So Much for So Little is a 1949 American animated short documentary film directed by Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng.[2] In 1950, it won an Oscar at the 22nd Academy Awards for Documentary Short Subject, tying with A Chance to Live.[3][4] It was created by Warner Bros. Cartoons for the United States Public Health Service. As a work of the United States Government, the film is in the public domain. The Academy Film Archive preserved So Much for So Little in 2005.[5] Produced during the Harry S. Truman administration, it attained renewed relevance during the modern Medicare for All movement in the United States nearly seven decades later.[6]
| So Much for So Little | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Charles M. Jones Friz Freleng[1] |
| Written by | Friz Freleng Chuck Jones |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Narrated by | Frank Graham |
| Edited by | Treg Brown |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by | Ben Washam Ken Harris Phil Monroe Lloyd Vaughan |
| Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Backgrounds by | Paul Julian Peter Alvarado |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 10 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot edit
The cartoon begins by stating that, annually, 118,481 babies — out of well over two million born — will die before reaching their first birthday. From there, we are shown John E. Jones, a baby who, unless good oversight of the environment is maintained and John himself is provided consistently good healthcare, may potentially add to this statistic.
Most of John's life is depicted: his school years, marriage, later life (as a father), and his golden years. Along the way, health service information is detailed. Before the film ends, it rewinds and returns to John as a baby, reminding the audience about the importance of proper, ongoing care availability to ensure he enjoys a robust, full life. The viewers are informed that it costs each American just three cents a week to safeguard John's, and all babies', well being.
Home media edit
This documentary short appeared as bonus features in Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 and Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1. It was remastered in Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection: 15 Winners and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "MichaelBarrier.com -- "What's New" Archives: June 2012". www.michaelbarrier.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^ Schneider, Steve (1988). That's All, Folks! : The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt and Co. p. 98. ISBN 0-8050-0889-6.
- ^ "The 22nd Academy Awards (1950) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ^ "New York Times: So Much for So Little". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2008.
- ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
- ^ "This 70-year-old cartoon made a hell of an argument for single-payer healthcare". BoingBoing. April 3, 2017.
External links edit
- So Much for So Little at IMDb
- So Much for So Little at the National Archives and Records Administration
- The short film So Much for So Little is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
