2018 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts
One of my favorite events is coming up on Sunday, March 4, 2018, the 90th Academy Awards. That means that it’s also time for the Oscar-nominated short films to come to theatres. The Live-Action Short Films and the Animated Short Films programs will be playing in theatres starting Friday, February 9th.
The live-action shorts are often springboards to feature film careers, and a number of short films have later been turned into full feature films. The animated shorts are a delight to watch and can run the gamut of traditional animation to incredible groundbreaking techniques.
The films are playing exclusively at Landmark Midtown Art
Here are my reviews of the five Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films:
Dear Basketball – dir. Glen Keane, U.S.A., 6 minutes
Probably the weakest of the five nominations, this film is an ode to Kobe Bryant’s love of basketball. The hand-drawn film flows between scenes of Bryant’s time with the Lakers and when he was first starting playing basketball as a kid with some rolled-up tube socks. The film has a score by John Williams that at times dominates the movie and not in a good way. It’s a fine film but doesn’t seem to be Oscar’s quality. My Rating: Bargain Matinee
Garden Party – dir. Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, France, 7 minutes
The strangest of the five films, this computer-generated lifelike film shows us toads, frogs, and salamanders exploring the grounds, as well as inside a mansion that has been abandoned. A somewhat humorous film that follows the antics of frogs as they chase a butterfly or get stuck inside a jar while trying to eat macaroons. As the camera follows the frogs around the house, we began to realize that something went wrong; a door that has been pried open, bullet holes in a window, a gun, and bullets on a counter. The film ends with a rather gruesome discovery that should not be seen by children. The animation is incredibly lifelike, and I loved the mystery aspect of the film. My Rating: Full Price
Lou – dir. Dave Mullins, U.S.A., 7 minutes
This is the Pixar short that accompanied Cars 3. Done is the usual, gorgeous Pixar style the film tells the tale of a playground bully that meets his match in a creature that lives in a lost and found box. The creature is made up of lost items, with a blanket for a body and baseballs for eyes. It’s a sweet story where the creature teaches the bully that it’s better to the give than take away. It’s a touching story that Pixar specializes in, making you feel all warm at the end. My Rating: Full Price
Negative Space – dir. Ru Kuwahata, Max Porter, France, 5 minutes
Probably the most creative of the five films, this short tells the story of how a father taught his son about life through the packing of a suitcase. The film uses stop-motion animation to tell the story of life’s lessons handed down from father to son. It’s a beautiful film, both in appearance and story-line with an incredibly moving ending. My Rating: I Would Pay to See It Again
Revolting Rhymes – dir. Jan Lachauer, Jakob Schuh, England, 29 minutes
The longest of the five films is also its funniest. Based on a Roald Dahl book, tells the adventures of the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Little Red Riding Hood. The story, a retelling of those fairy tales, is done in a conversation between an elderly woman waiting in a restaurant until her babysitting duties start and the Big Bad Wolf. The film has an incredibly creative story-line that weaves all the characters into one story that has a number of twists and turns. It has an ending that you won’t see coming. My Rating: I Would Pay to See It Again
My movie rating system from Best to Worst: 1). I Would Pay to See it Again 2). Full Price 3). Bargain Matinee 4). Cable 5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again
