short back to theaters

It’s been nearly a decade since Montreal’s Jon Minnis collected his Oscar for Charade, an animated short he did as a student, but it’s once again gaining cinema exposure in Canada.

As of July 8, the film – or at least any one of three edited, self-contained segments of the film – has been appearing along with a sponsorship message from Neilson Cadbury brand Wunderbar.

Instead of simply creating cinema ads featuring the chocolate bar, Wunderbar’s agency Leo Burnett found a way to promote the bar and at the same time give exposure to this acclaimed animated short film. That’s the point at which Burnett met Minnis, in effect, because the agency retrieved Charade, which runs four-and-a-half minutes in total and decided to run one segment before various Cineplex Odeon films. Each time, the shortened shorts are preceded by a tag: ‘An animated short film presented by Wunderbar,’ along with a product shot. The shorts also end with a tag: ‘This Academy Award winning Canadian film was brought to you by Wunderbar’ and another product shot.

Given that the advertising component of the promotion does not jeopardize his film, Minnis, who’s still working in production, is pleased with the revival of Charade. ‘I have no objection to them (Burnett, Wunderbar and Cineplex) doing this, as long as they maintain the character of the film. I wouldn’t want the character to be coming out holding a Wunderbar in the middle of a scene.’

Originally from England, Minnis studied animation at Oakville, Ont.’s Sheridan College and is now living in Montreal and working as an animator, director and producer out of his own business, Filminnis Productions.