The Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts

Today I got to check out the animated shorts up for the Oscar this year, and like the live-action shorts, this year's selection pales in comparison to last year's crop.  In fact, this year, the two "Highly Commended" selections actually outshone at least one of the actual nominees.  While the overall quality is slightly underwhelming, there are a few entries that are legitimate contenders, while two should be happy just to be invited to the party.

Pixar hasn't won in this category since the hilarious For the Birds won way back in 2001, but it looks like that could change this year.  Day & Night, the clever 3-D/2-D hybrid that played before Toy Story 3 in theaters appears to be the front-runner.  It's the most innovative of the bunch, which certainly counts: just check out the phenomenal Logorama, which won the category last year.  Day & Night has the right blend of comedy and that trademark Pixar touchingness, and each moment is breath-taking in its own way.  The animation impresses, the sound is great, and the moral of the story, while very familiar, is expressed in a new, fun way.  The best of the bunch, Day & Night should handily win the category (for what it's worth, I incorrectly predicted the latest Wallace and Gromit last year, so I'm sticking with my favorites this year).

Day & Night's stiffest competition comes from Madagascar, carnet de voyage, a gorgeous, strange tour of the titular country (the rest of the title translates to "a Journey Diary").  The film lacks a strong narrative, or really even a compelling focus, instead relying on its eclectic blend of visual styles.  It's truly something to behold: there's an interesting mix of mediums and styles, ranging from incomplete pencil sketches to stop-motion toy cars.  The most impressive moments create an impressive 3-D effect (I'd love to see a 3-D conversion, in fact).  It's really fun to watch, but a potentially informative film only gives brief glimpses of the culture, though the landscape is explored in more detail.  Though not a completely satisfying film, the excitement of the presentation could push Madagascar, carnet de voyage over the top.

The only other short with any chance of winning is an adaptation of the children's book The Gruffalo.  The film's strongest chance of a win lies in its all-star cast, including Robbie Coltrane and Best Supporting Actress nominee Helena Bonham Carter.  It's a charmingly animated tale with a simple pattern and plenty of rhyming: really, it's an ideal kids' movie.  Viewers may start to squirm by the film's end (at 27 minutes, it's the longest of the bunch), but it's a mostly enjoyable tale with great art direction and voicework.

Let's Pollute, as the title implies, is a sort of sarcastic anti-propaganda, encouraging viewers to do their part in ruining our world.  It's one of the funniest shorts, hitting all the right notes as it gives viewers a glimpse of the history and future of pollution.  The hand-drawn animation is quaintly rough, and the narration is spot-on.  One of the more deserving contenders, I don't think Let's Pollute really has a chance, as this sort of subject matter is perhaps overdone by this point, even if it's normally more at home in the Best Documentary category.

Which leaves us The Lost Thing, by far the worst nominated toon.  It's a thoroughly boring tale of a man who finds the titular thing (basically an octopus stuck in a giant red oven, or something) and tries to figure out what to do with it.  Aside from the limp premise and the dull narration, the art direction is really unattractive, calling to mind 9 and last year's hideous non-contender, The Kinematograph.  At 15 minutes, it was the most torturous portion of the day's program.

After the nominees, a couple "Highly Commended" shorts were played, both of which certainly deserved credit over The Lost Thing.  The first, Urs, is a visually stunning and emotionally engaging tale of a faithful son who straps his aged mother on his back and carries her into the beautiful mountains near their home.  As they scale the symbolic cliff face, there's a real sense of peril, and I was surprised how much I'd come to care about the characters in such a short span of time.

The last film in the docket, The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger, was actually my favorite of the lot.  With its epileptic animation and goofy story, summed up perfectly in its humorously succinct title, it's a hilarious short that makes great use of some common cliches, most notably the training montage (though this time, used to plump up and thus gain entrance to the slaughterhouse).  Aside from the cool visuals, the music is used to effectively accompany the action and serve as the cows' communication.  The most satisfying short, it's disappointing it doesn't get to compete Sunday night.

So, if you're filling out your prediction ballot, mark Day & Night as you lament that The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger isn't able to make a run for it.