Caught the Oscar program of animated shorts. I don't want to give too many of the descriptions, because I think they work best going in without knowing what to expect. If you do want descriptions, they can be found at this site. Included were:
SUNDAY/DIMANCHE
Very cute, well done. The animation style was a little simplistic, but it followed the story.
A MORNING STROLL
God, easily the best of the bunch. Really smart concept, unbelievably hilarious, and showcasing several really well done animation styles. The Academy has really surprised me the last couple of years by going with ballsier short animation picks that were ones I really liked (Logorama, The Lost Thing to a lesser extent). So maybe this has a chance?
WILD LIFE
Really gorgeous animation and great use of historical footage. More poignant than the others.
THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE
I'll let those more eloquent than myself say it; http://www.movieline.com/2012/02/14/oscar-season-distilled-to-14-words/
LA LUNA
Predictably great Pixar.
And a few others that were not nominated (funnily enough, the others that made the Academy's shortlist - I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat, Luminaris, Magic Piano, Paths of Hate and Specky Four-Eyes - were not included in this line up. Who knows.):
SKYLIGHT
Easily the crowd favorite of the whole bunch. Short, sweet, hilarious. Still eliciting laughs through the credits.
HYBRID UNION
Meh.
NULLARBOR
Too long.
AMAZONIA
Ehn.
These are apparently all available on OnDemand? Who knows. They should come online at some point. (Hey! One of my favorite live action shorts, Athena, starring David Thewlis and Harry Dean Stanton is now on vimeo. HEY! So is the Lady and the Reaper! You have five minutes - go watch this! Watch it full screen and stay through the first part of the credits. You will thank me!)
Also, the animated shorts program at IndieFest screened with the following films (I recommend clicking the links, because each film gets pictures and you can look at the varying styles of animation):
Time For Change
Cute, but very slight.
The Natural Order of Things
Phosphorescent bunnies! The rest of the animation is really, really basic.
(Baby) Its You!
Cute claymation about a mad scientist and a robot lady.
Attack of the Killer Mutant Chickens
This was insane. It was a Bollywood anime about giant killer mutant chickens. I mean, you need to see it.
Brucke
Pretty animation, well done, sad.
The Man With The Stolen Heart
Narrated by Bill Nighy, but he has done other, superior things. Speaking of fab short films he has been in, go watch this instead.
The Reality Clock
Meh. I like what the concept was going for, but it wasn't tight enough.
Being Bradford Dillman
Cute, if somewhat depressing also. (Aaah bad parenting!)
Sherman
AWESOME. I LOVED this.
Evil
This seemed so lazy. Cute concept - I wish the animator had worked it differently.
Masks
AMAZING. This is so, so brilliant.
Animeditation
Meh. Clever concept, kind of annoying to watch.
Waltz of the Demon King
I like paper sculptures, but it isn't a great story. Better to go look at some actual sculptures.
Kiss
This is really, really beautiful.
The ones I voted for to win best animation were Kiss, Sherman, Masks, and I think Being Bradford Dillman. I literally could not remember Time for Change after the program, but it was very professionally done as well.
SUNDAY/DIMANCHE
Very cute, well done. The animation style was a little simplistic, but it followed the story.
A MORNING STROLL
God, easily the best of the bunch. Really smart concept, unbelievably hilarious, and showcasing several really well done animation styles. The Academy has really surprised me the last couple of years by going with ballsier short animation picks that were ones I really liked (Logorama, The Lost Thing to a lesser extent). So maybe this has a chance?
WILD LIFE
Really gorgeous animation and great use of historical footage. More poignant than the others.
THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE
I'll let those more eloquent than myself say it; http://www.movieline.com/2012/02/14/oscar-season-distilled-to-14-words/
LA LUNA
Predictably great Pixar.
And a few others that were not nominated (funnily enough, the others that made the Academy's shortlist - I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat, Luminaris, Magic Piano, Paths of Hate and Specky Four-Eyes - were not included in this line up. Who knows.):
SKYLIGHT
Easily the crowd favorite of the whole bunch. Short, sweet, hilarious. Still eliciting laughs through the credits.
HYBRID UNION
Meh.
NULLARBOR
Too long.
AMAZONIA
Ehn.
These are apparently all available on OnDemand? Who knows. They should come online at some point. (Hey! One of my favorite live action shorts, Athena, starring David Thewlis and Harry Dean Stanton is now on vimeo. HEY! So is the Lady and the Reaper! You have five minutes - go watch this! Watch it full screen and stay through the first part of the credits. You will thank me!)
Also, the animated shorts program at IndieFest screened with the following films (I recommend clicking the links, because each film gets pictures and you can look at the varying styles of animation):
Time For Change
Cute, but very slight.
The Natural Order of Things
Phosphorescent bunnies! The rest of the animation is really, really basic.
(Baby) Its You!
Cute claymation about a mad scientist and a robot lady.
Attack of the Killer Mutant Chickens
This was insane. It was a Bollywood anime about giant killer mutant chickens. I mean, you need to see it.
Brucke
Pretty animation, well done, sad.
The Man With The Stolen Heart
Narrated by Bill Nighy, but he has done other, superior things. Speaking of fab short films he has been in, go watch this instead.
The Reality Clock
Meh. I like what the concept was going for, but it wasn't tight enough.
Being Bradford Dillman
Cute, if somewhat depressing also. (Aaah bad parenting!)
Sherman
AWESOME. I LOVED this.
Evil
This seemed so lazy. Cute concept - I wish the animator had worked it differently.
Masks
AMAZING. This is so, so brilliant.
Animeditation
Meh. Clever concept, kind of annoying to watch.
Waltz of the Demon King
I like paper sculptures, but it isn't a great story. Better to go look at some actual sculptures.
Kiss
This is really, really beautiful.
The ones I voted for to win best animation were Kiss, Sherman, Masks, and I think Being Bradford Dillman. I literally could not remember Time for Change after the program, but it was very professionally done as well.
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