The Oscars are almost upon us, which means it's time for one of my favourite cinema trips of the year - the Animated Short Films! Five more films are up for the golden statuette, with England represented by A Morning Stroll.
The problem is, the first time we saw the shorts in 2010 not only did we get Wallace and Gromit on the big screen (cinematic joy as yet unrepeated) but also the ridiculously cheeky eventual winner Logorama. This is the trouble with expectations: they simply wait around to be dashed.
But ignoring previous triumphs for a moment, two films stood out. One was The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore "inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books" says the website, and the gorgeous La Luna from Pixar, about three generations who have to clean stars from the moon.
The British entry, which involved a time-travelling chicken, was blood-soaked and disappointing. There was also a lot of death in Dimanche/Sunday and Wild Life, both from Canada. Make of that what you will. A few "highly recommended" ones were also included, most with environmental messages, and an Australian one that was very...Australian. I'll link some below:
A little of the somewhat crazed British entry.
What Sundays are like in Canada.
The gorgeous one from Pixar, though sadly only a clip.
This seems to be the full Flying Books animation! Well worth it if you have time to spare.
And, okay, here's the full version of Logorama, still one of the best things EVER. Not for children...
