Tim here. Today, the Academy announced that it has whittled the initial list of 60 titles eligible for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar down to ten finalists that will go on to compete for the five nominations in January. Like all of you, I imagine, I haven't seen most of these ten, but let's run through them quickly to see what we've got:
Bear Story (Historia de un oso) - Gabriel Osorio, director; Pato Escala, producer (Punkrobot Animation Studio)
This Chilean effort - Cartoon Brew notes that it would be the first Chilean film ever nominated if it makes it - looks to be a toy-esque animal fable done in charmingly plasticky CGI. Trailer
Carface (Autos Portraits) - Claude Cloutier, director (National Film Board of Canada)
A car with, get this, a face, sings "Que Sera, Sera", accompanied by images in thick lines and full color of cars and machines. It never does to count out the NFB, which has one of the most reliable histories of producing terrific animated shorts anywhere in the world. Trailer
The other eight nominees below the jump
If I Was God… - Cordell Barker, director (National Film Board of Canada)
CGI, puppet animation, and hand drawing combine under the hand of the legendary Barker, whose The Cat Came Back is one of the NFB's very finest moments. Clip
Love in the Time of March Madness - Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambrano, directors (High Hip Productions and KAPWA Studioworks)
This one has been floating around a while, winning an award at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. It's semi-autobiographical for Johnson (one of just two woman directors whose work is in play), and the trailer showcases beautiful high-contrast black-and-white that resembles a particulaly gifted student's notebook sketches. Trailer
My Home - Phuong Mai Nguyen, director (Papy3D Productions)
The highest-profile release yet for Papy3D, a collective of animators banding together to produce and distribute their films, and a beautiful looking debut whose flat aesthetic resembles what I'd expect if Song of the Sea's Tomm Moore directed an episode of South Park. Trailer
An Object at Rest - Seth Boyden, director (California Institute of the Arts)
The primary training ground for American animators, CalArts has seen its students's thesis films show find Oscar lover in the past. It's a soft, watercolor-style fable of life on a geological scale, and Boyden has kindly made the whole thing available on Vimeo.
Prologue - Richard Williams, director; Imogen Sutton, producer (Animation Masterclass)
Williams is one of animations living legends, a dogged individualist whose dream project The Thief and the Cobbler is one of the great aborted projects in all of cinema. Prologue is itself the tease for a longer project, but respect for the man himself should enough to carry this to a nomination. Trailer
Sanjay’s Super Team - Sanjay Patel, director; Nicole Grindle, producer (Pixar Animation Studios)
You'll be able to see it in front of The Good Dinosaur. If that film, this film, and Inside Out all swing nominations, Pixar will I believe set a record for most titles up for awards in one night from one animation studio.
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos - Konstantin Bronzit, director (Melnitsa Animation Studio)
The winner of the top short film award at the most recent Annecy Film Festival, this highly-regarded short is apparently much more emotionally resonant than its simple cartoon aesthstic implies. Trailer
World of Tomorrow - Don Hertzfeldt, director (Bitter Films)
Michael C. loved it. I loved it. You should go love it too.
If I absolutely had to pick right now, my guesses for the nominations would be Bear Story, My Home, Prologue, We Can't Live Without Cosmos, and World of Tomorrow. What are your current predictions