Year: 1985
Language: English
Format: 16mm Colour
Runtime: 10 min
Director: Richard Condie
Producer: Michael Scott, Richard Condie
Executive Producer: Michael Scott
Writer: Richard Condie
Cinematographer: Gordon Manson
Animation: Richard Condie
Sound: Clive Perry, Ken Rodeck
Music: Patrick Godfrey
Cast: Jay Brazeau, Ida Osler, Randy Woods, Bill Guest
Production Company: National Film Board of Canada

From the wonderfully wacky imagination of Winnipeg animator Richard Condie comes this tale of two simultaneous conflicts – the macrocosm of global nuclear war and the microcosm of a domestic quarrel – and how each is resolved. A decidedly odd, middle-aged couple plays an aggravating game of Scrabble (they bicker, cheat, scheme, shake their eyes and chew on the furniture), blissfully unaware that the world is blowing up around them. They only realize what has happened when the game is over and they go outside. The Big Snit offers another take on one of Condie’s favourite themes: the very fine line between normalcy and insanity in domestic situations. It is very funny, unexpectedly off-the-wall, and surprisingly warm-hearted in spite of its manic tone.

The Big Snit won seventeen international awards, including the Grand Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival and a Genie Award for Animated Short Film. It was also nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Animated Short.