It's Tough to Be a Bird

21 minutesLanguageEnglish

It's Tough to Be a Bird is a 1969 American animated educational short film directed by Ward Kimball and produced by Walt Disney Productions.^[1][2] The short won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons in 1970 and was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Animated Film in 1971.^[3][4] This was the last animated short film produced by Disney to win an Academy Award until Paperman (2012) and thus the final animated cartoon short released by Disney in the golden age of American animation.^[5]

Summary

In the short, a red bird (voiced by Richard Bakalyan) explains how birds have contributed to human culture, even as people often try to kill them. He claims this may be because humans were jealous that birds can fly but people cannot, mentioning the legend of Icarus and featured films of early unsuccessful flying machines.

In Disney's D-TV in the 1980s, clips from this short were set to Bobby Day's cover of "Rockin' Robin".^[6]

Cast

• Ruth Buzzi as Soprano
• Richard Bakalyan as M.C. Bird
• John Emerson as Bird Fancier
• Jim Swain as Bird Fancier
• Ann Lord as Bird Fancier
• Hank Schloss as Bird Fancier
• Walter Perkins as Bird Fancier
• Rolf Darbo as Bird Fancier

See also

• List of American films of 1969
• Birdwatching
• National Audubon Society - featured in the film
• Hinkley, Ohio - featured in the film
• Noah's Ark

References

External links

• It's Tough to Be a Bird at IMDb
• It's Tough to Be a Bird at Disney A to Z
• It's Tough To Be A Bird on BCDB^{[dead link]}