Best Animated Short Film

Phasekitty — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:42:26 -0800

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing both the live action and animated nominated shorts. I was lucky enough to have a theater nearby that was screening each set. It truly was a treat as this was the first year I've ever seen the shorts and it's nice to go into the Oscars knowing as much as you can about each nominee.

I Met the Walrus
In 1969, 14 year-old Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room with a tape recorder and convinced the legend to do an interview. The animation accompanying this historic piece is both funny and fantastic to watch. Lennon's laid back, peaceful answers were a nice change of pace from all the war I've seen in documentaries this year. It's an original concept that prompted applause from our theater.

Madame Tutli-Putli
A scared woman goes on a frightening nighttime train ride with all of her belongings and some strange passengers. This odd little film greatly confused me, to the point where I gave up trying to figure out what was going on and felt that it had simply transcended into experimental, but my boyfriend came up with a lovely metaphor that fit with what was happening. Perhaps he's right in his interpretation, but either way it didn't save the film for me.

Meme Les Pigeons Vont Au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go To Heaven)
A priest cons an old man to buy a machine that will take him to heaven. This funny little concept, and beautiful computer animation could easily pass for a Pixar film.

Moya Lyubov (My Love)
A young teen falls in love with two very different woman over the course of one memorable summer. The animation for this piece looked like a painting come to life and after a few minutes made my eyes hurt. The narrative for this story doesn't flow very well and at times it was a question as to what was actually happening and what was being imagined by the characters.

Peter & The Wolf
A young boy and his animal friends encounter a terrifying wolf and try to trap him. This classical music piece is adapted into beautiful stop motion animation but adds a strange twist ending.

Prediction:
I Met the Walrus. With such an original concept and amusing animation, it can't be overlooked. Toss in some John Lennon and a Beatles reference or two and everyone's happy. Although, I could understand the award going to Even Pigeons... here as well. With no Pixar film nominated, Academy members could be looking for something to fill the void. I think Walrus has the edge, though, for having no subtitles.

What Should Win:
I Met the Walrus was my favorite, if just for being so original.

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Best Animated Short Film