Over the past weekend I had a rare opportunity, in my normal yearly quest to see as many Oscar nominees as possible to see nearly all the "short films" for 2024! I saw, with my dear friend Cricket, the animated shorts and live action shorts, presented as packages, at an AMC theater. They were quite enjoyable and quite diverse.
Sadly, I am not sure how you can see these without seeing them in a package like we did. However, you can see Pachyderme on YouTube. If I figure out how to see the rest, I will certainly update this if possible!
Here now are the nominees for Best Animated Short Film, a blurb about each, and a few personal thoughts on each. I hope you enjoy.....
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Letter to a Pig
Blurb: Reveals the voices of the impacted parties of books banned from school districts, inspiring hope for the future through the profound insights of inquisitive youthful minds.
Thank you to the blurb for helping me understand what I saw. I got the first half, but certainly not the second. My friend Cricket and I were truly trying to figure it out with guesses that the schoolgirl was, perhaps, somehow bringing resolution to the survivor's pain. But it's open to interpretation!
The animation was pretty unique and i was fascinated by the technique used, a combination of sketchers and perhaps rotoscoping?
Where you can watch it: Â I am not sure if you can, but I will update this if I figure out how!
Ninety-Five Senses
Blurb: An ode to the body's five senses delivered by a man with little time left to enjoy them.
I loved this. So much. I thought the animation technique was interesting and you can get a good taste of it from the poster to the right. It made me think of a series of paintings, not done on mylar, but on paper and then filmed shot by shot, which caused the edges to blur and vibrate. It wound up being very effective.
And when we find out why the man has only a limited time to enjoy his senses, it really hit me hard and I got very emotional.
Where you can watch it: I am not sure if you can, but I will update this if I figure out how!
Our Uniform
Blurb: An Iranian girl unfolds her school memories on the wrinkles and fabrics of her old uniform.
Not a lot of story, but lots of emotions and information portrayed about a girl growing up in Iran.
The animation was fabulous and far different than anything I've ever seen before. Once again the poster to the left will give you a good idea what it was like. The characters moved over the wrinkles of the fabric of the clothes the real people might have worn. It truly helped carry the idea and themes of the story.
Where you can watch it: Â I am not sure if you can, but I will update this if I figure out how!
Pachyderme
Blurb: Like every summer, Louise stays at her grandparents' in the countryside for a few days during the holidays. It will snow at the height of summer and a monster is going to die.
This one was pretty nebulous. Cricket and I had to talk about it. In fact, it wasn't until hours later that he wondered if perhaps this movie is about.....SPOILER ALERTY....child molestation, but if it was, it was pretty, well, as I said, nebulous. The animation style can once again be hinted at by the poster. It was quite simply lovely. But the theme was so disguised, and too much. The message didn't come across. Perhaps that was why they chose such a beautiful animation style, to say that monsters can be hidden behind beauty?
Where you can watch it: YouTube
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
Blurb (Part 1): Set in an alternate WWI reality where a senseless war rages on, two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict play a joyful game of chess. A heroic carrier pigeon delivers the soldiers' chess moves over the battlefield as the fighting escalates.
This was gorgeous and unique and powerful with lots of emotions. As with all the other films listed here, you can get a strong idea what it looked like.
Blurb (Part 2): (with possible spoilers!) Neither soldier knows his opponent as the game and the war builds to its climatic final move. Whoever wins the game, one thing is for certain: there are no winners in war.
Where you can watch it: Â I am not sure if you can, but I will update this if I figure out how!
My Personal Choice for the Oscar: War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko is my choice! It was just so gorgeous and warm, and then there was the dichotomy of the war and the characters duty being to kill each other! Pow, right on the kisser. And then the John Lennon and Yoko Ono song starts and the story concludes and I couldn't help but cry. So this isn't my favorite simply because of the story, but because of all the elements, animation style, editing, music (including the actual soundtrack). It looked like a huge, big-budget feature film. It was also a surprise to discover that along with Dave Mullins, the story was written by John and Yoko's son Sean Ono Lennon!