looking more jagged than a triangle, in order to focus on the comedy aspects. The anthropomorphic characters lacked design, the addition of sunglasses was a feature that felt uninspired. In terms of technical advancements, this really didn't test the the experimental boundaries that it should've been targeting. Still, a mildly entertaining short that just feels too cold.