The Big Snit (Le P'tit Chaos)

This blog is more for my sister or anyone else for that matter who loves and remembers the National Film Board of Canada's 1985 Oscar nominated animated short "The Big Snit"

I was in another room tonight and the TV was on nearby and I heard the familiar line "You're always shaking your eyes out!!" I knew immediately that it could be only one thing and nothing else other than "The Big Snit"...It then made me remember how much my sister used to laugh her ass off at this film, particularly that line. "The Big Snit" is a classic Canadian animated short about a couple who sit down to play a friendly game of scrabble. When the husband has trouble putting words together (he is stuck with seven letter e's), the wife leaves to vacuum the bathroom from floor to ceiling. The husband falls asleep during an announcement on the TV by a radiated-skeleton of a newscaster that a nuclear war has begun. He does, however, wake in time to see the outside world in mayhem, but mistakes it for a passing parade. He then slides back over to the Scrabble board attempting to eye his wife's letters but is caught before the deed is done. Bickering soon ensues, and gradually swells, parallel to the madness outside their window, into an apocalypse of their own. Many hurtful words are said to each other and the wife begins to cry inconsolably. The husband feeling bad glances over at a photo of the couple when they were younger. He then remembers the one thing that will make his wife happy. The accordian. He gets out his accordian and begins to play her a serenade (really badly played) this returns calm and the husband and wife are in bliss once again. They step outside their front door, two souls holding hands together, unaware that the world has come to an end.

My sister used to love this film and I vaguely remember it being played before first run screenings of hollywood flicks in the movie theatres here. They don't seem to do this anymore. I remember seeing many good NFB animated shorts before seeing a feature film presentation. Now we have to endure loud annoying commercials geared at 17 year olds. Kind of sad we don't support our National Film Board and the Canadian short film makers. I would much rather see someones art and support it rather than be forced to watch a loud obnoxious ad for cologne or some flavoured water.



Quote of the day:

A successful marriage is an edifice that must be rebuilt every day.

Andre Maurois
French author (1885 - 1967)