On October 20, the LA International Short Film Festival honored Sony Pictures Imageworks CG short THE CHUBBCHUBBS as Best Animated Short Film. The comedy, directed by Eric Armstrong (animation supervisor for STUART LITTLE 2 and HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE), features an alien hero named Meeper who valiantly tries to warn the patrons of the Ale-E-Inn of impending intergalactic danger. THE CHUBBCHUBBS is the first digitally animated short film produced by Imageworks, and it also recently took Best Short Film honors at Digital Media World's LEAF Awards. Director Armstrong commented after winning the LEAF Award: "All of us associated with THE CHUBBCHUBBS are very proud of the film, and it's very rewarding to see the hard work of the crew acknowledged by LEAF. It's an honor just to be included in one of the top animation festivals." THE CHUBBCHUBBS debuted in theaters this summer in front of the film MEN IN BLACK II, and will be included as an added bonus to the DVD release of MEN IN BLACK II, which has a scheduled street date of November 26, 2002.
