{{short description|1985 film}} {{Infobox film | name = The Big Snit | image = Big snit.jpg
| caption = | director = Richard Condie | producer = {{ubl|Richard Condie|Michael Scott}} | writer = Richard Condie | narrator = | starring = {{ubl|Jay Brazeau|Ida Osler|Randy Woods|Bill Guest}} | music = Patrick Godfrey | cinematography = | editing = | distributor = National Film Board of Canada | released = {{Film date|1985|08}} | runtime = 10 minutes | country = Canada | language = English | budget = | gross = }}
'''''The Big Snit''''' is a 1985 animated short film written and directed by Richard Condie and produced by the National Film Board of Canada.
==Plot== A married couple sit in their front room playing a game of Scrabble. The husband is stumped in his next move, and the wife gets up to vacuum while he tries to think of a word. He switches on the TV for his favourite TV show, ''Sawing for Teens'', and dozes off. ''Sawing for Teens'' is interrupted by an emergency broadcast in which it is announced that a worldwide nuclear war has broken out. The cat chews on the TV's electrical cord and knocks out the TV before the husband can see the announcement. When he awakens, he looks out the window to see chaos in the streets, without any idea what it means. He sneaks a peek at his wife's letters. The wife, also unaware of the news, returns to the game, notices her letters have been moved, and accuses her husband of cheating. They argue and the wife runs out of the room in tears.
The husband, feeling sorry for arguing, spots an old photo of him and his wife at a fair, prompting memories of themselves in happier times. He approaches her with a concertina and begins playing on it. She softens up and the two embrace. The cat sits by the door to be let outside, and the husband reaches for the doorknob. At that moment, a white glow emanates from the keyhole and the husband is vapourized.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/thebigsnit_201705 Internet Archive]</ref> He opens the door and the scene of chaos has been replaced by the sight of angels, clouds, and other heavenly objects.<ref>[https://www.vulture.com/article/most-influential-best-scenes-animation-history.html The 100 Most Influential Sequences in Animation History - Vulture]</ref> The couple, unaware of the cataclysm that has taken place, marvel at the beauty of the scene and decide to return to their Scrabble game.<ref name="north">{{cite book | title=North of everything: English-Canadian cinema since 1980 | year=2002 | author=Beard, William | publisher=University of Alberta Press | pages=[https://archive.org/details/northofeverythin00bear/page/77 77] | isbn=0-88864-390-X | url =https://archive.org/details/northofeverythin00bear| url-access=registration | quote=The Big Snit. }}</ref>
==Voice cast== * Jay Brazeau as the Husband * Ida Osler as the Wife * Randy Woods as the "Sawing for Teens" Host * Bill Guest as the Station Announcer
==Reception and legacy== The film received 17 awards including the Grand Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival, the Special Jury Award for Humour at the Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films, the Golden Space Needle for Best Short at the Seattle International Film Festival, Best Animated Film at the Tampere Film Festival, the Silver Plaque for Animation at the Chicago International Film Festival, the Hiroshima Prize at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, the FIPRESCI International Film Critics' Prize at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and a Genie Award for Best Animated Short.<ref name="CFE">{{cite encyclopedia | title=The Big Snit | access-date=2011-02-16 | encyclopedia=Canadian Film Encyclopedia | publisher=Toronto International Film Festival | url=http://tiff.net/CANADIANFILMENCYCLOPEDIA/content/films/big-snit | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724104352/http://tiff.net/CANADIANFILMENCYCLOPEDIA/content/films/big-snit | archive-date=2011-07-24 }}</ref><ref name="nfbcoll">{{cite web | url=http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/collection/film/?id=15310 | title=The Big Snit | access-date=2011-02-16 | work=Collections page | publisher=National Film Board of Canada}}</ref> It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 58th Academy Awards.<ref name="north"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986 |title=1986: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|work=Oscars.org|date=4 October 2014 |access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|id=YWYh4_h8ud4|title=Jim Henson, Kermit and Scooter: 1986 Oscars}}</ref>
In 1994, it was voted #25 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field, and was the highest ranked cartoon in the list that was from the NFB. It was also included in the Animation Show of Shows.<ref>[https://www.animationshowofshows.com/products/the-big-snit-by-richard-condie The Big Snit, by Richard Condie – Animation Show of Shows]</ref> Animation expert Charles Solomon cited it as one of the best animated films of the 1980s.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-27-ca-1261-story.html MOVIES OF THE '80s : ANIMATION : MICE DREAMS - Los Angeles Times]</ref>
===In popular culture=== ''The Big Snit'' inspired a Scrabble scene in the second episode of ''The Simpsons''<nowiki>'</nowiki> first season, "Bart the Genius".<ref name="Groening">{{cite video | people=Groening, Matt|date=2001|title=The Simpsons The Complete First Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Genius"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{NFB film}} *{{IMDb title}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724104352/http://tiff.net/CANADIANFILMENCYCLOPEDIA/content/films/big-snit Canadian Film Encyclopedia] *{{YouTube|p1S5pAF1YYA}}
{{ACCT Short Films}} {{Scrabble}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Snit, The}} Category:1985 films Category:Canadian animated comedy films Category:Canadian animated short films Category:Canadian comedy short films Category:Films about nuclear war and weapons Category:National Film Board of Canada animated short films Category:Films directed by Richard Condie Category:Works about Scrabble Category:Best Animated Short Film Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Category:1985 comedy films Category:1985 animated short films Category:Animated films about cats Category:Animated films about birds Category:English-language Canadian films Category:1985 English-language films Category:1980s Canadian animated films Category:English-language short films Category:1985 Canadian films