Today, I have planned for my review of FISH edited by Carrie Cuinn and K.V. Taylor to come online, but you can’t really predict when the RSI will hit you at its worst. Today has been an exceptionally bad day and although I’ve been deep into commenting on the anthology, my fingers aren’t up to snuff, so tune in on Saturday, when I’ll post my review. Instead, I’ll make due with a quick post on the nominees for this year’s Best Animated Short at the Oscars. I’m a big fan of animation and I’ve been following each year’s nominees. This year is no different.*
“Fresh Guacamole” by PES – Guacamole has never been this fresh and artificial at the same time. Wonderful claymation, which speaks volumes, because I generally detest the experience. It’s what horror movies should be made from. The gist of it is that every time one of the objects substituting classic guacamole ingredients get cut, they experience an identity crisis and morph into something else entirely. It’s weird, offers a metaphor-loaded message, but is ultimately too short to remain memorable.
“Head Over Heels” by Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly – This entry is stop motion animation and has to do with a couple, which has become so estranged that they are pulled away from each other to the point where their home houses two gravitational forces. The man lives on the floor and the woman on the ceiling. What happens when they chose to not be indifferent to each other? I found it a beautifully told story of reunion, but again, not quite there to get the Oscar.
“Adam and Dog” by Minkyu Lee – I think this will be the big competition along with “Paperman” for the Oscar. The animation pleasantly reminds something Studio Ghibli would produce insofar the setting goes, which adds a new feel to the Biblical nature of the story, namely the friendship between Adam and a dog pre- and post-Eden. The reason why I’m uncertain about Lee’s creation winning has to be Adam’s genitalia. Can we deal with the first man’s penis winning an Oscar (even though it’s fairly vague, more like a contour rather than a detailed rendition)? Is it artsy enough or crossing a line? I am rooting for it though.
“Paperman” by John Kars – Black and white. Crisp lines. Dynamic animation. A fantastic element. A serendipitous love story and authentic 50s – 60s vintage atmosphere, which has made such a huge comeback thanks to Mad Men and American Horror Story along with Pan Am and The Bunny (both shows cancelled). The animation fits stylistically with last year’s winner “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” by Moonbot Studios – William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg. It has gold written all over it.
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Small note: I haven’t been able to watch The Longest Daycare (go figure!), so I won’t actually be commenting on it, but I think the people at the Academy will think anything pertaining to the Simpsons to be lowbrow for an Oscar.
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