Let's be realistic.

Lack of good storyline.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This short disgust me. Totally sickening. I can't think of another cartoon that has a character imitating an elephant with his crotch. I bet the main reason why this short won an award is because of its sexual content. When I first seen this on Cartoon Network that one time, I was shocked and disgusted. Lately and recently, I never saw it again. Now, I have no love for elephants, no thanks to Bob. Trust me on this. This is not a cartoon for kids and well- minded adults, like myself. Man, I wished Cartoon Network never aired this crap (The time they've aired O Canada). In fact, I wish Adult Swim was separated from Cartoon Network.

Next time I'm scheduled for a teeth cleaning (or worse) I'll pop this DVD in to give me something to think about while he starts drilling! Picturing my dentist doing "Bob's Elephant Routine" will be a distraction almost as good as novocain. The surprise party Margaret plans for Bob goes wrong in a way that makes my party faux pas pale by comparison. But I really can relate to Bob's birthday anxieties, although, luckily I haven't reached the big four-oh, yet.I'm glad this got expanded into a series but you really should see the short that started it all. For your own copy, go to www.Filmporium.com. For five dollars you can pick up this DVD, which also includes "Aria", a short, stop-motion puppet interpretation of "Madame Butterfly" and the risqué, fun "Girl's Night Out".

Funny animated short film that gave birth to the series, which I must admit, I haven't really followed. In this short, Bob turns 40. Margaret organize a surprise party, but she'll get a few surprises of her own! While she's preparing kebabs and the dogs are choking on the same ball, Bob is hit by middle-age crisis. His fear is to "wrinkle up like a piece of fruit". Maybe it's time to have children. Maybe Margaret doesn't find him sexy anymore. Maybe he should fall to temptation and have an affair with his younger secretary. Maybe ophtalmology is really his destiny! Lots of question and lots of laughs in this one.Seen at home, in Toronto, on December 29th, 2004.79/100 (***)

This short justly won the Academy Award and is probably one of the two short produced by the National Film Board of Canada (the other is The Cat Came Back) that most people would have seen than any other work done under their umbrella. Excellent and hilariously funny, particularly Bob's semi-meltdown under circumstances that his wife Margaret would just as soon forget. Beware of surprises. Available from the NFBC, relatively easily for Canadian citizens, a bit more complex for non-Canadians, but worth it either way. Most joyously recommended by a somewhat less neurotic, just-turned-42 Robert!