A Reel Review: The 2012 Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films

This year’s most-excellent batch of Oscar nominated animated short-films have two things in common (besides all being very good); first, they are all done (or at least appear to be) in traditional, old-school animation styles. There are no CGI bubble-heads to be found in this collection. The second thing they have in common is that they are all basically silent films. Not one word of dialogue will be heard when viewing these films which are competing for Oscar gold. 

The Films:

HEAD OVER HEELS - After many years of marriage, husband and wife Walter and Madge have grown apart: he lives on the floor, and she lives on the ceiling. As Walter makes attempts to re-kindle their old romance, the two of them can’t figure out which end is up. This is a remarkable little number done in stop-motion claymation which could easily be extended to a feature-length. It is funny and clever, heavy on allegory and the design into the inverted house is astounding.

MAGGIE SIMPSON IN: THE LONGEST DAYCARE - Maggie, of THE SIMPSONS, longs to be with the gifted kids at her daycare facility, but finds happiness and her meaning in rescuing a caterpillar from a bully. This film feels like it literally fell out of a small segment of THE SIMPSONS (during their better years), and that’s okay. It is sweet and fun, captures some magic of childhood, and has just enough twists and turns to stay interesting. 

PAPERMAN – This Disney short, in which a lonely man uses a stack of papers to get the attention of the girl he loves, is the most well-known out of the Nominees having run in front of WRECK-IT RALPH last year. PAPERMAN is in black-and-white, and is in done in Disney’s classic hand-drawn cartoon style. With its familiar yet classic style in place, the story unfolds naturally, and feels very much like something Walt Disney himself would have created during his youth. 

FRESH GUACAMOLE – The shortest of the Nominees at only two minutes, FRESH GUACAMOLE is probably the most fun. Done in stop-motion with real-life objects (and a pair of human hands), the film has no real story, and just simply shows a set of hands creating guacamole out of household objects; dice, poker chips, light bulbs, golf balls, and (pineapple) hand-grenades all serve as ingredients. 

ADAM AND DOG – At some point in history, the very first meeting between man and his best friend had to have taken place. ADAM AND DOG takes that concept into the backdrop of Adam and Eve. Shown from the perspective of the dog, the film takes us through the canine’s emotions as he is initially lonely, elated when he makes his first best friend in man, and then heartbroken as he is cast aside when Eve comes along. It is the most emotionally compelling story out of the Nominees. Done in a classic, 1970’s style-animation reminiscent of WATERSHIP DOWN, it has a very adult feel and can easily be extended to a feature-length film. It is a bit of a downer, but still offers hope because it ultimately shows why man and dog are so inseparable. Remarkable little film. 

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The 85^th Oscars will be awarded on February 24^th.