It is often the case that the animated shorts are among the
more interesting Oscar nominations. I wouldn't say that's the case this year, but
there are certainly a few that deserve to be seen. The Academy has made a big
deal out of the fact that there are more Asians, Asian Americans, and women
represented. It might want to pay more attention to quality rather than ticking
PC boxes; none of the 2019 films are path breaking.
As is customary, the five nominees are packaged with a few
also-rans for theater release. If you poke about you can also see most of them
online. My order of preference:
Late Afternoon, Directed by Louise Bagnall, 10 minutes (Ireland)
My favorite is this poignant little film from Ireland. An
old woman—who bears the director's first name of Louise, though Bagnall is not
elderly—sits in an arm chair as her daughter wraps her belongings for what we
infer is a move to assisted living. As she sips a cup of tea, her biscuit
breaks off and falls into the cup. This is the device through which Louise
accesses youthful memories and flies through time, her red tresses flowing
behind her. Bagnall uses watercolor imagery and leading lines to take us back
and forward chronologically. Her film is sweet, poignant, and moving. ★★★★
Animal Behaviour, Directed by David Fine, Alison Snowden, 14
minutes (Canada)
Objectively speaking, the device of animals in a therapy
session has been done before—many times. Nor is the straight cartoon animation
likely to impress Oscar voters. That said, this one is the most fun of all the
nominees. The shrink in command of this gaggle of emotionally wrought critters
is Dr. Clement, a pit bull in touch with his inner Shih Tzu. All is fine until
the session is forced to confront the gorilla in the room. Delightful chaos
ensues. ★★★ ½
One Small Step, Directed by Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Ponitllas, 8
minutes (US/China)
This one is also sweet, though most of the buzz has been
over the fact that it's thought to be the first American/Chinese joint animated
venture. Luna is an Asian girl being raised by a single-parent dad. She dreams
of being an astronaut; her cobbler father is content to play shoemaker to she
who years for the stars. Do dreams come true? Exactly as we would have them
play out? This one also tugs at the heart strings.★★★
Weekends, Directed by
Trevor Jimenez, 16 minutes, (USA/Canada)
This is probably the dark horse candidate to win as it sports
the most creative use of animation: shake effects applied to sketchy drawings
that evoke atmosphere rather than aiming for realism. It features a little boy from
a broken family who shuffles back and forth between his mother and his
samurai-loving father. He is also a vivid dreamer. This one has attracted
notice because several of its reviewers haven't done their homework and have
tried to connect it to US policies on immigrants. Not only is that a stretch,
it ignores the fact that the "space needle" seen in backdrops is from
Toronto, not Seattle. Canadians have appropriately cried foul over such
ethnocentric assumptions. ★★★
Bao, Directed by Domee Shi, 8 minutes, (USA)
Here's the odds-on favorite to win the Oscar and it's a
piece of sentimental rubbish! Why is it favored? Two words: Disney/Pixar. An
empty nester woman makes the film's namesake steamed dumpling, when one of them
pops to life. She raises the little bao
to fill the space in her heart vacated by her absent son. Oh, for Pete's sake!
What a bunch of essentialist twaddle. Not to mention that we've seen this sort
of dough figure (pun intended) animation from Pixar over and over and over. You
might also recognize that this film is a boring and insipid spin on Pinocchio.
Hand me the Pepto-Bismol. ★
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Wishing Box, Directed by Wenli Zhang, 6 minutes (USA)
Speaking of derivative, Wishing
Box is a swashbuckling take on King Midas. A disappointed pirate opens a
treasure chest and finds it empty. His pet monkey, however, manages to pull all
manner of things from the box, especially bananas. If only the pirate could get
the monkey to shift his focus from fruit to doubloons… This is slight, but funny enough to
keep your interest. (It is technically a 2017 film.) ★★★
Tweet-Tweet, Directed by Zhanna Bekmambetova, 11 minutes, (Russia)
Call this one the we-wuz-robbed pick. This Russian film has
a precious animated sparrow as its only recognizable character, but more is
afoot (another pun) than cuddly cuteness. Our little bird on a clothesline sees
only pins, snow, and a pair of legs and shoes that balance upon the rope. Those
legs and feet change and we soon learn that this is not the sort of rope we had
imagined. Had this been a nominee, it would have been my choice as best in
show. Note: The director's father, Timur, is also a noted name in film. ★★★★
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