It's Tough to Be a Bird is a 1969 American animated educational short film directed by Ward Kimball and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The short won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons in 1970 and was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Animated Film in 1971. This was the last animated short film produced by Disney to win an Academy Award until Paperman (2012) and thus the final animated cartoon short released by Disney in the golden age of American animation. Summary In the short, a red bird (voiced by Richard Bakalyan) explains how birds have contributed to human culture, even as people often try to kill them. He claims this may be because humans were jealous that birds can fly but people cannot, mentioning the legend of Icarus and featured films of early unsuccessful flying machines. In Disney's D-TV in the 1980s, clips from this short were set to Bobby Day's cover of "Rockin' Robin". Cast Ruth Buzzi as Soprano Richard Bakalyan as M.C. Bird John Emerson as Bird Fancier Jim Swain as Bird Fancier Ann Lord as Bird Fancier Hank Schloss as Bird Fancier Walter Perkins as Bird Fancier Rolf Darbo as Bird Fancier See also List of American films of 1969 Birdwatching National Audubon Society-featured in the film Hinkley, Ohio-featured in the film Noah's Ark References External links It's Tough To Be A Bird on BCDB 1969 films Best Animated Short Academy Award winners 1960s Disney animated short films Disney educational films 1969 animated films Films directed by Ward Kimball Films produced by Walt Disney Films scored by George Bruns Animated films about birds Animated films about animals Noah's Ark in film 1960s English-language films