Note: This program is scheduled to play for two weeks from Friday, 01/29/16 to Thursday, 02/11/16. There will be four additional shorts added to the program – If I Was God, The Short Story of a Fox and a Mouse, The Loneliest Stoplight and Catch It.
Once again, Landmark Theatres are bringing the five Oscar-nominated animated shorts to movie screens. And as expected, it’s a strong collection. There’s a lot of great animation out there and it’s fantastic to see shorts being presented to public audiences. In all, it’s a varied and exceptional collection of films and the package comes highly recommended to those looking for something a little out of the ordinary at the movies.
For the most part, they’re more adult-themed. The first is the only family friendly entry in the bunch. Sanjay’s Super Team (US) is also the highest profile effort. It’s a Pixar short that ran in front of The Good Dinosaur at cinemas. This is a simple, heartfelt story about a young boy who is not enthused about meditating at a shrine with his father. To liven things up, he dreams of Hindu Gods as superheroes. It follows the bright visual style and approach of a typical Pixar short. While it’s ultimately light on deeper themes and subtext, the end result is effectively sweet and charming.
World of Tomorrow (US) is a highlight. This is a stunning effort that effectively comments on the future of mankind with a hilarious streak of black humor. Drawn in almost a stick-figure style, a toddler is visited by a third generation clone of herself from many decades into the future. The stiff and pragmatic clone attempts to impart important lessons to the child on the world and its eventual end. However, her ancestor (referred to as Emily Prime) is far too young to grasp the relevance of the words being imparted, and often speaks gibberish in return. It’s a completely unique effort; despite the serious subject matter, the abstract approach to the visuals suits the film’s comic underpinnings. It’s oddly beautiful and strongly affecting.
Bear Story (Chile) is easily the saddest short (quite an accomplishment, given how many efforts have a dark edge). In it, an elderly bear takes a mechanical diorama out to the street and plays it to children. Viewers witness the bear’s life story as he is taken away from his family and is forced to work as a performer in a circus. While it’s interesting to watch and very effective overall, it’s fairly relentless in its approach and feels a tad obvious in its emotional manipulations.
The other great one in the bunch is We Can’t Live Without Cosmos (Russia). This amusing effort follows two cosmonauts who train in the hopes of being recruited for a space mission. We witness the men as they humorously attempt to make their way through numerous trials. As events progress, they take on a far more dramatic and bittersweet flavor, finishing on a movingly abstract note. There’s little to no dialogue, animation is old-fashioned and hand-drawn, emphasizing the subtle undercurrent of humor. Again, these quiet gags really engage viewers in the plight of the characters and make them relatable. In the end, it’s a funny, compelling and heart-rending effort.
Finally, Prologue (UK) is an impressively drawn film that captures a Spartan-Athenian conflict in an extended sequence that fuses together events into a singular shot. There’s a lot of blood as battles rage and limbs are sliced up, suggesting the horrors of battle and the suffering inflicted on others. As mentioned, it looks great, but beyond the impressive technical elements there’s little narrative to grasp onto and no one to relate with. Still, it’s worth checking out.
So in the end, one left me cold, two impressed me, and two more were superb. All are incredibly varied visually and most are earnest tear-jerkers, but the highlights have a few extra elements that help them stand out from a very good crowd. Of course, they’re all worth watching and it’s hard to say which will earn the trophy at the end of February. I have my favorites and now viewers have the opportunity to discover which ones speak to them. One thing is certain; all of the 2016 Oscar nominated short films are worth seeking out.