Adult Swim would give this guy 10 seasons and a movie

I remember back in 2002 this video caused our internet privileges to be taken away. I still think it was worth it.

Jokes aside, that last segment where everything crumbles apart is some seriously impressive animation.

Don Hertzfeldt basically made asdfmovie years before asdfmovie, and did it with a message about artistic integrity and commercialization to boot. You're a legend, sir.

"I'm a consumer whore!" "And how!" 10 years later and it still gets me for some reason

Who else here is 30 years old reliving their humor from when they were 14

If you’re here in 2024 you’re a legend

all these years later, i still have "my spoon is too big" permanently etched in my brain

"For the love of God and all that is holy, my anus is bleeding" has stayed crystal-clear in my mind for almost a decade now.

Ah yes, A Comically Large Spoon

I have always loved how this goes from random ass humor to cosmic horror

I still remember my friend telling me about this video at 7th grade recess like it was yesterday (31 now) - and then finally getting to watch it on freaking dial-up internet on my dad's work computer in the middle of the night while he was asleep and just losing my shit for 10 minutes straight. The epitome of formative moments.

The first time I saw rejected, KZfaq was still the wild west. No ads. No suggested videos based on what you've already viewed. And somehow I found this. My 15 year old brain was immediately transformed for the better. Thanks for that.

this being nominated for an oscar is the greatest thing to ever happen

This video shaped my childhood. I truly am, a banana.

This is not only one of the funniest cartoons ever made and most likely the grandfather of internet culture as we know it, but it’s just a masterpiece of simple yet complex animation.

The ideal format to see this film in is a highy corrupted avi file, the VHS of the early 2000's.

I think being exposed to this short at such a young age and watching it over and over again was a contributing factor to my strange sense of humor. Thank you Don Hertzfeldt.

A true pioneer of “random” humor.

just watched It’s Such A Beautiful Day and stumbled across this nostalgia gem

The "SILLY HATS ONLY" part will never get old. This video as a whole will never get old.

What amazes me is that despite how whacky and funny the majority of the movie is, the last part where everything “begins” to fall apart always fills me with a sense of dread. It’s true art, and I love it.

I haven't seen this since I was 17. I'm 28 now and the "silly hats only" bit actually spoke to me. During my mid 20's all I wanted to be was part of the alternative musician crowd. When I acted and dressed the same as they did they saw right through me and I was treated like shit by almost every one of my friends. Eventually I cut ties with all of them for beating me down and have my own life. Some of them were more successful than me and some of them weren't, but the point was that I didn't exclude people trying to find their heart, I only helped them find it. And it's led to more lifelong friends than any of the people who beat me with a baseball bat will ever feel in their lives.

The left handed ones with the jibberish are my absolute favorite. Brilliant all around.

I appreciate Don being willing to put this up for free. There's no way enough people have bought it for him to get the compensation he deserves.

2:41 “I’m feeling fat and sassy” “DOYOOOHHHHH!!!!” By far my favorite part

Back in high school this video was a right of passage to becoming my friend. If you watched it and laughed your self near to death you passed. Thanks for making me into the man I am today Don.

In an alternate timeline, Don Hertzfeldt was not a successful animator, but a pioneering filmmaker, producing among other things an entirely new kind of TV series that would go on to have a tremendous influence on television for the next decade or so. Meanwhile, on the internet, you would find comments saying "David Lynch? Isn't that the guy who made those fake animated commercials?"

The baby falling down the stairs gets me every time. It's so out of nowhere and random I can't help but laugh.

I haven't seen this video in probably ten years. I haven't forgotten a bit of it, and I've never felt fatter or sassier.

6:36 When he said "E MONKEY PORK COFFEE mike MOOTS" I felt that

This must never be allowed to leave KZfaq. Keep the tapes circulating, the next generation must witness this gloriously stupid masterpiece.

This film shaped me into the man i am today. I still say "im feeling fat and sassy" after every meal.

I remember watching this in 2007 in 240p. Those were much different times.

There's something that unnerves me about the final shot where as the character is screaming, the animation stops, your suspension of disbelief collapses, and now it's merely only a drawing of the character in the chaos. The paper crumpling effects are an obvious fourth wall break, but that moment of depersonalization gets to me.

20 years later and this still brings me so much joy. Got to Don Hertzfeldt twice... highlight. In about 2004, I showed the DVD of this to my Swedish niece (she would have been about 15)... the happy tune playing during "my anus is bleeding" is, apparently, a Swedish children's xmas song! It just added to genius of this.

1:40 I love that even the angry tumour is going “WTF is that?” when the flying octopig sails past.

Around 2004 I was going to an Art College to become an Animator and one of my teachers showed us this during class. It was revolutionary.

Nothing before was ever created like this, & nothing again will ever be created like this. Chef's kiss.

we admired you back in 8th-grade history class around 2002. All that a group of us would draw every day during that class, what we considered was an ode to such art. We thank you.

At 8:08 this is seriously one of the greatest animations ever. Possibly one of the greatest 4th wall breaks too. I’ve watched a lot of cartoons and animators and I’ve never seen anyone ever do anything like how that cartoon figure is pounding at the “glass” and the paper wrinkles at every pound. Don is a fucking talented genius

The only remaster I need in my life.

This should be in the National Film Registry!

As a kid, this made me laugh with my friends. As an adult, I am nostalgic and so impressed at the quality of this work.

"I live in a giant bucket." Never related so hard to anything in the whole wide bucket.

I still quote "Tuesday's coming, did you bring your coat?"

My student newspaper had this on all 4 of the computers in our one-room office playing on loop simultaneously, but nowhere close to being synchronized. For days. Some of the best days of my life.

I saw this 20 years ago on the night I met my future wife. She first saw me on the floor crying with laughter at this video. We’re still together. ❤️

Has this been added to the Library of Congress yet? You defined a generation's humour with this short. I'm almost thirty and I still think of lines from this a few times a year. Especially when my anus is bleeding.

“Guess they couldn’t handle the Hertzfeldt style!”

The last part where everything falls apart actually gives me a genuine sense of dread.

This animation is probably one of the biggest inspirations to me I love it so much. I think it's also worth noting Don's technique of folding and crumpling and shaking the paper under the downshooter is a genius way of showing that the cartoons are falling apart. God bless

This film is one of the core reasons why my sense of humor is so fucked up in my adult years. First saw it when I was around 9 or 10. Still just as legendary now as it was back in the day. A true masterpiece of modern animation.

That's right kids, This was nominated for an OSCAR (one of the times they got something RIGHT)!!

Hi Don, I met you about a decade ago in Oly Washington, participated in your Q&A session, and had you sign my old DVD copy of REJECTED. You didn't want to carve your name into the cover with my switchblade, but you did sign it and draw stars all over the cover; which was cool. Hope all is well.

I remember when this was new to me. Absolutely brilliant. We were quoting lines from it for years. Thanks for doing it, and thanks for sharing again years later. Today is a wonderful day. Hot diggety.

Aggressively anti-consumerist, post-modernist, hilarious. This influenced me deeply.

It's weird how seeing this animation in such crisp clarity is really jarring to me, and I can't tell if it's nostalgia playing tricks on me, or if the comparatively grainy nature of early 2000's heavily compressed 240p actually lent itself to the theme and style of the short.

That stream of blood is so beautiful in this restoration

I was an only child but I met the love of my life. She had two brothers and a competitive sports father. 10 years later and I couldn't be happier that I found this video again.

This cartoon basically made a generation of ppl have really obscure senses of humor. It was kind of like a surreal Far Side where Far Side comics were sort of my childhood intro to weird / dark humor. This just pushed that humor off a surreal cliff.

I've been referencing "my spoon is too big" since I was a little kid and my brother showed me that short. Thank you for one of the longest running inside jokes I've ever had!

So, funny enough, the first time I saw Rejected was actually at a film festival featuring animated shorts, including Dr. Tran. I think I paid ten bucks to see it at the local theater and I felt like it was worth every penny. My friends and I were quoting Rejected for the next 6 months. "MY ANUS IS BLEEDING" would elicit unstoppable laughter every time it was uttered. We weren't kids. We were in our early 20s. I am so glad that this is up here.

Even after all these years, the ending is still the best part. Absolute genius in how it was created.

8:20 "Then, suddenly the animator suffered a fatal heart attack!"

That metallic groaning noise at 7:16 is one of the most genuinely frightening things I've ever heard. That's the sound of something enormous and probably important, failing. If you ever heard that in real life you might very well be screwed.

I remember seeing this at the sick and twisted animation festival in Austin Tx, it blew me away! Never had I seen anything like it. Blew my mind. So happy I found this today.

"Angry ticks fly out of my nipples" will never cease to be funny to me lmao

I forgot how this ended. Sweet Jesus, it's terrifying.

Me: Awwwyeee i remember this shii.. Also Me, 9 minutes later: HoLy ShIt WhAt ThE fUcK

2:20 “You’re watching The Family Learning Channel. And now, angry ticks fire out of my nipples!” (What I literally said then happens)

I saw this at Spike and Mikes twisted cartoon festival in the early 2000s at a small theater here in Kansas. Still one of my favorite animations ever.

Why do I feel like this was the ASDF movie of its time

My fondest memories are from this: laughing on the floor, 10 years old, in a small town on the peninsula of Mexico, with my parents and their friends spilling their wine. Thank you Dan.

Can we just talk about how cool 7:06 and onward is? The way the "destruction" of his cartoons gets so incredibly meta with the various paper effects?

This will always be a classic for me and my friends - shared and re-watched yearly… it’s like a holiday tradition now. Referenced frequently and without provocation. Thanks for this timeless masterpiece! Stay classy folks and don’t forget to always wear a silly hat!

bruh "im feeling fat and sassy" is the quote of my life

If this isn't in the criterion collection it needs to be added immediately.

2:10 oh hey that was pretty ta- Approximately 2 seconds later:

I just wanted you to know if you see this that my best friend of my entire life showed me this when we were in seventh grade. He took his own life and sometimes i still come back to this just to laugh and occasionally cry like a bitch. Thank you for accidentally helping me remember my boy. You’ll never understand how much i need this video lol

The fact that I can still say "I am a banana" in that voice 10 years after I first watched and people still laugh is a fucking blessing to this world.

The film that invented the KZfaq sense of humor.

Haven’t watched this since I was a teenager! Oh my goodness how did I forget this existed!!??

This brings back so many memories! I can’t believe it’s still here!

East Lansing student film festival, March 24th 2000. It was my 16th birthday and I had just eaten mushrooms for the first time. This began playing as soon as the shrooms kicked in. Thank you, Don, for making my first time tripping balls as well as my birthday into something I will never forget!

The first time I saw this was in film school. Not college: a little film school for kids in Buenos Aires. I don't know why they thought this was suitable for children. I was eleven, maybe twelve. It blew my mind, specially the ending. I've loved Hertzfeldt since then. So glad this masterpiece is now available for all, and in all its demented glory.

I want to say, this is probably one of the top bits of media that has shaped my sense of humor to this day.

Every few years I come back and watch this video cuz it’s that good

The last segment with the rippling and crumbling paper is a stellar piece of animation.

Don Hertzfeldt's Rejected Now with blu-ray restoration! Sweet Jesus!

The collapse scene still looks fantastic.

I love that this is firmly embedded in the millennial zeitgeist right alongside The Holy Grail and LOTR memes.

I remember seeing this in college back in 2004, on a big projector screen in animation class. It was held in high esteem on campus, like Homestar Runner.

this is really deep and emotional. the “ my anis is bleeding” segment is a parallel to how in life, you may be suffering but everyone around you is still living happily not caring about you.

I remember seeing this in college at a friends party. We must have watched it 10 times in a row dying of hysteria each time.

That pop corn bleeding can be used as a starting intro to any period related videos :D it is a pretty wild experience.

The original ASDF

Artwork of this quality belongs in a museum.

My spoon is too big..... I am a banana gets me every time! I still have that in my head over a decade later. This never gets old! Pure classic! We need more of stuff like this now adays 😂😂😂😂😂

This guy did internet humor during the dial up era. Dude deserves kudos.