| It's Tough to Be a Bird | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ward Kimball |
| Story by | Ted Berman Ward Kimball |
| Produced by | Ward Kimball |
| Starring | Ruth Buzzi Richard Bakalyan John Emerson Jim Swain Ann Lord Hank Schloss Walter Perkins Rolf Darbo |
| Edited by | Lloyd J. Richardson |
| Music by | George Bruns |
| Animation by | Eric Larson Art Stevens |
| Layouts by | Joe Hale |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 21 minutes |
| Language | English |
It's Tough to Be a Bird is a 1969 American animated educational short film directed byWard Kimball and produced byWalt Disney Productions.[1][2] The short won theAcademy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons at the42nd Academy Awards in 1970[3][4] and was nominated for theBAFTA Award for Best Animated Film in 1971.[5] This was the last animated short film produced by Disney to win an Academy Award untilPaperman (2012) and thus the final animated cartoon short released by Disney in thegolden age of American animation.[6]
In the short, a redbird (voiced byRichard 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 ofIcarus and featured films of early unsuccessful flying machines.
InDisney'sD-TV in the 1980s, clips from this short were set toBobby Day's cover of "Rockin' Robin".[7]
