I thought I was getting tickets to the live action short film Oscar nominees, but I knew something was wrong when all the trailers were for animated movies (but I did get to see a brief flash of the comedy brilliance that is the Minions. One of them spanks another one’s butt! HILARIOUS!).
Five nominees plus two bonus movies that I think were added to make the run time more reasonable. Let’s give ’em each a sentence or two, in viewing order!
The nominees:
Our Uniform
I think this one was my favorite. Animated on top of articles of clothing, it’s about life in Iranian schools for girls.
Letter to a Pig
Second favorite. It starts with a Holocaust survivor talking about hiding from Nazis in a pig pen, then explores how that trauma impacts later generations.
Pachyderme
A quiet story of a girl staying with her grandparents, particularly her grandfather. Very low-key, soft animation. Worth watching, but there’s not very much animation in this animation.
Ninety-Five Senses
A man (Tim Blake Nelson)narrates over moments of his life that have varying levels of significance. Saying more would give away too much. Watchable, but not mind blowing.
WAR IS OVER!
Two soldiers on opposite sides use a carrier pigeon to play chess. Made with Unreal Engine, which made every shot feel like a highly detailed Fortnite scene. Also uses “So This Is Christmas” to drive an emotional beat it doesn’t quite earn. Not my favorite.
Bonus shorts:
Wild Summon
Marianne Faithfull narrates a documentary about the spawning habits of salmon, except the salmon are replaced by big-mouthed fish people wearing SCUBA gear. The stakes feel higher when it’s little humans trying to survive. I think someone misheard someone else saying “wild salmon” and decided it would make a good movie title.
I’m Hip
Nothing makes it clear that someone isn’t hip more than them constantly repeating that they are hip. Old-school style 2D animation that’s interesting but not innovative and a weak song made this my least favorite short of the night.
Bonus unrelated animation!
Someone shared a clip from the 1990 Jetsons movie that’s a music video for a Tiffany song, and somehow it rocks. It’s like CalArts animation grad students broke into Hanna-Barbera studios and animated one part of the film.