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Every year Shorts TV holds theatrical screenings of the various nominees for Best Animated Short and Best Live Action Short before the Academy Awards. These showcases tend to highlight the best in independent film considering these categories tend to attract lower-budget projects. This year’s nominees are all strong, however, this is how they rank against each other.
5. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse
Apple TV+’s entry is definitely the weakest of the five but also has best the chance at winning. The animation is beautiful but the story is basically a case study on how not to write character development. This short that clocks in at over a half hour is just a series of character moments where one of the four characters delivers a platitude one would see on a motivational poster or a Facebook post accompanying a picture of a Minion. Its odds of winning come more from the money that will be going into the Oscar campaign over quality.
4. The Flying Sailor
The Flying Sailor is based on the true story of a sailor who survived an explosion that threw him two kilometers away from where the incident happened. The short showcases an interesting blend of animation and live action with a simpler story that just showcases his life flashing before his eyes as he flies through the sky. It is visually interesting, even if the plotline is not the most engaging.
3. My Year of Dicks
On the other side of the spectrum, My Year of Dicks
is very narrative-focused while the art takes a backseat. That’s not to say there are no interesting visuals in the short as it blends various animation styles in with the standard overall style. One section takes on more of an anime theme while another takes on more of a horror which makes for an interesting mix-up to the visuals which is helpful because the base animation style is a lot less engaging than the rest of it. For reference, this was also the only short that had a content advisory in front of it because of language and content.
2. An Ostrich Told Me The World is Fake And I Think I Believe It
Post-modernism as an art form is nothing new, however, to see a version of it executed so well is impressive. This short is shot entirely with stop-motion animation and is about one of the characters working in an office becoming self-aware and realizing that the world around him is not what he thinks it is. The only reason this short is not number one is because there are times where the illusion is broken, namely when the camera goes out of its way to show proof the world is fake rather than letting it unfold naturally. That said, the animation is fluid and has a great design aesthetic while the characters are endearing and fun to watch.
1. The Ice Merchants
Hands down the strongest entry this year is The Ice Merchants which is a standard 2D animated short with no dialogue and a lot of heart. It is about a boy and his father who harvest ice to sell to the village beneath them. The use of color in the short to differentiate what belongs to who is beautiful and the fact that this short can elicit such emotion without a single word of dialogue really speaks to how deep the story is. If there is any short to try and watch out of this year’s nominees, it is The Ice Merchants.
