Knick Knack

Knick Knack is a 1989 American computer-animated short film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter. The short is about a snow globe snowman who wants to join the other travel souvenirs in a summer themed party. However, the glass dome that surrounds him prevents him from doing so, thus leading to his many attempts to break out of his snow globe. Knick Knack is Pixar's fourth and final short produced during the company's tenure as a hardware company.

The short stands out from Lasseter's other early short films at Pixar in its reliance on pure comedy to drive the story. It was inspired by Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and the work of animators Chuck Jones and Tex Avery. Lasseter collected snow globes and also enjoyed souvenirs from distant places and those elements made their way into the short as well. Singer Bobby McFerrin improvised the acapella vocal jazz soundtrack to the film while watching a rough cut which was eventually left unchanged in its final edition.

Knick Knack premiered at the 1989 SIGGRAPH convention in Boston and was presented in 3D. The short has enjoyed positive reviews since its debut, and has been screened as a part of numerous film festivals. In later re-releases, especially Finding Nemo (2003), the short was altered to address a design element of the female knick knacks' torso.

This Old Man

"This Old Man" is an English language children's song, counting and nursery rhyme with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3550.

Origins and history

The origins of this song are obscure. The earliest extant record is a version noted in Anne Gilchrist's Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (1937), learnt from her Welsh nurse in the 1870s under the title "Jack Jintle" with the lyrics:

My name is Jack Jintle, the eldest but one,
And I can play nick-nack upon my own thumb.
With my nick-nack and click-clack and sing a fine song,
And all the fine ladies come dancing along.

My name is Jack Jintle, the eldest but two,
And I can play nick-nack upon my own shoe.
With my nick-nack and click-clack and sing a fine song,
And all the fine ladies come dancing along.

My name is Jack Jintle, the eldest but three,
And I can play nick-nack upon my own knee.
With my nick-nack and click-clack and sing a fine song,
And all the fine ladies come dancing along.

Lyrics

A more familiar version goes like this:

Knack

Knack or The Knack may refer to:

See also

Old man

Old Man or Old man may refer to:

Basic meanings

People

Books

Film and TV

Nursery rhyme

A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the late 18th /early 19th century. In North America the term Mother Goose Rhymes, introduced in the mid-18th century, is still often used.

History

Lullabies

The oldest children's songs of which we have records are lullabies, intended to help a child sleep. Lullabies can be found in every human culture. The English term lullaby is thought to come from "lu, lu" or "la la" sound made by mothers or nurses to calm children, and "by by" or "bye bye", either another lulling sound, or a term for good night. Until the modern era lullabies were usually only recorded incidentally in written sources. The Roman nurses' lullaby, "Lalla, Lalla, Lalla, aut dormi, aut lacta", is recorded in a scholium on Persius and may be the oldest to survive.

Many medieval English verses associated with the birth of Jesus take the form of a lullaby, including "Lullay, my liking, my dere son, my sweting" and may be versions of contemporary lullabies. However, most of those used today date from the 17th century. For example, a well known lullaby such as "Rock-a-bye, baby on a tree top", cannot be found in records until the late-18th century when it was printed by John Newbery (c. 1765).