Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films
French Roast
A man sits down for his morning cup of coffee at a diner in France. A beggar enters holding up a change cup and coughing up his lungs, then leaves. The man realizes he doesn’t have his wallet. A series of events, some related, some fortuitous (or not), lead our coffee drinking gentlemen to a very nerve-racking (and thirst quenching) day. The animation of textures is far superior to that of the humans in this one, though I imagine it was intentional. The theme: what goes around comes around…unless it doesn’t.
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
As a young girl tries to fall sleep, her grandmother enters the room (it seems not for the first time) to tell a bedtime story. However, she tells it her own way. That is, with a very obvious personal spin. To be candid: she hates young, beautiful people, especially girls. She makes this obvious through her very distinct telling of Sleeping Beauty, replete with well-endowed fairies and an old, cantankerous granny-fairy with powers to ruin all of their lives. In fact, it has almost nothing to do with Sleeping Beauty at all. Amusing and enjoyable, and it ends on a very appropriate note.
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
An old widowed woman misses her deceased husband. She lays down to bed one night and passes away. Her soul rises from her body to greet the Grim Reaper, to take her to the Other Side, to be reunited with her husband. The doctors who try to save her have something else in mind. A tug of war begins (literally at one point) between the doctors and the Reaper, and a tortuous (though hilarious) journey unfolds, in which the old woman flat-lines and is resuscitated repeatedly, nearing the doors to the river Styx, only to be pulled back again and again and again…. A humorous look at the elderly longing for the comforts of passing on and, at times, their inability to do so. Slap-stick humor, an odd poignancy, and an unforgettable Cerberus.
Logorama
The entirety of the film is literally littered with logos; hence, the title, Logorama. Everything is a logo: the people are yellow AOL men or M&M’s or BIC pens, and the Michelin men police are after Ronald McDonald, an arms and drug dealer. A drink falls to the ground and splatters into the Nickelodeon logo. Everything (EVERYTHING) is a logo. The point is clear (could not be much clearer): capitalism has taken over our country. Near the end, oil erupts from an XBOX shaped earthquake to drive home the point a bit more: capitalism has not only taken over, but it has controlled the government, which has driven oil prices into the sky, which is the cause of all the problems in Americana. Excuse me, I mean America. Witty, amusing, political, entertaining. If nothing else, it’s a very interesting thought experiment.
A Matter of Loaf and Death
Wallace and Gromit are back. This time, making bread turns deadly, as a baker murderer is on the loose, killing them all off, one by one. Wallace falls in love and gets himself into a new bind every few seconds. Gromit must save the day over and over again, and his inability to speak is the cause of much frustration and hilarity. However, Wallace’s idiocy can be a bit tiring. For Gromit and for the audience. Classic stop-motion animation, a wacky plot, and good old fashioned convention save the day. The longest of the five nominations, it continues to deliver throughout. Though a bit zany, still very enjoyable on the whole and worth the half-hour. If you have a half-hour to spare.
