It's not that surprising that this cartoon was made by The National Film Board of Canada, as it was Oscar-nominated and tons of films sponsored by this government organization have received this honor. Most of the ones I have seen by them have been excellent and this one is pretty good--albeit very, very preachy. Now I want you to understand that I hate smoking and am applaud efforts to curb this nasty habit. However, sometimes anti-smoking campaigns are a bit heavy-handed and preachy. Fortunately, while THE DRAG certainly is, it is humorous and this takes some of the edge off the blatant message.
Technically speaking, the film is very good for the 1960s though inferior compared to the glory days of animation in the 1940s and 50s as well as today. Simply put, it could not stack up against any of the recent Oscar nominees. But it was a product of its times and it rather unfair to complain about the style when simple animation and low frame-rates were the norm at the time. It's very splashy and odd--and somewhat reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's animations for "The Monty Python's Flying Circus"--using cut out pictures and words along with original art.
A fascinating look into the 1960s, though I seriously doubt if the film changed many habits--especially since the big drop in smoking rates is a much more recent phenomenon.
