Let's All Go to the Lobby

Let's All Go to the Lobby (officially known as Technicolor Refreshment Trailer No. 1.) is a 1957 animated musical advertisement produced for Filmack studios and directed by Dave Fleischer.[1][2][3] The advertisement is played before the beginning of the main film or before intermission.

Let's All Go to the Lobby
Four anthropomorphic snack food items are featured in the film.
Directed byDave Fleischer
Produced byFilmack
Release date
1957
Running time
1 minute

Content

The film consists of six shots. The most recognizable of these depicts four animated food items (from left to right: candy bar or box of chewing gum,[lower-alpha 1] popcorn, candy, and a soft drink) singing and walking leftwards. In the foreground before these characters are silhouettes of audience members, creating an illusion of depth, a standard technique of the medium. In a later shot, a group of four consumers are depicted enjoying their purchased food items.[4]

The eponymous song of the film is set to the same tune as "We Won't Be Home Until Morning", "The Bear Went Over the Mountain", "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", and "Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre" (c. 1709). The tune is of unknown origin and probably predates these songs. It was well enough known in the early 19th century to be used for a passage in Wellington's Victory (1813) by Ludwig van Beethoven.[4]

Daniel Eagan argues that "[w]ith its simple, repetitive lyrics and streamlined animation, Let's All Go to the Lobby has a hypnotic pull that is as compelling today as it was fifty years ago."[4] He also notes that by choosing not to simply photograph the offered items, the creators of the film avoided using brand names for the products for sale.[4]

Background and history

The Chicago-based Filmack Studios, originally known as Filmack Trailer Company, was founded in 1919 by Irving Mack. The company specialized in the production of newsreels and promotional material for theaters.[4][5] The film is technically known as a snipe, which is defined as material displayed on a projection screen without being part of the featured presentation. This includes advertising material, previews of coming attractions, courtesy requests for the audience, and notices concerning the concession stand of the movie theater.[4] By the 1950s, the sales of the concession stands represented a significant portion of movie theaters' revenue. Filmack commissioned a series of Technicolor trailers aimed at informing audiences about a theater's newly installed concession stand.[4][5]:137 Let's All Go to the Lobby was one of these films.[4]

The trailer was animated by Dave Fleischer and produced by Filmack Studios. Fleischer was identified as the creator of this short film in a list of Filmack's releases which reported that "Both trailers were produced exclusively for Filmack by Dave Fleischer...".

Specific details for his involvement are lacking, and the rest of the production crew remains unknown.[4][5] Production may have started by 1953,[6] but Robbie Mack (a later owner of Filmack) estimates it was completed c. 1955. The release date is typically estimated to 1957. The original production records are considered lost.[4] Filmack sold to various theater owners the right to use the film, which it still owns.[4]

The lyrics were composed by Jack Tillar.[1]

Legacy

Filmack has continued selling copies in the decades since its production. The company estimates that 80% of independent theaters have screened the film at various points, and it is likely the most viewed snipe.[4] In 2000, Let's All Go to the Lobby was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[7][8]

In 2013, the film was re-used in a pre-movie GEICO commercial in which the characters leave the set after that performance and talk on their cell phones to talk about their schedules and their performances. The Gecko appears and talks to them about not using their cell phones while the movie is playing. The food items apologize to the viewers and go back in the scene in the opposite direction where they sing "Let's All Silence Our Cell Phones".[9][10]

In 2019, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part made a parody reference to this short film.[11]

The clip of the singing concessions has frequently been parodied in advertisements of the 2000s. These include a 2006 spot for Chipotle Mexican Grill where a burrito attempts to join the characters,[12] a 2011 spot for the Tribeca Film Festival where the characters are mobsters voiced by the cast of The Sopranos,[13] and a 2013 GEICO commercial where the characters are chided for speaking on their cell phones.[14][15] It has also been spoofed in popular entertainment including Late Show with David Letterman, The Simpsons,[16] and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,[17] and appears in fictional depictions of theaters.[18] Lionsgate produced a quarantine-themed version of the snipe to accompany special presentations of films streamed online during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]

Footnotes

Notes
  1. The left-most refreshment is a rectangular wrapped package described by the National Film Preservation Board and Eagan as chewing gum,[20][4] and by the Chicago Tribune as a candy bar.[16]

References
  1. Komorowski, Thad. "Let's All Go to the Lobby" (PDF). Washington, D. C.: Library of Congress. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2020. For one of the more iconic shorts in the National Film Registry, Technicolor Refreshment Trailer No. 1, better known as Let's All Go to the Lobby, easily has one of the murkiest histories.
  2. Kubincanek, Emily (June 20, 2017). "'Let's All Go to the Lobby' Tells the History of the Movie Theater Experience". Film School Rejects. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  3. Let's All Go to the Lobby on Flickchart
  4. Eagan (2010), p. 543–544
  5. Valentine, Maggie (1996). The Show Starts on the Sidewalk: An Architectural History of the Movie Theatre, Starring S. Charles Lee. Yale University Press.
  6. Inspiration - Filmack Catalog. February, 1954. Volume 15, Issue 2. Page 10.
  7. "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 US. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  8. "Librarian of Congress Names 25 More Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  9. "'Let's All Go to the Lobby': SVA Faculty Members Recast the GEICO Gecko". School of Visual Arts Close Up. Manhattan, New York. October 30, 2013. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  10. "Ad of the Day: Geico's Camel is Back, and Obsessed With a Different Day". Adweek. October 2, 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  11. Kaplan, Jeanne; Kaplan, David (February 9, 2019). "Kaplan Vs Kaplan Movie Reviews of the Lego Movie 2: The Second Part". Weho Times. West Hollywood, California: Murillo Media. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  12. Nudd, Tim (July 26, 2006). "Burritos: You can't take them anywhere". Adweek. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018.
  13. Nudd, Tim (April 19, 2011). "Concessions Get Wise in Tribeca Film Festival Spot". Adweek. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013.
  14. "'Let's All Go to the Lobby': SVA Faculty Members Recast the GEICO Gecko". School of Visual Arts Close Up. Manhattan, New York. October 30, 2013. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  15. "Ad of the Day: Geico's Camel is Back, and Obsessed With a Different Day". Adweek. October 2, 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  16. Owens, John (January 24, 2013). "Timeless 'Let's All Go to the Lobby' has deep local roots". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  17. Kaplan, Jeanne; Kaplan, David (February 9, 2019). "Kaplan Vs Kaplan Movie Reviews of the Lego Movie 2: The Second Part". Weho Times. West Hollywood, California: Murillo Media. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  18. Kuvinacanek, Emily (June 20, 2017). "'Let's All Go to the Lobby' Tells the History of the Movie Theater Experience". Film School Rejects. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  19. "Not even the coronavirus puts Baby in the corner". Los Angeles Times. April 21, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  20. "Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles". Library of Congress. Washington, D. C. Retrieved May 23, 2020.

Sources
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