History of the World in Three Minutes Flat (1980) User Reviews (3)

To call this "irreverent" would be an understatement!

[llltdesq · 7/10 · 9 January 2014]

This is an interesting short film which was nominated for an Oscar. It would be impossible to discuss this without giving some details, so here there be spoilers:

The short is almost precisely three minutes in length (3:02 the copy I watched) so needless to say, it's a seriously condensed history. It starts with God creating the world, shows Adam and Eve and Moses, works in Greek mythos with the Trojan Horse, Leonardo da Vinci and Columbus make cameos and so on It says something about Homo sapiens that wars and destruction figure significantly throughout.

The ending of the short pretty much comes full circle, so to speak. It's cute and funny and well worth finding and watching. Recommended.

Charming but aged

[ossie85 · 5/10 · 15 April 2023]

This a charming animated film from 1980 that tries to cover the entire history of humanity in just three minutes. While it's impressive how the film manages to pack in so much information in such a short amount of time, it's also quite evident that the animation style and humor of the film haven't aged well.

The animation feels quite dated by today's standards. The characters appear stiff and lack detail, and the backgrounds are quite basic. However, there's a certain charm to this simplicity that may appeal to some viewers who enjoy this particular era of animation.

The humor of the film is also quite dated. While some jokes may still land with audiences today, many others come across as either cringe-worthy or just not funny. It's important to keep in mind that this film was made over 40 years ago.

It is an interesting snapshot of a bygone era of animation. While it hasn't aged well, it's still quite impressive how much information the filmmakers managed to pack into just three minutes. If you're a fan of retro animation or history buffs, you might enjoy this film, but don't expect anything groundbreaking or hilarious.

So Many Superior Films

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 26 October 2021]

So many short features attempt to deal with the history of personkind. Some are quite remarkable with a tough edge but great creativity. This one has nothing new to offer. Terribly limited in its scope.