Best Animated Short Film: Ranking Every Nominee of the 97th Academy Awards
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
It is day two of the Academy Awards Project’s stretch where I cover all of the nominated short films. Yesterday involved the Documentary Short Subject nominees. Today is part two: the Animated Short Film nods. I usually look forward to this category, and I discovered quite a few strong animated shorts when I watched all of the fifteen shortlisted candidates, but I was quite disappointed in what the five nominees wound up being (outside of one selection). Three of the five nominees didn’t even make my top ten, and one was literally tenth on the spot. However, the best nominee also topped my own list, and so it will easily top this one as well. Unusually, the Best Animated Short Film nominees are the least impressive overall than the other two shorts categories, mainly because there are major snubs; but at least the top film here is a major silver lining.
Here are your nominees for Best Animated Short Film ranked from worst to best.
Biggest Snub: ME
While I had a few other shorts ranked above this one, and I think that Don Hertzfeldt also has stronger films, I do like ME quite a lot. I’m including this short here because it was previously theorized by many to be the short to win this very award, especially since it’s a bit of a lackluster year for Best Animated Short Film. I am highly surprised to not see ME nominated, and Hertzfeldt — as one of the great animators in indie cinema — is highly deserving of an Oscar (and all of the awards) by now. Maybe ME was a little too unorthodox and daring with its experimental approach, but it is still leagues better than all but one of the shorts that did get selected.
5. Yuck!
Rating: 3/5
Yuck! is cute and harmless. It is meant to be a coming-of-age film about the discovery of love and feelings, amongst other things. Having said that, it’s also a bit of a typically-told story as well. Outside of the ever-so-slightly different approach to how young people discover kissing, Yuck! is very obvious. It is a film that stems from a highly beaten path that offers very little in terms of new or exciting storytelling. It won’t ruin your day, but I’d argue that it will hardly change it in any capacity.
4. Beautiful Men
Rating: 3.5/5
When I first watched Beautiful Men, I was less impressed. The stop motion animation is pretty strong, but the approach to detailing how men aren’t given the opportunities to be happy with themselves or have the ability to express themselves felt a little underdeveloped. I was curious to revisit the film after its nomination, and I feel slightly better about Beautiful Men’s attempt to cover some under-discussed subject matter. I do think the film could have been a little stronger, but there is a prettiness to the film I missed the first time (when I was focusing more on the quirks of Beautiful Men).
3. Magic Candies
Rating: 3.5/5
Another coming-of-age story here but a slightly better one than Yuck!, Magic Candies at least has a bit of a visual identity and charm to it (as well as some nods to Japanese culture), and a decent narrative about youthful loneliness and the search for one’s place in the world. There’s a bit of an authorial touch to this film and its eccentricities (like inanimate objects seemingly coming to life), and I think Magic Candies benefits from these representations of a child’s quest for purpose and compassion. I wish there was a little more to this short, though. It feels a bit brief in duration and in scope given its potential.
2. Wander to Wonder
Rating: 3.5/5
I do love the surreal, existential angle of Wander to Wonder: a stop-motion short that involves beings from a fictitious children’s program who are stuck in a limbo. Wander to Wonder feels like a nod to the works of David Lynch (especially Rabbits, in a way) with the eerie, nostalgic, uncanny whimsy throughout. I also wish I liked this film a little more. It is way too short (only fifteen minutes) and so I don’t feel like the short gets far enough with what it is trying to convey (or the story that it desires to tell). Nonetheless, the little bit that we do get is highly intriguing, but it’s not quite fully realized.
1. In the Shadow of the Cypress
Rating: 4.5/5
In the Shadow of the Cypress is a whole different echelon above the other nominees. Firstly, it actually feels like a fully realized story. We follow a retired captain who is dealing with PTSD; his nightmares are gorgeously animated in a way that places you in both his psyche and his past. Colours are used to evoke lingering feelings of depression and hope in this minimalist short that manages to speak of entire lifetimes with very few means (no dialogue, twenty minutes, and very few colours and designs). We travel through time, memory, and the soul of a tortured man, and I cannot express enough how wonderfully done In the Shadow of the Cypress is as a result. This one is a must-watch, and I hope the Academy sees this short as a must-win as well.
Who I Want To Win: In the Shadow of the Cypress. Next.
Who I Think Will Win: I think this will be between Beautiful Men — the current frontrunner which has made quite a few waves during the awards season — and In the Shadow of the Cypress (which appears to be picking up in its impact).
The Academy Awards Project will continue tomorrow with another category: Best Live Action Short Film. We’re going to rank every single nominee in every single category, Monday through Friday. You don’t want to miss it!
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.