2019 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts Are Peak “Did You Remember To Call Your Mom?”
That is if she isn't a racist, homophobic POS.
Two things that make me cry more than anything are the Iron Giant and emotional parent/child storylines, so most of the nominees for the 2019 Oscar for Best Animated Short wrecked my spirt.
While there is only one right choice for Best Animated Film this year in Sony’s Into the Spider-Verse, the shorts category is super competitive, and other than Pixar’s Bao, I hadn’t had the opportunity to see them until I went to a special screening at Syndicated Bar Theater in Brooklyn that showed them all. IFC Center is also doing a showing like that, so if you’re in NYC, I’d highly recommend it. There are animators doing some amazing work in different styles, and they deserve to be seen and appreciated.
Starting off without parental trauma, there is Animal Behaviour, a Canadian short from directors David Fine and Alison Snowden.
As you can gather from the trailer, it’s about a group of animals and one insect in classic anthropomorphic shenanigans in group therapy. It’s really funny, with each creature living up to whatever stereotype you’d assume about them: the female leach is in a clingy parasitic relationship, and the grasshopper wants to date, but having 100 kids and sexual cannibalism tends to be a swipe left.
Late Afternoon is from Irish animator Louise Bagnall, about a young woman named Emily who’s dealing with either Alzheimer’s or dementia as she goes through her memories. The beautiful use of watercolor visuals and shapeshifting colors and settings is perfect for illustrating the emotions she feels. The ending packed an especially powerful punch because, as someone who has both diseases on both sides of my family, this short struck a chord with me.
Many of us got to see Bao as the opening to Incredibles 2. Watching it again, it was just as moving, but this time I didn’t jump out of my seat at that scene. I think what’s so great about watching it is how it centers a lot of the emotions around food.
Food, in many families, is the thing that brings us together. Boa is such a beautiful testament to that relationship. Domee Shii going from Pixar intern to directing this is an amazing accomplishment, and I’m glad she’s being recognized.
Weekends was probably my personal favorite of the bunch. Not only did I love the art style, but I also deeply enjoyed how the story played out. Weekends tells the story of a young boy shuffling between the homes of his recently divorced parents in the ’80s.
The dreamlike sequences are amazing and haunting at times, showing the audience the young boy’s desires in a way that words aren’t needed. His father’s bachelor pad was also so accurate to ones my friends have described to me that it was almost scary.
One Small Step made me cry so hard because it just hit all of my soft bits. Luna is a vibrant young Chinese-American girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut, with the love and support of her father, who is a shoemaker in what I am assuming is California.
After Weekends, I would say that this was my favorite. It may not be as “sophisticated” as some of the other choices to pick from, but the emotional beats hit and they hit hard. Also, Chinese female astronauts and a supporting loving dad? Sold and sold.
If I had to pick a winner, due to the power of Disney/Pixar, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Bao, but I think Late Afternoon and Weekends are such great animated works that I’m rooting for one of them against the powerhouse studio. As I said before, if you haven’t gotten a chance to check them out, please do, and as I said … bring your tissues.
(image: Trevor Jimenez)
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