Ranking the Nominees for Best Animated Short

Starting this week, and possibly only continuing through this week, AMC theaters are running screenings of the nominees for Best Animated Short. Unless one knows where to look, or actively seeks them out, this can leave these works of cinema out of the public eye, even if they manage to win the industry’s highest award. Because of the lack of visibility, it makes it easy for the telecast to omit them from air because there is the belief that these movies are lesser than their feature length counterparts. The following list ranks the five nominees for Best Animated Short by quality, not by likelihood to win.

***PARENTAL CONTENT ADVISORY: WHILE THESE ARE ANIMATED SHORTS, ONLY “ROBIN ROBIN” IS SAFE FOR CHILD VIEWING. THE OTHER FOUR CONTAIN ADULT CONTENT AND DISTURBING IMAGERY***

5. Beast

This appears to be a divisive short with people either loving or hating it. It is disturbing on a plethora of levels, not the least of which is the lack of dialogue mixed with the stoic porcelain dolls that make up the human cast. This short uses stop motion animation to tell the story of Ingrid who works for the Chilean Intelligence Directorate and chronicles her deteriorating mental state as her life progresses. It is the most unnerving of the five, and that’s aided by a narrative disorientation that the short seems unwilling to clarify.

4. Boxballet

Had “Beast” not required a Google search to understand the plot, it probably would have placed higher than “Boxballet.” The issue with “Boxballet” is that it is a mundane story mixed with animation that does not do anything new or unique. The 2D animation looks like something one would see on Adult Swim, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but if the story is going to be a typical “guy from one walk of life falls in love with a girl from the opposite” storyline, it’s a forgettable endeavor. It touches on some important issues, but only in the most superficial way making the impact of those moments fall totally flat.

3. Affairs of the Art

“Affairs of the Art” is another 2D animated short telling the story of a woman who navigated her family’s quirks as she tries to become one with the art she tries to make. At several points during this short, one will find themselves thinking that the story is about a serial killer but, perhaps unfortunately, it is not. This is especially since the art style appears as if it is a series of sketches animated, leading to a lot of activity around the screen driving the eye everywhere and creating a sense of anxiety for the viewer.

2. Robin Robin

The only explicitly family friendly short of the bunch, “Robin Robin” makes a strong case for the ongoing strength of the stop motion Christmas special. With an all-star cast and beautiful set and puppet design, this one is a great addition to family Christmas viewing. It follows a robin who is raised by mice who try to break into houses to steal food. The problem is the robin, being a robin and not a mouse, cannot sneak around the way the mice can. This leads to an identity crisis and the eventual realization that she is both a robin and a mouse at the same time. The only problem with the movie is that there is not enough time in the beginning of the short devoted to showing off that Robin’s behavior is due to her being a Robin and not a personality quirk. It’s a minor gripe, but it would improve the narrative a little bit.

1. The Windshield Wiper

This was hands down going to be the winner because of how it blends multiple art styles in beautiful animation and tells a deeply human story. “The Windshield Wiper” asks the question “What is love?” and answers the question through a series of vignettes telling stories about love of all types. It feels a lot like Linklater’s Slacker in the best possible way. Anyone who is a fan of well told stories that ponder what it means to be human should watch this short.