Breakdown of Animated Shorts at This Year’s Academy Awards

With the Academy Awards just a few weeks away, ReviewFix.com Editor-In-Chief Patrick Hickey Jr. shares his thoughts on the five films nominated in the category of “Best Animated Short” and three other pieces named to the Academy’s shortlist.

FRENCH ROAST – (France, 8 min., Director: Fabrice O. Joubert): Feeling like someone combined the charm of a Pixar film with an added dash of French wit, “French Roast” is an adorable animated short that proves life is full of surprises. It would have been easy for Joubert to come up with something predictable here, especially with the setting, but instead, you have a plot that is anything but linear and is fun to follow. From the silly beginning, to the unexpected finish, it’s equally as hilarious as it is heart-warming. You’ll be smiling the whole time.

THE LADY AND THE REAPER (Spain, 8 min., Director: Javier Recio Gracia): Perhaps the most laugh out loud short featured here, “The Lady and the Reaper,” which was also produced by Antonio Banderas, has a “Looney Tunes” feel to it that will have you smiling throughout. Following the exploits of a woman whose life is supposedly ready to end, the Grim Reaper and a cocky doctor have a battle of the wits that put the poor old lady in the middle. Off the wall and never predictable, this short pushes the envelope and thrives because of it.

A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH – (UK, 30 min., Director: Nick Park): Animation legend Nick Park is at it again and if you’re a fan of “Wallace and Gromit,” you’ll find their newest adventure as cheeky and colorful as anything they’ve released in the past. ReviewFix’s pick for animated short of the year, the film doesn’t have the same brevity as some of the other pieces Park has directed over the years, but is still an exceptional stop-motion flick that can be enjoyed by all, for plenty of reasons. Filled with as cutesy moments as double-entendres, this short bakes a wicked loaf of bread.

GRANNY O’GRIMM’S SLEEPING BEAUTY – (Ireland, 6 min., Director: Nicky Phelan): Easily the weakest of the nominated films [and all of the films featured as well], this “version” of “Sleeping Beauty” has its moments, but overall lacks the polish you’d expect from an Academy Award Nominee. Excellent animation aside, this is a passable offering overall.

PARTLY CLOUDY – (USA, 6 min., Director: Peter Sohn – additional shortlisted film): How this film wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award is ludicrous. Overall, Pixar’s newest short is solid from start to finish and wipes the floor with a few of the other pieces featured. However, perhaps due to the fact that is an animation awe-fest with a heart-warming message, it was overlooked by the nomination committee. Nevertheless, you’ll remember it after you leave the theater.

RUNAWAY – (Canada, 9 min., Director: Cordell Barker – additional shortlisted film): While it doesn’t feature the best animation, Barker’s message here is perhaps the strongest and is well-executed to boot. His use of subtlety and irony are just as fierce here as well, making it more of a thinking man’s animated tale than one for the kiddies. In spite of that, it’s enjoyable and worthy of a spot on this list.

THE KINEMATOGRAPH – (Poland, 12 min., Director: Tomek Baginski – additional shortlisted film): The most serious of all the shorts listed, “The Kinematograph” has a dramatic message that is encompassed by easily the best animation in a short film in quite some time. Everything from the characters’ hands to eyes are vividly animated and make the short a feast for the eyes. However, poor dialogue and a feeling that the plot is being rushed along, hamper the overall experience.

LOGORAMA – (France, 16min., Directed by H5: FranÏ‚ois Alaux, Hervé de Crécy, Ludovic Houplain): Part Pop Culture, Part “Grand Theft Auto,” “Logorama” takes shots at everything and everyone it can in 16 short minutes and because of that may irritate some movie-goers. Those who are not easily offended however will understand and receive the messages loud and clear. Excellent animation and great camera shots fuel this tale and where pop culture references fail, foul language and brutality fill in the gaps, making it an entertaining romp from start to finish.

All of these films are currently appearing at the IFC Center Theater on West 3rd street and sixth avenue in Greenwich Villiage, NYC.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14229 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

1 Comment

  1. Just watched all of these, and I would say this review is very fair. I personally didn’t think French Roast was as hilarious as this reviewer indicates, but it’s certainly worthy of a nomination. I also thought he was way too hard on Granny O’Grimm, which was absolutely hilarious (though top-to-bottom not as strong as some of these other candidates). I totally agree that Partly Cloudy should have been an Oscar nominee, and comments on The Kinematograph are spot on. (I can’t help but wonder if the dialogue problems can’t be explained in part by translation?) Logorama is a clever concept and very entertaining, but I personally found it way, way too heavy-handed, and not nearly as well animated as many of these other selections.

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