Saturday, February 16, 2013

2013 Best Animated Short Film Nominees

I've made most of my Oscar predictions here and one of the few categories I seriously had no idea in was the Best Animated Short Films. Luckily, Bleeding Cool via The Film Stage was able to collect all five short films and here they are! The Academy Awards is just around the corner (one week in fact) so chop chop chop and make your predictions! Honestly nowadays, I could care less about who wins and whos hot and what's what. But the animation section is one category that always stays true to its art form. Check it!

Adam and Dog, directed by Minkyu Lee

Fresh Guacamole, directed by "PES"

Head Over Heels, directed by Timothy Reckart & Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly

Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare", directed by David Silverman

The Paperman, directed by John Kahrs

These are all exceptional animated short films. I'm glad more Koreans like Minkyu Lee, who was an animator for Disney, is getting more recognition for their work. I've noticed the majority of the best animators are from Korea which I had no idea about till my friend who works at Pixar told me. Minkyu wanted to make Adam and Dog unlike any other short and infuse tranquility like a Terrence Malick or Andrei Tarkovsky film, which he does beautifully. Fresh Guacamole by "PES" is undoubtedly the most imaginative shorts on the list. It's quirky and eccentric enough that'll make you smile from ear to ear multiple times. Head Over Heels is like a trailer to a indelible Michel Gondry romance film which left me wanting  to see more! And I was actually surprised by this pick but The Simpson's very own Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare." If you're a Simpson fan, it doesn't disappoint. Then we have the most reblogged, tweeted, and posted short film that wasn't made by Pixar but Disney. The Paperman was shown before Wreak-It Ralph and I was completely floored by the imagery and story. Pixar has made so many amazing short films like La Luna and Day and Night that I didn't think Disney had it in them anymore. Boy, was I wrong. And I'm glad I was wrong because if there is one romantic film that has captured and made 50-year-old men cry, it's The Paperman. I am positive that The Paperman will win the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Guaranteed.