Hey, I like cartoons, who doesn’t? And then at some point you’re told, no, they’re not cartoons, they’re “animated shorts” and should be taken seriously. Stop smiling, kid! I caught Bambi vs. Godzilla very early on, on TV, but it didn’t register as a separate art form or anything. Was just a funny little cartoon. At some point, Spike & Mike’s annual Festival of Animation started showing up in newspaper movie listings. Was that the collection I saw on campus in my college years? Maybe. At the height of Bill Plympton’s popularity.
Anyway. This year I went to a screening of the Oscar-nominated animated shorts. Because I like cartoons!
Sanjay’s Super Team (USA)
3.5 stars out of 5
This is cute and kind of sweet and, you know, multi-culti (kid imagines Hindu deities battling evil as his dad prays) — so that’s good — but is ultimately too Pixar mainstream, and left me a little cold.
World of Tomorrow (USA)
3.5 stars out of 5
Little girl is visited by her future self. The animation was cool — raw and nervy — and it’s pretty funny, with a few cool notions of the future. But I found other ideas too obvious (shockingly, things are better in the future for rich people), and the real-life voice of the little girl became grating over 17 minutes.
Bear Story (Chile)
4.5 stars out of 5
I loved this one. The animation was totally beautiful — it looks stop-motion but I don’t think it is? In a world of bears, a little kid bear pays to see a thrilling story play out in an intricate old-timey mechanical device, operated by a kindly older bear. Has something to do with the Pinochet regime but I don’t know nuthin’ about nuthin’, except it was really cool to look at and had tons of heart. I would’ve voted for this one.
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos (Russia)
4 stars out of 5
And this would’ve been my runner-up. We follow two astronaut buddies through the training process, except it’s Russia so they’re cosmonauts. It’s silent (as was Bear Story) but it feels very Russian, or at least our conception of Soviet-era Russia, which I suppose was accurate because this was made in Russia. There’s a cold desolation, and the facilities don’t seem up-to-date, etc. There’s a charming simplicity and cleanness to the animation, vaguely Far Side-esque. Story-wise, it’s both funny and touching.
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Then we received an on-screen warning that the final nominated movie, Prologue, contained violence and nudity (oh boy!) and wasn’t suitable for children. And it would be shown after a selection of not-nominated films. Ok, whew, because I’d been worried, after some quick addition, that the nominated films wouldn’t run more than an hour. Some bonus shorts would flesh this screening out to feature length — more bang for my movie-ticket buck! They were:
If I Was God (Canada)
3.5 stars out of 5
A clever-enough coming-of-age story which I’ll give a bonus half star for blending stop-motion and traditional animation.
The Short Story of a Fox and a Mouse (France)
3 stars out of 5
Indeed had a picture-book quality to it, though with a rough-around-the-edges, pleasingly bright 3D animation (of a fox and a mouse and a snowy landscape). Not much there for an adult.
The Loneliest Stoplight (USA)
3.5 stars out of 5
Hooray, the master himself, Bill Plympton, and his undulating rough lines. Plus Patton Oswalt as the voice of the stoplight at a rural intersection, through changing times. This has a Giving Tree vibe to it. But, viewing this one as a picture book, the plot took a little leap that didn’t really work for me.
Catch It (France)
2.5 stars out of 5
Meerkats in a low-rent Ice Age starring low-rent Timons.
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and finally, the dirty nominated selection….
Prologue (United Kingdom)
3 stars out of 5
Male nudity? That’s no fun! Ah foo. Ancient Greek warriors battle it out in raw pencil-drawn animation reminiscent of the “Take On Me” video. War, what is it good for? Absolutely nuthin’. Huh!
Jack Silbert, curator