Oscar Nominated Shorts (2009)
Chamay!
I love that Magnolia Pictures has started doing this program lately. Until last year, most people never had the opportunity to see the shorts that were nominated. Some of us could have seen a couple of them at festivals, but hardly anyone would see all of them. So, yeah. This is awesome.
KAVI
Directed by: Gregg Helvey
Written by: Gregg Helvey
Slavery is a terrible thing. So I think it’s about time we have an Oscar winning short about it!
Kavi is a young boy in India and he is a slave. His family are slaves. All of his friends are slaves. And their slavemaster is the owner of a brick kiln.
Oh, and this is present day, not 100 years ago.
Slavery is still very much in effect in much of the world, we just don’t hear about it as much these days. But a short film about it starring who is probably the cutest little boy in all of India will bring people to tears and make them fully aware of the plight of slaves all over the world.
Kavi is a very good short, but it’s not the best of the bunch. It will, however, win the Oscar because it is the most “important” of the shorts. So, here it is: the winner. Right up front.
Directed by: Joachim Back
Written by: Anders Tomas Jensen
Peter and Frank (Jamie Harrold and David Rakoff) just moved into a high rise apartment building. They’re bickering like any couple, but their lives are about to change when they find out that the last tenant was killed in the apartment. Then Vincent D’Onofrio shows up. Was he the killer? Or was it Kevin Corrigan? Either way, Peter and Frank are starting to think that they moved into the wrong building.
I’m not really sure what this short “meant,” but it was really good. I just kept thinking, “What the fuck is going to happen next? Who could possibly save the day here? Will anyone save the day? ACK?!”
Directed by: Luke Doolan
Written by: Luke Doolan
Sometimes a weak gift can make all the difference. Joe turned 8 today and his dad gave him a Miracle Fish, one of those little red cellophane fish that curl up in your hand to tell you “yes” or “no.” Even most 8 year olds think they’re pretty lame.
Some kids make fun of him for getting a bad gift, so Joe runs off to the nurse’s office (sick bay to the Aussies) and falls asleep. When he wakes up, everyone is gone. Was it aliens? Was it a mysterious disease? Joe doesn’t care. He gets everything from the tuck shop that he wants for free!
Unfortunately, there is someone else in the school with him. Can the Miracle Fish stop him in his tracks?
This may actually be my vote for the best of the lot here. It has an Issue in it, it’s just not as big as slavery, so it won’t win, but it is a very good short with some great acting and a very harrowing ending.
Directed by: Juanita Wilson
Written by: Juanita Wilson
A small Russian town is evacuated in the dead of night. They aren’t even really sure why.
On the flip side, one man is trying to get back into the town? What’s he doing? Why is he getting a door?
This, to me, was the saddest and most depressing of the shorts. Yes, slavery is sad and depressing, but no one died in Kavi. They probably did later, but not in the film. Unfortunately, I don’t really want to say too much more. It was very good, though.
Directed by: Patrik Eklund
Written by: Patrik Eklund
Luckily for all of us, they saved the funny one for last. Otherwise I think we would have left the theatre and slit our wrists.
Imagine if Napoleon Dynamite had wanted to be a magician. That’s what Instead Of Abracadabra was really about. Except here, Napoleon is 24 years old and still lives with his parents. So, I guess he’s like Kip.
From the first moment of the film, we were laughing. And I don’t think we really stopped until the end. A really funny short with some very funny performances.
Directed by: Fabrice O Joubert
Written by: Fabrice O Joubert
When you’re sitting at a coffee shop, a lot of people come and go. Especially if you forget your wallet and have to stay there for a long time out of sheer embarrassment. That’s what one French man learns. He meets a homeless beggar and a strange old nun…with a secret.
French Roast is a really funny short, but it may have been my least favorite of the bunch. Not quite up there with Pixar (but who is?), but still better than a lot of other animated shorts I see. Lots of good sight gags, though.
Directed by: Javier Recio Gracia
Written by: Javier Recio Gracia
When an old woman wants to go see her long dead husband again, you should probably let the Reaper have her. Otherwise, you’re just a douchebag doctor who only saves people to impress the hot nurses.
Very funny, but again, not exactly Oscar worthy, I don’t think. Maybe it’s because of the Issue at hand. That MUST be why it was nominated.
GRANNY O’GRIMM’S SLEAPING BEAUTY
Directed by: Nicky Phelan
Written by: Kathleen O’Rourke
These first three are really funny, but I just don’t see how they’re Oscar worthy. It’s weird.
This one is about an old lady who tells her granddaughter the story of Sleeping Beauty, but she puts her own spin on things. Her version is about how the young fairy godmothers just forgot about the old fairy godmother and how the old one got her revenge.
Funny and a little bit on the scary side. I’m for it. It’s pretty hilarious, but maybe not as amazing as it probably should be to be here.
Directed by: Nick Park
Written by: Nick Park/Bob Baker
NOW, we’re talkin’! A new Wallace And Gromit short is absolutely a reason to celebrate!
Wallace (Peter Sallis, as always) and his ever suffering dog (and brain), Gromit, are bakers now. But someone is killing the bakers of the town. It looks as if they’re trying to get a baker’s dozen. Who could it be?
Meanwhile, Wallace meets his dream girl, Piella Bakewell (Sally Lindsay). She and her dog pretty much move in, much to Gromit’s chagrin. Something’s not quite right with Piella, though. Could she be the baker killer?
Hilarious, of course. Nick Park can pretty much do no wrong. And it’s been so long since we’ve seen the boys that they could show them pooping on a shingle and that would be enough for an Oscar nod. Fortunately, though, Nick and the rest of Aardman Animation have given us a pretty damn good short. Maybe not as good as their past endeavors, but still worthy of the stamp. Love those guys!
Directed by: H5 (Francois Alaux/Herve de Crecy/Ludovic Houplain)
Written by: H5 (Francois Alaux/Herve de Crecy/Ludovic Houplain)
As much as I love Wallace and Gromit, this is my pick for the best of the bunch.
A couple of cops are taking a break when they find out that a serial killer is in their midst. They go after him with great abandon. He doesn’t care who gets in his way, not even little boys. He’ll kill ‘em all!
Yes, this is a BIG ACTION FILM! But that’s not all it is: it’s a great commentary on American consumer culture. Just about everything is made of product logos. The cops are Michelin men. The kids are mostly Bic logos. The two main boys are Big Boy and the Haribo kid. All of the buildings, trees and cars are made of logos, past and present. The serial killer is Ronald McDonald.
I loved everything about this short and want to see it again, post haste. I need a pause button.
The rest of the films are not nominated, but they’re “Highly Commended.” I agree. In fact, I would probably put them in instead of the first three. Two of them, at least.
Directed by: Peter Sohn
Written by: Peter Sohn
I think I reviewed this one before. It’s the Pixar short for the year. It was shown before Up and, while it wasn’t as good as that feature, it is still really freakin’ good.
Babies have to come from somewhere, right? So, they must come from clouds and the storks who fly among them. One cloud, though, only makes the dangerous babies. Sharks, alligators, electric eels, rams…they all come from this guy. And the poor stork who has to take them to their parents is frazzled beyond repair.
It’s a story of danger and friendship and it’s really freakin’ good. And who doesn’t love a baby eel?!
Directed by: Tomek Baginski
Written by: Tomek Baginski
This was actually my favorite of the lot. It’s the story of a man who is obsessed with creating the first moving picture, but he has to have it perfect. He already has it moving AND he has sound, but he wants color. He’ll get it, no matter the cost.
But will he give up his beloved wife for it?
No, it’s not just because it’s a play on film history, although that doesn’t hurt it at all. This is a heartfelt and beautiful little film. The sepia color, the animation, the story…it’s all perfect. Why was it not nominated?
Directed by: Cordell Barker
Written by: Cordell Barker
This one was just funny, much like the first three. A train with two cars (one high class, one low class) hits a cow and it starts a chain of events that leads to…well…see the film and see for yourself. It’s funny as hell from beginning to end…and even a little bit sweet.
So, that’s it. All of the nominees and a few extra. Now, when is Magnolia going to start showing the Documentary Shorts? Can we make that happen? Hmmmm?
