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Last week, I had the immense pleasure of seeing a collection of eight Oscar nominated and highly commended animated short films for the 2010 Oscars. This unique series is currently being shown at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, with the addition of the Oscar nominated short films in live action. However, due to my love for animation, I eagerly chose to see these instead, which totaled in at one hour and 45 minutes.
The series started off with France’s “French Roast,” directed by Fabrice Joubert, who has worked on such films as “Flushed Away” and the Wallace & Gromit series. The eight-minute short takes place in a fancy French diner where an uptight business man has forgotten his wallet and insists on continuing to buy more café until he figures out a solution of how to pay the waiter. The hilarious short had me laughing nonstop at the ridiculous scenario, which also included a masked robber, a senile woman, a drunken cop and a truly disgusting hobo.
The next film was entitled “Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty,” Ireland’s unique and somewhat scary perspective on the Disney fairy tale. The six-minute short was comedic, following Granny O’Grimm’s nightly bedtime story where she makes up a new “fairy tale” loosely based around the classic that makes poor Timmy scared to go to sleep.
Spain’s “The Lady and the Reaper” focused around a lady who is relieved to die so that she can be closer to her deceased husband, only to be brought back to life by the world’s greatest doctor. This humorous tale derails all laws of physics as a battle begins to take place between the Reaper and the doctor.
“Logorama,” Argentina’s contribution, was easily the most original of the films. It personified trademarks including Michelin Tires, Coke-a-cola and Burger King into people, cars, homes and more. The oddball story follows Ronald McDonald as he pulls a grand theft auto, engages in a high-speed pursuit, takes Big Boy hostage and kills policemen in the process.
The U.K. featured the latest Wallace & Gromit film, “A Matter of Loaf and Death,” which ran at about 30 minutes. In the film, Wallace finds himself a lady-friend who turns out to be a serial killer looking to cap off her 13th baker kill.
USA’s contribution, Pixar’s “Partly Cloudly,” debuted in US theaters before the feature film “Up,” so many people were aware of the short beforehand. The loveable story follows a stork and his unwavering commitment to keep delivering dangerous animals from his cloud friend, despite the pain and anguish it brings him. Although this may sound ridiculous, “Partly Cloud” is another golden film among Pixar’s many shorts.
Poland's “The Kinematograph” was the only film to take on a more serious approach, focusing on the first man to make a moving picture, only to later discover that his greed for success ruined the one thing he truly loved.
My favorite of the films showcased was Canada’s “Runaway.” The hilarious tale was my favorite due to its entertaining plot and beautiful use of colors. The loopy story is too strange to accurately describe, so I will merely strong advise that of all the films mentioned so far, this would be the one to see for yourself.
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