Let's Pollute (2009) User Reviews

In a backwards comedic way it's educational as well.

[Hellmant · 7/10 · 23 February 2011]

'LET'S POLLUTE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A spoof on educational cartoons from the 50's and 60's, this Oscar animated short serves as a satire on why it's important to pollute and how it's good for our economy and helps corporations. It's directed and written by Geefwee Boedoe and written by Boedoe, Tim Crawfurd and Teddy Newton. It's narrated by Jim Thornton. The film is hysterical at times and in a backwards comedic way is educational as well. The animation isn't anything appealing or advanced but it's nostalgic and true to the animated films it's spoofing. Even at 6 minutes it does get a little long and become sort of a one joke film but it mostly works and is humorous for most of it's running length.

Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBqNUf10kuk

Clever and funny....and VERY preachy.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 19 February 2011]

This cartoon short purports to be a public service video extolling the virtues of polluting and wasting resources. It claims to be encouraging the audience to destroy the planet because 'it's cool' and makes its point in a strange way.

I must tell you up front that I disagree with the central message of this film. Through clever parody, it contends that machines and industrialization are 100% evil--an incredible oversimplification to say the least! Now I must say, they make their message in a very funny way but its lack of balance distressed me a bit (I got the impression that living like the Flintstones was their goal and modern life is bad....huh?!).

So despite its black & white view of industrialization is it good? Well, I liked the style and the very simple animation style, though not nearly as nice looking as the other Oscar nominees for 2011, was effective.

Perhaps, and I think this will ruffle a few feathers, this was nominated less for its quality and more for its trendy message. I really did NOT dislike the movie, but it was definitely the least of the nominees in so many ways.

UPDATE: I was surprised, but just moments ago I saw that "The Lost Thing" won the Oscar for Best Animated Short. To me, this was a surprise!

Cute, somewhat funny but ultimately heavy-handed satire

[llltdesq · 7/10 · 20 February 2015]

This short was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short, losing to The Lost Thing. There will be mild spoilers ahead:

Somewhere Jonathan Swift is smiling and scratching his head. This is satire laid on thick in six coats. The main problem here is, while this is funny and entertaining, the satire is about as subtle as a brick through a window. When I first saw this, I was convinced that absolutely no one could miss the point. An image of Abraham Lincoln breathing in toxic fumes and keeling over surely can't be taken seriously, after all.

Sadly, there appear to be people who missed the obvious. Simply put, the intent here is to point out that our ancestors didn't follow "planned obsolescence", which is almost a given these day. "Use it up, wear it out, do it in or do without" will clearly not be the norm these days, though it used to be.

This is making fun of conspicuous and wasteful consumption. It fair slaps you in the face with a fish to make that point. That's what keeps this from being more than a rather cute time filler. It would have been better had it not been so ham-handed in it's presentation. It reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live sketch where they had Garret Morris in an inset doing the news for the deaf by screaming at the top of his lungs.

I liked it well enough, I just wish they'd used a defter and lighter touch here. To be fair, judging by some of the response I've seen, a more subtle turn would probably have gone over heads in any case, This is worth looking for and watching at least once.

piece of trash

[someguy2013 · 2/10 · 13 February 2011]

I saw this as part of special presentation of all the Oscar nominees(plus some titles that didn't make the cut but were still "well commended) in this category. This is probably the worst cartoon in the bunch. I assume that it was nominated mainly due to its liberal slant. Centuries of human civilization are belittled as nothing more than a bunch of pollution. Corporations are similarly maligned as polluters. Seem fairly black and white for an ideology that so often loves to dwell on the "grayness" of things. What about the civilized people and the corporations who help make movies like this? Are they nothing but polluters too? What do the makers of this movie want? Should everyone just go live in a cave or something? I really hope this doesn't win. Conserve your own resources-financial or otherwise- but not seeing this garbage.

A good cartoon

[Krissz · 9/10 · 2 March 2011]

I need to put one thing straight first. THIS IS IRONY! The whole movie is just pure irony, or maybe even sarcasm, which seems to confuse people...as seen with the reviews for this film. Would you believe that "Yes men" are also just being stupid? Those two people who made conferences with a topic that they actually were against?

This can be a bit preachy, as some say, but still it focuses on the mere fact that we pollute more than we have done earlier. It tells of how the world suffer if we don't try to do something. Yes, as a single person you cannot save the world, but we can do our bit to make the world better.

Why it is so hard for some people to understand irony and sarcasm i have no idea. Its clear from the start that this movie is NOT to be taken serious e.g. that we have to pollute more that what keeps our society running. Read between the lines, and consider what they actually are saying.

I feel sad when I have to explain a joke, and sarcasm, to people because to me its so obvious that it doesn't need any explanation.

Savaged by Straw Men

[boblipton · 3/10 · 13 February 2011]

This. nominee for the Best Animated Short Subject Oscar seems to owe that honor to its pro-environmental stance, its hatred of corporations and the shortage of decent competitors. It may wind up winning anyway -- so many people who are paid millions of dollars by corporations to make technological artifacts like movies in which there are many explosions are always anxious to prove how concerned they are about the important things, like slagging Western Civilization. Meanwhile, I'm hoping THE LOST THING will win, but the Pixar and Plympton efforts are also excellent.

The thesis of this short, stated baldly, is that we waste things and would be better off if we didn't. It is an unexceptionable truism. The anger that suffuses this work makes it pall quickly -- half a minute would be enough. This sort of satiric work says nothing but that the people who make it hate other people.

You Don't Get It

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 29 October 2021]

For those of you who are so offended by this, get a life. It was deliberately outrageous and done in the style of the fifties and sixties where we were lied to constantly by these government sponsored tirades. They are not actually being preachy. This is a parody, so beyond the pale that perhaps we could think a little bit. For you naysayers, take a look at where we are at right now as the planet is being decimated. Enjoy the next few years. They may be our last especially when the water runs out.

Good premise, unconvincing execution

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 27 July 2015]

"Let's Pollute" is a short film from 6 years ago and it got a Best Animated Short Film nomination at the Academy Awards. You can watch perceive this film from two different angles. The first would be the educational value. "Oppositism" combined with heavy exaggeration can be a good way to deliver a message. Sadly, this message was not displayed particularly convincing in my opinion, even if it was a good message that makes totally sense. The concept I just mentioned is also used frequently in comedy. And so it is here. however, here I wasn't convinced either. I did not have one moment where I had to really smile or even laugh while watching these 7 minutes. So as a whole I have to say Geefwee Boedoe's film fell flat for me personally. The animation is obviously a parody of older educational films, but I did not find it too appealing either. This did not make me curious about the director's further work. Not recommended. Oh yeah, people who like "Wheel of Fortune" can maybe give this one a chance for a familiar voice. The rest really can do without it. Glad to see it did not beat the superior "Lost Thing".

Biased and Silly

[SusieSalmonLikeTheFish · 2/10 · 28 August 2014]

While the animation was great for an independent film, this short cartoon on the "evils of pollution" is hard to take seriously. Besides, I happen to like pollution and hate the environment, I litter, spray pesticides, everything this film is against, and I don't honestly care about the impact on the planet. It is a satire, going with the style of 50's/50's PSA cartoons, and is obviously meant for adults because there are a couple of swear words in it and terms children wouldn't pick up, but it is silly and childish like it was ripped right off the Teletubbies show. It doesn't seem to take into consideration that pollution means jobs, industry, factories, these so-called "evil places" are what puts food on the tables of families all over the world. It's very preachy and was probably made by college hippies who will think more in the next couple of decades about the other side of the case. The soundtrack and voices only added to the bizarre and pathetic attempt, really the only pro here is the animation.

The con-bots are out -- don't believe them

[rgcustomer · 8/10 · 20 February 2011]

This is one of the better Oscar-nominated animated shorts this year. It's not my overall favourite, but it compares well against the others.

Most of the opposition seems to be due, not to any technical aspect, but rather to the painfully undeniable message the film delivers. This is why the film succeeds. It's not about changing minds, because what educational video (or parody of such) ever changed anyone's mind? It's a parody in the vein of the Colbert Report, or maybe This Modern World comic, but taking the form of an animated educational film (not Schoolhouse Rock though). It's about entertaining those who are making changes in their lives to stop being part of the problem. If the self-centred are angry, I have no problem with that.

One thing I don't recall being made in the short is that pollution does come from people, and people make more people (think Octomom). Our pollution and resources problems won't begin to be solved until we address first-world overpopulation. It's like trying to fix the US Budget without halving the top three expenses: defence, medicare, AND social security. It's a pipe-dream.

Another thing is that all of the behaviours which increase pollution also have other negative effects, such as creating dependencies on foreign labour and products, and an inability to sustain the country in the event of large external shocks. It's not clear whether including this would have made the short too unfocused though.

To sum, I found the film entertaining and funny, about an increasingly important issue of our times, and drawn in a cartoon-ish style that was appropriate to the tone.