I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
The animated short of the year surely must be Domee Shi’s “Bao” [IMDb|official site], a by turns bittersweet and startling reverie on motherhood that features one of the most hilariously shocking moments onscreen this year. When a Chinese woman’s handmade dumpling, or bao, sprouts a face and a little body, she raises it as her own child, only to face the usual chagrin when her little friend begins to assert his independence and individuality. I’d be delighted if it won the Oscar… and I think it will. [watch at Amazon US|iTunes US|iTunes Can]
The other nominees:
• “Weekends” [IMDb|official site], by Trevor Jimenez, a dreamlike and occasionally outright nightmarish stream-of-consciousness look at one year in the life of a child of divorce bouncing between two homes and two parents with their own diverging lives. [watch at Amazon US|Amazon UK|iTunes US|iTunes Can|iTunes UK|Kanopy]
• “Late Afternoon” [IMDb|official site], by Louise Bagnall, an impressionistic reverie in which an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s gets lost in memories only to find her way back to the present.
• “One Small Step” [IMDb|official site] by Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas, a lovely ode to a young girl’s losing faith in her dream of becoming an astronaut, and finding it again when reminded of how totally supportive her father was of her ambitions. [watch at Amazon US|Amazon UK|iTunes US|iTunes Can|iTunes UK]
• “Animal Behaviour” [IMDb|official site], by Alison Snowden and David Fine, a rather obvious peek in on a group therapy session in which various mammals and insects discuss their personal problems… which are their defining characteristics as animals (a praying mantis can’t get a date because she eats her partners after sex; a cat is obsessed with self-grooming); I kept expecting a punchline or a twist that never came.
see also:
• Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts 2019 (91st Academy Awards) review
• Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts 2019 (91st Academy Awards) review
“Bao” is well-made and I wouldn’t mind at all if it won, but I liked most of the others as well. I was very touched by “Late Afternoon” and “One Small Step” (I’m a sucker for father-daughter stories); I was probably least affected by “Weekends.” I’m kind of rooting for “Animal Behaviour,” which has hilarious dialogue (most of the others were wordless) and is the only one of the nominees that doesn’t lean on earnestness as its primary mood.
Is earnestness worst than obviousness, though? :-)
It didn’t detract from my enjoyment. The film did have its own shocking moment about 2/3 of the way through, and I was curious to know what happened to two of the characters after the story ended. :-)
I also think it’s refreshing to occasionally honor animation that’s distinctly different from Disney/Pixar, which is another reason I’m glad Spider-Verse is the likely winner at the Oscars.
I hope *Spider-Verse* wins, too. It is absolutely the best animated movie of the year.
I honestly think it’s the best animated movie of the past SEVERAL years. I’m not entirely sure Coco, Zootopia, or Big Hero 6 would have won if this had come out the same year.
So many people seem to identify with the movie that I won’t be entirely surprised if Spider-Verse is remembered as one of the best animated films of all time. It’s a tribute to Stan Lee (and the other Marvel creators) that the story still resonates with so many different people, from so many different backgrounds.
I do find myself returning to Zootopia more than I’d expected, though. That story resonates, too. I’m also amazed that the filmmakers put so much more effort into the movie than necessary. They even designed ridiculously detailed cereal boxes for characters who were eating breakfast.
http://www.matthiaslechner.com/zootopia.html
I remember really liking Zootopia. I’ll have to revisit it.
I usually find myself hoping to see a non-Disney/Pixar short actually win this category, only to be (totally expectedly) let down. But this year, I’d be fine with Bao winning, it was lovely.
Then again, so was One Small Step, as well as Weekends. And I think Late Afternoon was actually my favorite. Both that and One Small Step brought a tear to my eye.
Animal Behaviour was… fine. It was fine. I found it way below the level of the other movies, and I’m surprised it got nominated, but I didn’t hate it.