J.S. Gornael is a writer at Collider who focuses on classics, Oscar nominated films, and The Simpsons. He also writes/edits reviews for IndieReader.
The Academy Awards are approaching, which means that movie buffs and critics alike have been speculating and arguing over such categories as Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Picture, and so on.
But how often do you notice people debating over the Best Animated Short Films? Not that often, but these movies deserve our rapt attention. All under twenty-minutes long, these pieces don't take much time to watch. While the animated shorts nominated for an Academy Award have been released in theaters as one chunk, three of them are actually available to watch for free on YouTube . In an age when most of us waste at least double that time doom-scrolling every day, it feels like there isn't much of an excuse to watch at least those three. While animated feature films are generally shorter than live-action features, even they can sometimes feel too long. In the past 10 years or so, many of them can also be described as superficial cash-grabs. Such problems are much less likely with shorts; no one's making big bucks off of these, and there isn't much time for fluff when your story has to be told within such a tight window. We decide how good they are in the same ways we judge the longer movies, yet these can move us just as effectively in just a fraction of the time. This year, the sounds of the ocean seems to be an accidental recurring theme, yet this batch of five contains very different films of different styles and tones. They're all impressive in one way or another, even if they're not all perfect, but the strongest are especially difficult to forget. 5 'The Girl Who Cried Pearls' Directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, The Girl Who Cried Pearls is a tale told by an old man to his granddaughter. Though the narrator is wealthy now, his childhood story is steeped in poverty; the stop-motion style of animation helps to emphasize the setting's grit and realistic aesthetic. Although stop-motion may not be for everyone, it's hard not to love that opening shot of those hands taking that object off the shelf. An old man tells his granddaughter a story of when he was a child who slept in the streets of Montreal in the summer and would watch a family through a tiny hole in the wall. Every time we see that eye staring out at them is great, but viewers should know that this isn't a happy tale at all. It's about poverty, familial abuse, and greed's power over love. Our hearts go out to the daughter whom our narrator had a crush on; when her tears turn to pearls, it feels like we're watching an old tragic fable that's been animated in a modern fashion . Details like how the pearls tasted like tears and smelled like the sea help the story come to life, but there are a few instances when the grandfather's narration veers into a kind of omnipotence that doesn't add up. How would he know what the pawnbroker and jeweler said to each other when he wasn't there? The ending actually provides an answer, but it's one that actually upends the entire narrative—and not in a good way. Without spoiling anything, it feels like the same kind of cop-out as the it-was-all-a-dream trope. It's one thing to have an unreliable narrator, but there are certain things about this story that we shouldn't have to wonder about. Lavis and Szczerbowski want to make us think after the credits roll, yet all this really does is leave the audience disappointed and annoyed. 4 'Forevergreen' Directed by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears, Forevergreen begins with the sound of wind. We see a bear cub lost in the snow, suggesting a tragedy, who goes to pick berries off a precarious cliff. He predictably almost falls, but gets saved by a sentient tree. Soothing bluegrass music unfolds as they become friends: the cub gets pricked by a porcupine, the tree plants an acorn, and we see the plant grow as the cub grows with it over time. That banjo, mandolin, and acoustic guitar combo is pretty consistent throughout this short film, supported by the generally sunny tone and warm animation style. This one has no dialogue, which serves the storytelling well. Everything we need to know is conveyed through action and the expressions on our two characters' faces. If they spoke to each other, it would be hard to avoid schmaltz and cliché—as Forevergreen is clearly geared more towards small children than the other films portrayed here. That said, the story does take a tragic turn when the bear grows older. He's no longer interested in what he cherished so much when he first met the tree, going so far as smashing the new tree that had been growing. This is a typical teenager phase, but it's still very sad to see the pain on the tree's face as the bear sets off on his own for potato chips and other artificial snacks. When a dangerous event arises, the music makes sure this climax doesn't get too frightening for the kids; but what happens next will be powerful enough to affect even their parents. The grey color scheme is very noticeable, but the story ends on the cheerful note that we would expect it to. The way the camera spins around a tree at the end as it grows is a nice touch. Though it feels overly sentimental in general, Forevergreen is still a touching story. 3 'The Three Sisters' Directed by Konstantin Bronzit, The Three Sisters is a work of 2-D animation about three middle-aged women living in three separate houses on an island shaped like a semicircle. How did this set-up come to be? Don't worry about it. The score has a large drum and a violin, and you can always hear the waves these sisters are surrounded by. Someone brings them groceries on a boat, but nearby gulls steal a fish—making their sack of money drop into the water. Not only does this cost them their groceries; they also have to put up one of their houses for rent. It's hilarious to see a"For Rent" sign in the middle of the ocean, and it's just as amusing for it to actually attract potential tenants. A sailor arrives to stay in that house, and his smell is enough to make one of the sisters faint. His red, bunched-up underwear puts him in stark contrast to the drably dressed trio. One by one these sisters fall for him, growing more lively and jealous of each other all the while. The Three Sisters is another film with no dialogue, which again feels like a wise decision. This is a quirky one, and the simplicity of the style underscores its particular sense of humor. Every time the sailor makes a sound, we know it's probably going to be"Heh!" It's also nice to hear a rocking chair squeaking, and the sailor's deep breaths as he swims near the island. Everything about the sound design immerses us in this isolated setting, emphasizing the sisters' rather lonely lifestyle and their need for someone to stir up the monotony. It's very charming. A few of the most memorable scenes are when the camera follows the"For Rent" sign flapping in the breeze, when the darkness of night is juxtaposed by the light shining through a door, and a closeup on the hat, rose, and pipe as they nearly tumble into the water. With its unique setting, fun characters, refusal to over-dramatize, and a solid ending, The Three Sisters doesn't disappoint. 2 'Papillon' The sound of waves. A man with grey hair standing in the water. He tosses some water over his back, on his face. He starts to swim, butterfly style, and we get an overhead shot of his body—brown and red against the dark blue. He dives deeper, and we see more colors below: green, gold, purple, and more. We're traveling back in time to when the man, now a boy, catches a yellow butterfly in the water. He lets it go, and then gets bullied by other kids—which we don't immediately realize actually foreshadows later events. Directed by Florence Miailhe, Papillon tells the story of swimmer Alfred Nakache's life. Taking place in the foggy recesses of memory stretched over a lifetime and always with water present, Papillon is animated in an impressionistic style that always feels completely at one with the story's structure and setting. Subscribe for curated animated-short picks and film coverage Discover more unforgettable animated shorts and broader film coverage: subscribe to the newsletter for thoughtful reviews, standout recommendations, and clear context on craft and themes to guide your next watch. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Nakache finds great success as a butterfly swimmer, and he meets his wife at a swimming competition. The year 1931 is another sign of things to come, but in the meantime he watches her dive and they're soon dancing in the water together. As the years go by, we notice a white swimmer won't shake his hand after losing. Then we're shown the swastika, and this sharply turns into a Holocaust story. Insults and slurs are hurled Nakache's way during a race. Soon he's not even allowed to compete, which three white racers protest by refusing to compete themselves. There is an interesting overhead shot of them swimming alongside him and turning into dolphins. Although we never see any violence, what we do see is more than enough to convey the cruelty of the Nazi regime. A few particularly memorable shots include Nakache having to play fetch in a pool, and when we're shown skeletons fading in and out of the water. This understated, colorful, quietly haunting film proves both a compelling biopic and a unique perspective on The Third Reich. 1 'Retirement Plan' Not The Retirement Plan, just Retirement Plan. That is an important distinction: the former is a comically silly crime feature from 2023 starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman. In contrast, the latter is a masterful animated short directed by John Kelly and narrated by Domhnall Gleeson. If you want to know what the perfect montage looks like, it's right here. Gleeson narrates as a man envisioning his future self, and all the things he'll do when he retires. So the list begins, ranging from such trivial matters as responding to emails and playing video games to more emotionally significant matters. There are lots of great nuances to the list here; sometimes, for instance, the narrator thinks of an idea and immediately follows that up with an acknowledgment of just how little he understands it. He has to learn what a leek looks like before learning how to cook it, and he has to learn the difference between a terrapin and a turtle before purchasing one. Such relatable moments of ignorance are plentiful, and they are so diverse that anyone watching will be able to see a part of themselves in this unnamed protagonist. With a melancholy piano score resonating throughout, even the humor of this piece holds an undercurrent of death's inevitability. At one point he hugs a tree, and there is something so poignant in how we only see his arms wrapped around this enormous trunk of nature that will surely outlive him. The embarrassment of rejection is captured when he says he will get better at saying yes, and better at saying no. The mystery in saying that he will meet up with"that person" and have"that conversation" gives us just enough information to know that, whatever happens, their meeting seemed to be healing for both parties. As we see him growing older and thinner in the latter half of the film, each section fittingly passes by more quickly. But this short film is more than just structurally sound; it even contains an amusing surprise before the very end, at which point the old man stares up into the light. Who knows what's there, but something we certainly take away from all this is just how much being active and trying new things matters—whether you learn how to play a single piano song"exceptionally well" or master the form of juggling known as Rubenstein's Revenge. Like Follow Followed Retirement Plan Animation Release Date July 13, 2024 Runtime 7 minutes Director John Kelly Writers Tara Lawall, John Kelly Producers Andrew Freedman, Julie Murnaghan Cast
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