Puppies: Are they the most pure force of good on this wretched planet? The answer to that rhetorical question is a resounding non-rhetorical “absolutely,” and last night on The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert reminded us why.
It’s easy to get jaded about the Oscars: It’s all politics, the ones you like never win, the whole institutionalized racism thing, gross displays of flagrant wealth, the list goes on. But with a special segment last night called the “Puppy Oscars,” Colbert rose above the showbiz self-congratulation to take on a noble mission with far more adorable means. Just as the Puppy Bowl offers a heartwarming alternative to the Super Bowl every year, The Late Show‘s newly created Puppy Oscars present all the glamour of the red carpet, all the thrills of victory, and all the despair of defeat, but with adorable little puppies. If this is pandering, then sign me up for more pandering, please.
Colbert’s got a righteous mission behind this overwhelmingly cute segment; all the puppies shown in the video above are looking for a loving home and family, adding a nicely charitable dimension to the single greatest late-night segment of this still-young year. It’s a precious idea with a nice rationale behind it, though as one YouTube commenter correctly asserts, it’s absurd that the “Mutt Damon” pun was right there and nobody went for it. God willing, this will become an annual occurrence and the Puppy Oscars will supplant national interest in the Human Oscars. Nobody adopt that toothless pug, though. I call dibs.
