Nate At The Movies

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

For much of my film-watching life, my short film experience had been limited to the Pixar shorts that played before their feature films in theaters. Stories like Bao and Piper stood on their own for me, but I hadn’t really dived into the vast sea of short films until this year, when Morgan and I got our tickets to see all five Oscar-Nominated Live-Action Shorts, and all five Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts. It was a really fun night, kept really fresh by the ever-changing narratives, and an experience I can’t wait to have again next year. Below are my five quick-and-dirty reviews of the Animated nominees, in the order we watched them.

I fell in love with Magic Candies from the opening shots, and with such a creative concept (and a bag of unopened candy on my tray table that found the perfect time to be opened), it was going to be hard not to love this. The animation style was strong, but even stronger was the story and its messages. I loved how each candy allowed Dong-Dong to connect with new or estranged subjects, and that each connection became more meaningful, from the sofa to the dog to his dad and eventually new friends and himself. Both the dialogue and physical comedy were very funny (especially every blank stare or expression from Dong-Dong), thanks to such an interesting and novel concept (and a talking sofa). Even with some great storytelling, voice acting, and messages, the single best part of Magic Candies was that shot of the leaves flying towards him and saying “bye-bye” as they all passed by. That’s the shot they’ll show in the Oscars reel when this wins on Sunday (fingers crossed). Can’t wait!

I knew going into In the Shadow of the Cypress that it had been my friend Hanah’s favorite of the animated ones, so I went into it with high expectations. While it didn’t reach the heights for me that it did for Hanah, I did still really enjoy it and its message. The PTSD-related imagery was strong, namely the man’s skin graying out when he had an episode (I have no idea if that’s how you phrase it) and the whale and the ship (obviously), but I did think the flashbacks were a little too heavy-handed and on the nose. Trust me, director, the filmmaking was good enough before those that I already knew he had PTSD. It was tough to watch his daughter try to help him (the whale) but to be met with hostility time and time again. I’m glad that he finally righted the ship by the end (excuse the poorly-timed pun), and I have to find some time in here to compliment the lovely 2D animation. In the Shadow of the Cypress really has the chops to win, since it handles its topic with such grace and care, even if it’s not my pick. I can totally see why Hanah loved it.

I’m calling this the Instruments of a Beating Heart of this category, because sometimes we just need a cute and fun time! Yuck! explored such an innocent concept and made it super visually easy to follow with the glowing lips. Did it also make it look like every couple was getting it on in the tents in that last scene, though? You bet. I wasn’t in love with the animation style here—I can appreciate the 2D of it all, but all those facial lines on the kids made them look so much older than they should have looked—but at this point in the night, I didn’t know I needed to be counting my blessings. The simplicity of this story was its strength, and watching the kids mature in just 15 minutes was cute. There wasn’t a ton going on in Yuck!, but that worked to its advantage; a simple story done well, and I had no idea it would be the final good short film of the night. I wish I had relished it more. Oh, well. Onto Wander to Wonder.

I told Morgan this last night and it applies here: if a short film is bad, at least it’s only bad for a short amount of time. That being said, I was deeply put off by Wander to Wonder. I really can’t see how its mixture of nightmare fuel-inducing handheld camera shots, bite-size disasters, and animated nudity (again?!? Even after Memoir of a Snail?) works for anyone, because it certainly didn’t work for me. Maybe I would’ve given it a chance if there was some semblance of a story beyond “children’s TV characters abandoned in shed”. I honestly think that a concept like this could work—following forgotten beloved children’s show characters after their days in front of the camera—if the characters were less crude, more normal, and the plot took on a more 9 quality, because even with 9’s own share of horrifying shots burned into one’s brain, its story is unique and engaging enough to keep people seated. Wander to Wonder made me want to wander out of the theater and into the showing of Anora next door.

Oh my God, guys! Enough of the stop motion nudity! I’ve seen far too much in my lifetime already, and it’s chasing me now! Beyond the jumpscare of the realization that an animator somewhere had to sculpt that for this film, I was pretty confused by Beautiful Men. Even with some strong stop-motion animation and a lovely fog effect that I’m still not sure how they accomplished, I couldn’t quite find the point of this one anywhere in its runtime. It’s kind of like if His Three Daughters was about uninteresting balding men who didn’t have a dying dad. I have more questions than answers following Beautiful Men: was the fog actually fog, or was it smoke (or something else)? Is there commentary to be had here? Is the commentary even about the men? Do their hair transplants symbolize anything? Why would anyone walk outside in the nude, even if it’s foggy? I don’t necessarily want answers to these questions; just know I wondered these things. Beautiful Men was not the way to end the night, but at least we shot 8/10 on the whole.