Blind Vaysha (2016)/Polarbearman (2018)/Black and White Trypps Number Four (2008)/Juke and Opal (1973)

The titular character of Blind Vaysha was born with one eye that sees only the past and the other that only sees the future. She can never live in the present. A beautifully animated tale, it’s an interesting parable that is ruined slightly by an ending that pushes for reflection instead of just allowing it to happen naturally.

Polarbearman features Lee Pace as a solitary man in a house with water levels gradually rising to the point where his only recourse is to move higher and higher until he is stranded on the roof. As a representation of the effects of climate change, it’s a metaphor for the dire situation for polar bears and the melting ice caps.

The other two shorts are part of my attempts to watching Richard Pryor’s filmography. The first experimentally flickers through footage from his stand-up routine. It’s not really my cup of tea. The other is a sketch from a Lily Tomlin special. It features Lily as the manager of a greasy spoon and Pryor as a junkie and friend who interact with a few characters who come into the diner, including Alan Alda. It’s an interesting slice of life bit incorporated with realistic characters and relationships.

Oscar Nomination: Best Animated Short Film (Blind Vaysha)