Category: Short Film

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Mr Hublot (2013)/The Magic Pear Tree (1968)

In a steampunk designed world, Mr Hublot’s orderly existence is disrupted by the sudden appearance of a homeless dog into his life. The animation style is similar to other Oscar nominated ones from this era, computer animation in muted tones. Luckily the turns in the short story and the characters have a real sweetness to them, especially, I imagine, for animal lovers, which make it stand out.  Animals

Similar to the peculiar 1971 animated short winner The Crunch Bird, the entire premise for The Magic Pear Tree is just a set-up for a singular not very funny joke. A handsome guest travels to his friend’s castle and goes through an elaborate ruse in order to get with his friend’s wife. Late 1960s-early 1970s film is already one of my least favorite eras of films and these shorts don’t go far to improve that impression.

Oscar Winner: Best Short Film, Animated (Mr Hublot)

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Subject, Cartoons (The Magic Pear Tree)

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Peter & the Wolf (2006)

Similar to the well-known 1946 Disney version, this is an animated rendition of Prokofiev’s similarly titled musical composition. Young Peter disobeys his Grandfather’s directive to stay out of the forest and plays with his animal friends only for the party to come face to face with a large wolf. The story is told completely through the music without any narration. While I appreciate some of the clever changes made to the story, I was less enamored with the stop motion animation style.   Animals  Musical

Oscar Win: Best Short Film, Animated

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The United States Marine Band (1942)

Performances of various tunes by the United States Marine Band are filmed at various Washington DC landmarks, interspersed with footage of the marine training. The quality of the performances are top notch, but it’s still a bit of an oddity directed by the renowned Jean Negulesco. Obviously made as a bit of patriotic propaganda early in World War II, I presume there are at least some people who could be bought in by it.   Music

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Subject, One-reel

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The Battle of Gettysburg (1955)

I really like the concept of this short film. Leslie Nielsen narrates the events of the battle of Gettysburg across images of the fields and statuary as they look today, or at least how they looked in 1955 and more or less in 2000 when I visited the town. Unfortunately with no action on screen and only battle sounds added to Nielsen’s voice, the film quickly becomes tedious. I still commend it for its simplicity. It was interestingly filmed in Cinemascope, which might explain why it was included as an extra on the DVD for Kismet.  War

Oscar Nominations: Best Short Subject, Two-reel; Best Documentary, Short Subjects

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Story of a Dog (1945)/One Survivor Remembers (1996)

As a dog lover, it’s difficult to enjoy Story of a Dog. The film follows a group of dogs as they go through Basic Training so they can serve with their trainers during World War II. The dogs are forced into unnatural situations, such as remaining calm during gun fire, just to fight in man’s war.   War  Animals

Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein died this month, so I thought it was a good time to watch the short film that serves as her testimony, One Survivor Remembers. As the only survivor of her family, she was sent to various work camps along the German border, finally forced into a months long death march which killed all of her remaining friends, only to finally be liberated by the man she would eventually marry. Unlike some other Holocaust films that can verge on tragedy porn, this one maintains a steadfast focus on Gerda’s gracious telling of her story.  War

Oscar Win: Best Documentary, Short Subjects (One Survivor Remembers)

Oscar Nominations: Best Short Subject, One-reel (Story of a Dog)

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The Gay Parisian (1941)/ Forty Boys and a Song (1941)

The Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo interprets the story of The Gay Parisian, about a visiting Peruvian falls in love with a dancer who is already in love with a baron, through dance. It’s rather chaotic with many people on the set dancing at once, which made me glad for the introductions to all the main characters before the start. The costumes and set are beautifully expansive as a result.

In 1934 Robert Mitchell established a special school for young boys that forms the choir shown in Forty Boys and a Song. The film features scenes with the boys in class and on a camping trip, all as a showcase for the singing talents of the choir. I like little behind the scenes shorts on Hollywood such as this. The choir performed in over 100 feature films over the years, including the Best Picture winner Going My Way.  Music

Oscar Nominations: Best Short Subject, Two-reel (The Gay Parisian); Best Short Subject, One-reel (Forty Boys and a Song)

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The Bolero (1973)/God Sleeps in Rwanda (2005)

The first half of The Bolero is a behind the scenes look on the Los Angeles Symphonic Orchestra’s preparations before performing Ravel’s famous work. The second half is an actual performance. I didn’t get much out of the preparation part, but the performance is quite fun. I love seeing the 1970s fashions, but also the presentation and framing of the performance is quite nifty and memorable.  Music

God Sleeps in Rwanda follows the experiences of five women whose lives were irrevocably changed by the 1994 genocide. The stories presented are powerful and the strength and the courage of these women to rebuild their lives after the atrocities they faced is immeasurable. Unfortunately the production quality and depth of the stories is somewhat lacking for such a powerful subject matter.

Oscar Win: Best Short Subject, Live Action Films (The Bolero)

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Short Subjects (God Sleeps in Rwanda)

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Strings (1991)/Your Face (1987)/Yes-People (2020)

In Strings, a woman gets ready for her bath while her downstairs neighbor prepares for the arrival of his string quartet. The animation style isn’t really my type of thing as the lines and colors are quite muddied and undefined. The story is cute enough with forced interaction between the two principles coming in the form of a leaky bathtub.

Bill Plympton’s style is really not my thing. I remember similar shorts, maybe even cuts from this one, as interstitials on MTV back in the day. Your Face is comprised of a man singing Your Face is Like a Song while his face morphs and folds in upon itself in different forms. Despite being quite ugly, the morphing is done seamlessly through the song.

The cast of of Yes People is a group of people who live in the same apartment building. The dialogue consists almost entirely of various iterations of the word ‘yes’. The plot, as well as the animation, is exceptionally simple but still rather cute.

Oscar Nominations: Best Short Film, Animated (all three)

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Affairs of the Art (2021)/On My Mind (2021)

The main character of Affairs of the Art is a middle-aged woman with dreams of being a renowned artist. She recounts her obsession with art by detailing her other family member’s obsessions, including her sister’s taxidermy. The story is a bit unhinged and the animation style is definitely not my thing.

In On My Mind, a man walks into an empty bar and orders a drink. When he realizes they also host karaoke, he aggressively pushes to use the machine against the owner’s preferences. It’s a bit of a cliched story and the actions of the characters across the board don’t feel realistic , but it is heartfelt and well-meaning.

Oscar Nominations: Best Animated Short Film (Affairs of the Art); Best Live Action Short Film (On My Mind)

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Lead Me Home (2021)/Audible (2021)

It shouldn’t be news to anyone that there’s a homelessness epidemic in American cities, especially on the West Coast. That’s the only message Lead Me Home has to offer. It spends more time on aerial footage of said cities than the handful of unhoused individuals whose heartbreaking stories are featured. There isn’t much depth to these stories nor any causes or solutions to the problem presented.

The subjects of Audible are deaf high school students who are all associated with their football team’s winning streak. These students are also connected in their grief over the death of their friend and former classmate. The short touches on many subjects that teenagers are dealing with, such as sexuality, mental health, family issues, and being part of a community, but unfortunately that’s a lot to unpack in 40 minutes so it remains mostly on the surface.  Sports

Oscar Nominations: Best Documentary Short Subject (Lead Me Home; Audible)

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