| Knick Knack | |
|---|---|
 Poster for Knick Knack | |
| Directed by | John Lasseter |
| Written by | John Lasseter |
| Cinematography | Tony Apodaca Don Conway |
| Edited by | Craig Good |
| Music by | Bobby McFerrin |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Direct Cinema |
Release dates |
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Running time | 4 minutes |
| Country | United States |
Knick Knack is a 1989 American animated short film produced by Pixar that was written and directed by John Lasseter.[1] The short is about a snow globe snowman who wants to join the other travel souvenirs in a summer-themed party. However, the glass dome that surrounds him prevents him from doing so, thus leading to his many tries to break out of his snow globe. Knick Knack is Pixar's fourth short and the final short produced during the company's tenure as a hardware company. It was also the final Pixar short film released before the company's first feature-length film Toy Story.
The short stands out from Lasseter's other early short films at Pixar in its reliance on pure comedy to drive the story. It was inspired by Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and the work of animators Chuck Jones and Tex Avery. Lasseter and his wife, Nancy, collected snow globes and also enjoyed souvenirs from distant places and those elements made their way into the short as well. Singer Bobby McFerrin improvised the a cappella vocal jazz soundtrack to the film while watching a rough cut which was eventually left unchanged in its final edition.
Knick Knack debuted at the 1989 SIGGRAPH convention in Boston and was presented in 3D. The short has enjoyed positive reviews since its debut and has been screened as a part of numerous film festivals. The short has now been associated with Finding Nemo, with a remastered version of the short being shown before it in that film's original theatrical run.