It’s Tough to Be a Bird Review

It’s Tough to Be a Bird is an Oscar winning animated short film from 1969.

This is basically one of those educational animated shorts that were popular during this decade. Its subject matter are birds and especially man’s relationship with the birds. It uses animation, but also some live-action segments. The animation is solid, albeit nothing spectacular and the live-action segments were much more interesting here.

The film has all of the pitfalls of an educational form as it is overly simplistic and is definitely meant for kids as I knew all of these things except the buzzards and I liked learning more about them. The score is very good and the film is fun and certainly has an amusing tone to it, but clocking in at twenty minutes, it is certainly too long. Its protagonist is one of the best things about this film as he is definitely familiar, but so well designed, Ruth Buzzi did a very good job in the role and this red bird is certainly funny and memorable.

It’s Tough to Be a Bird is typical in its form and overlong, but fun, amusing and certainly very well made.