February 11, 2013
Here is how I would rank the five nominees for Best Animated Short Film in this year's Oscar Awards. How would you rank them? Who do you think will win the Oscar?
1. Adam and Dog: The watercolor-style art work and muted pastel colors used in this piece of animation by Minkyu Lee are very effective to convey the simple and timeless story. I have to admit those scenes between Adam and Dog can make you tear up a bit. Very touching execution.
2. Paperman: This charming, whimsical and romantic black and white animated short produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by John Kahrs was shown before their feature-length hit "Wreck-It Ralph." The unique look was achieved by doing traditional drawing over computer-generated images.
3. Maggie Simpson and the Longest Daycare: This four-and-a-half minute traditionally-rendered Simpsons cartoon was rendered in 3D when it was shown in theaters as the pre-show bonus before "Ice Age 4: The Continental Drift." The art work is as it had been done on TV for the past 25 years, but without the typical witty Simpsons dialogue. The story is as surprising and evocative as its silent star though. This is the first Simpsons project to be nominated for an Oscar hence its buzz.
Watch video HERE.
4. Head Over Heels: I just watched the latest movie with Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst sci-fi romance "Upside Down" and I wonder if this stop-motion clay animated short film by Timothy Reckart inspired that film. The familiar story of growing apart after years of marriage is very ingeniously portrayed here.
5. Fresh Guacamole: The concept is very original in this very short animated film by PES. Lasting less than two minutes with crude stop-motion animation showing a person making guacamole from the most unexpected mundane things, this film can be very amusing and fascinating in its imaginative-ness.
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I only watched Maggie's Daycare here as part of Ice Age 4. I think Paperman is a unique idea and has a chance to win.
ReplyDeleteVoting for PAPERMAN! Awesome concept.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Upside Down is suspiciously like Head Over Heels (though I like the latter so much more).
ReplyDeletePaperman hits a lot of the technical notes, but I must admit that I'm probably too old for that inanimate-objects-prodding-people-together schtick. That kind of diluted from the experience for me. But everything before that was spot on.
Adam and Dog tugged at emotions, but the story arc was pretty simple. There wasn't much innovation in that, unlike the unusual take of Head Over Heels on the matter of relationships.
Fresh Guacamole and Maggie Simpson were, as far as I'm concerned, just there to fill in the five film quota.
So after all that, I'll go with Head Over Heels. But Paperman will probably win.
Fred, your 1st video is private. Anyway, we have the same pick for the top spot. I've never seen a watercolor animation, and I caught the trailer on youtube, and I must say it's lovely.
ReplyDeletetoo bad i cannot view the first video, it is private. of the four, it was only the Paperman which i am familiar of, i've seen it when my little man + i watched the movie Wreck-it Ralph last year. I really love the animation + the beautiful story. I am curious about the first film, so i will make sure to check it out on youtube. thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteHello Fred,
ReplyDeleteNone of the videos seem to be working. It says the videos are set in private. Is this your youtube channel? Maybe you can change the setting to public view. I don't know anything of these short films so now I will go to youtube and check out each movie you listed here. Will get back to you after I'm done checking.
As promised,I tried searching for the shorts but only managed to find "Adam and Dog". I saw the Paperman trailer and I think its cute. With such limited information, I think I will go for Paperman.
ReplyDeletePaperman won the Oscar! You got it right! Unfortunately, these aren't my videos. If these aren't working anymore, I will try to look for alternative sources. I don't know why they would take them down though....
DeleteI like the visuals on your article, very entertaining. Thanks for the listinig, the kids will be interested in this.
ReplyDeleteGot to see Fresh Guacamole only. The other links are no longer working. but whoah! thanks a lot for sharing. Fresh Guacamole made me smile, got so amazed how those stuff gave the creator an idea as recipes. looking forward to ther other links, please? :)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading some nice stuff in your article I really feel speechless, because it is quit pretty article. Beside this it is also a long lasting article. Thanks for giving me such type of useful information.. animated video production
ReplyDelete