The ChubbChubbs!

The ChubbChubbs!
The ChubbChubbs! film poster
Directed by	Eric Armstrong
Produced by	Jacquie Barnbook
Written by	Jeff Wolverton
Starring	Bradford Simonsen Jeff Wolverton Eric Armstrong Mortonette Jenkins Peter Lurie Rick Zieff
Music by	Chance Thomas
Editing by	Robert Gordon
Studio	Sony Pictures Imageworks
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03)
Running time	5 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The ChubbChubbs! is a 2002 American computer-animated comedy short film by Sony Pictures Imageworks. It was directed by Eric Armstrong, produced by Jacquie Barnbrook, and written by Jeff Wolverton.

The ChubbChubbs! won an Oscar for Best Animated Short in 2002.

The short "was originally conceived as a pipeline test to help determine the studio’s strengths and weaknesses in producing all-CG animation within the Imageworks production environment."

Plot

Meeper, the janitor of an alien pub called the Ale-E-Inn, has higher aspirations - a karaoke performer. After an accident involving a bucket of water, an electric cord, and an electrocuted singer, Meeper is booted from the pub. Outside, he is told by a dying Jar Jar Binks that "THE CHUBBCHUBBS ARE COMING!!!" Meeper sees in the distance an aircraft landing, and huge, weapon bearing monsters exiting the craft. He assumes these are the ChubbChubbs. He rushes to warn the pub, but before he can shout a warning, he has further injured the singer and is once again booted from the club. Outside, he finds a handful of cute chicks pecking at the ground. The monsters are getting closer. He tries to warn the pub a third time, once more trashing the singer, when someone bursts through the door and yells "THE CHUBBCHUBBS ARE COMING!!!". The pub is emptied, and everyone takes off into the night, leaving Meeper behind. The monsters are almost at the pub. Meeper hides the chicks under his pail in a hope to save them, and then launches into a rendition of Why Can't We Be Friends? until, so caught up in the song, he trips over the pail, revealing the chicks. The monsters all flee, screaming, "It's the ChubbChubbs!!!!" The chicks reveal their razor sharp teeth and devour the monsters, who are actually known as Zyzaks. They gather around Meeper, who says, "So... You guys into Karaoke?" As the credits roll, Meeper and the ChubbChubbs sing a rewrite of Aretha Frankin's Respect in the pub. When the song is finished, there is dead silence. The ChubbChubbs glare and reveal their teeth, and the crowd hastily bursts into applause.

Cast

• Meeper - Brad Simonsen
• ChubbChubbs - Jeff Wolverton
• Singing Diva - Mortonette Jenkins
• Zyzaks - Peter Lurie
• Bouncer - Rick Zieff
• Glorfs - Dustin Adair, Eric Armstrong, Yakov Baytler, Mary Biondo, Sumit Das, Layne Friedman, Robert Gordon, Sully Jacome-Wilkes, Franco Pietrantonio, Rick Richards, Chance Thomas, Julie Zackary
• Various Aliens - Evan Wu

Release

The ChubbChubbs! was theatrically released on July 3, 2002, along with film Men in Black II, and because of its success, re-released on July 19, 2002, with the film Stuart Little 2.

The short got a DVD release on November 26, 2002, as a bonus attached to Men in Black II. On April 11, 2003, the short was released on its own DVD. The ChubbChubbs! and its sequel The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas were on October 9, 2007, for the first time available on Blu-Ray, attached as a bonus to Surf's Up. Both ChubbChubbs shorts are also included on the Special Edition DVD release of Surf's Up.

Sequel

The sequel The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas was released On August 8, 2007 along with Daddy Day Camp.

External links

• The ChubbChubbs! page at Sony Pictures' website
• The ChubbChubbs! at the Internet Movie Database
• The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas page at Sony Pictures Imageworks' website