Once again, these will be narrowed down to five. A Pixar entry here, along with a legendary animator Richard Williams.
“Bear Story (Historia De Un Oso),” Gabriel Osorio, director, and Pato Escala, producer (Punkrobot Animation Studio)
“Carface (Autos Portraits),” Claude Cloutier, director (National Film Board of Canada)
“If I Was God…,” Cordell Barker, director (National Film Board of Canada)
“Love in the Time of March Madness,” Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambrano, directors (High Hip Productions and KAPWA Studioworks)
“My Home,” Phuong Mai Nguyen, director (Papy3D Productions)
“An Object at Rest,” Seth Boyden, director (California Institute of the Arts)
“Prologue,” Richard Williams, director, and Imogen Sutton, producer (Animation Masterclass)
“Sanjay’s Super Team,” Sanjay Patel, director, and Nicole Grindle, producer (Pixar Animation Studios)
“We Can’t Live without Cosmos,” Konstantin Bronzit, director (Melnitsa Animation Studio)
“World of Tomorrow,” Don Hertzfeldt, director (Bitter Films)
Trailers after the jump.
Trailer HISTORIA DE UN OSO from Punkrobot Studio on Vimeo.
Love in the Time of March Madness – TRAILER from KAPWA Studioworks on Vimeo.
Chez moi – Trailer from Phuong Mai Nguyen on Vimeo.
An Object at Rest from Seth Boyden on Vimeo.
We can't live without cosmos Trailer from Bronzit on Vimeo.
WORLD OF TOMORROW from don hertzfeldt on Vimeo.
I loved Sanjay’s Super Team and think it will win on popular vote but I think Bear Story and World of Tomorrow are better achievements. Cosmos and Prologue are excellent too.
Having seen SANJAY’S SUPER TEAM now, I’d rank it 4th among the four shortlisted titles I have seen–not that it’s bad. I enjoyed the inclusive point-of-view and the visual design. But like most Pixar shorts, the storytelling is predictable and borders on the sentimental. Of course, because it’s paired with THE GOOD DINOSAUR, it will probably win (now that voting is open to all members instead of just those who attend specified screenings) since it will be the only one some of the AMPAS voters will have seen, screeners notwithstanding.
Don Hertzfeldt! I adore Rejected and it’s great to see him back in the frame. World of Tomorrow is well worth the vimeo rental cost, very entertaining and typically droll
Thank God they didn’t try to submit Lava.
They did…last year. But it didn’t make the cut (though I certainly preferred that to last year’s winner, FEAST).
Ah, my mistake.
I disliked Feast less than Lava; I found Feast forgettable (albeit in dire need of a disclaimer saying DO NOT FEED YOUR DOG LIKE THAT, SERIOUSLY), but I found Lava actively grating and creepily designed.
Ugh I loved Lava. So I assume the Lava song is also ineligible this year?
I’ve seen WORLD OF TOMORROW which is sublimely bizarre and perversely poignant. Hertzfeldt was nominated once before, for the incredible REJECTED, and while this is a weird and wonderful film, there’s no way it could possibly win. But I still hope a nomination is possible.
LOVE IN THE TIME OF MARCH MADNESS is an interesting autobiographical piece with lots of visual imagination. Female filmmakers are generally in short supply in this category, so it would be nice to see a worthy film by and about women get to the final 5.
WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT COSMOS is pretty traditional in style, though I like the period setting and small little flights of fancy. Its main attribute is its warmth, though I didn’t like it as much as the other two I’ve seen. Bronzit was previously nominated for LAVATORY LOVE STORY (2008).
I haven’t seen PROLOGUE, but it was made by Richard Williams, who earned a special Oscar for the animation in WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? (along with the VFX award), and he won this category back in 1970 for A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
I haven’t seen IF I WAS GOD… either, but Cordell Barker was robbed of the Oscar for his 2001 short STRANGE INVADERS, and if he made the cut, it would be third Academy nod.
The last time Pixar won this award was back in 2001, but if you’re interested in seeing SANJAY’S SUPER TEAM, it’s playing before THE GOOD DINOSAUR opening next week.