# The end of IMDB "I Need to Know" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 23, 2026, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-imdb-i-need-to-know/1031134 "2026-06-23T14:38:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-imdb-i-need-to-know/1031134/21 "2026-06-24T20:13:10Z")
FWIW, when I asked Claude, it suggested contacting the people at [cartoonresearch.com](http://cartoonresearch.com). Not sure if you’ve gone down that road or not, but thought I’d mention it, since it’s also somewhat on topic for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-imdb-i-need-to-know/1031134/22 "2026-06-24T20:58:03Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > My unknown animated short: > > It was some sort of early “Claymation” animation as I recall. A young boy had quit eating, and as a result of his getting lighter and lighter started floating away. The townspeople gathered and figured out that he needed to eat to bring him back down to earth, so they started tossing food up to him, and eventually he had eaten enough to land safely. > > I saw this on “Mr. Bill’s” kiddie program (WLOS - Asheville NC) in the early 1980s. It could have been 10 years old, and it might have been 30. > > Title might have been something like “The Boy Who Quit Eating” or “The Boy Who Floated Away,” but no guarantee. From AI: "You are likely thinking of the classic 1982 animated short film **The Boy Who Quit Eating** (originally titled _The Boy Who Made Himself Light_ or _The Man Who Made Himself Light_). It was produced by Kratky Film in Czechoslovakia and directed by Bretislav Pojar, based on a story by writer Miloš Macourek. [[1](https://www.facebook.com/groups/1090418721798679/posts/1570704767103403/), [2](https://www.facebook.com/groups/178416125631024/posts/2504084726397474/), [3](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTEBdH9jbr_/)] The story follows a boy named **Honza** who refuses to eat his meals. Because he takes in zero food, his body starts to lose all of its weight. He becomes so incredibly light that he begins to **float into the sky**. The frantic villagers and his parents have to rally together to bring him back down to the ground. They do this by tossing food—such as loaves of bread, apples, and sausages—straight up into the air for him to eat. He grabs and eats the food mid-air, adding weight back to his body so he can safely fall back to the ground. This charming, whimsical tale was frequently aired on children’s television programs in the 1980s (often on programs like _Mr. Bill’s_ shows in the U.S.). It was designed to teach children a lighthearted but effective lesson about the importance of eating their meals. [[1](https://www.facebook.com/groups/1090418721798679/posts/1570704767103403/), [2](https://www.facebook.com/groups/178416125631024/posts/2504084726397474/)]" I found no reference to this film on IMDB or Letterbox, though both the writer and director are there. The director was involved in many other animated films, including some stop-motion (not sure about “Claymation”). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-imdb-i-need-to-know/1031134/23 "2026-06-24T21:00:40Z")
Well, cool, thanks! There might be some future in this AI stuff after all. (Yeah, that’s why I put “Claymation” in quotes. I just knew it was some king of stop-motion animation.) ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-imdb-i-need-to-know/1031134/24 "2026-06-24T21:47:01Z")
the only thing I didn’t like about IMDb was that they always show CURRENT pictures of actors rather than how they looked in movie, so hard to identify sometimes ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-imdb-i-need-to-know/1031134/25 "2026-06-24T22:45:05Z")
That’s not _strictly_ correct. If you go to the “photos” section, _often_ they have promotional pictures or screenshots from movies all the way back to the beginning of their careers. For example, on Helen Mirren’s page, there are 1,265 pictures of her from her earliest roles to the latest. You may not be able to see them well on a tiny phone screen-- you need a computer screen or at least a tablet. [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000545/mediaindex/?ref\_=mv?ref\_=mv\_sm](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000545/mediaindex/?ref_=mv?ref_=mv_sm) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-imdb-i-need-to-know/1031134/26 "2026-07-04T04:21:50Z")
I think the point is, every performer has a profile photo, which isn’t necessarily a recent one. When IMDB lists the cast of a movie, it shows the profile photo, rather than the performer’s appearance in the movie, or how they looked at the time the movie was made. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-imdb-i-need-to-know/1031134/27 "2026-07-04T22:26:26Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > > > In 2017 IMDB pulled the plug on its message boards. > > I hated that. I loved those message boards. I’m another formerly-heavy user of the IMDB message boards. The _Inception_ board was practically a world unto itself! Lately they’ve been taking away features–like the User Reviews–unless you are logged in (maybe those who stay logged in all the time won’t have noticed this). I don’t like being logged in there, so I just go without seeing the User Reviews. However, it’s quite possible the site will take away all features from those not logged in. Bezos is like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-imdb-i-need-to-know/1031134.md?page=1)