A Movie A Week - Week 8: Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012 - Animated

Movie: Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012 - Animated

Theater: Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

Snack: Caramel Popcorn and Coke

For a second week, a shorts program at the Midtown Art Cinema saves me from a lackluster selection of feature films.  I found the animated shorts to be more of a mixed bag than the live action shorts I saw last week.  In fact, I thought the honorable mentions, which were included in this program along with the nominees, were stronger than a couple of the shorts that were nominated.  That said, there were some gems to be found here, and I find that I do agree with the Academy on the winner.  I'll start with the nominees:

A Morning Stroll (UK) - This one was kind of a one-note joke, as we see basically the same events over and over depicted in different animation styles and set in different eras.  Fortunately, the one-note joke is a funny one, and it takes an amusingly strange turn in the last section.

Dimanche/Sunday (Canada) - This one just didn't do anything for me.  I'm not saying it's bad, I just didn't get it.  This was probably my least favorite of the bunch.

La Luna (USA) - Here is the Pixar entry, and it is as charming as you would expect.  The story was a bit slight, but the character designs are fantastic and the gag in the final shot is genuinely funny.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (USA) - This short was the winner of the animated short Oscar and I definitely understand why.  It is sweet without being cloying and the animation is absolutely beautiful.  The character design is fantastic  and giving the books life and personality was well done.  This one rated pretty highly for me, and as I said, I understand why it won.

Wild Life (Canada) - I have mixed feelings about this one.  I liked the animation style.  The painterly look of the piece was different in a pleasing way.  I found amusing moments in the short and was enjoying the story in the beginning.  However, the dark turn the story takes at the end was a bit of a jolt and turned me off.

Following the nominees, four honorable mentions were screened.  All four were fantastic, I thought, and one of them was my personal favorite of the entire program.

Amazonia - Cute, well-done, and a real crowd-pleaser.  It is a fairly simple film in terms of story, while the art and animation are wonderfully complex.  This combination very much works in the film's favor.

The Hybrid Union - I don't know that I quite got this film, but that did not seem to impede my enjoyment.  The visual inventiveness of the film was captivating.

Nullarbor - This Australian import was one of the more traditionally narrative films of the bunch.  There's some great character work in this short and it is all in the "acting" as there is no dialogue.  A very impressive film.

Skylight - I've saved the best for last, as this was my personal favorite of all the animated shorts shown.  It was laugh out loud funny from start to finish.  The only complaint I have is that I thought the effect mimicking an old film skipping was over-used to the point of distraction.  Despite that, I still have a lot of love for this short.  If you have a chance to see it, do so.  You will not regret it.