by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor

The annual showcase of Oscar-nominated short films is now available in theaters (with some of the shorts also available on streaming services). The Animated Shorts category continues to shine, showing a variety of animation styles and tones, making it a great sampler of animation as a medium.

Beautiful Men (dir. Nicolas Keppens)

This short features three adult brothers in various stages of hair loss all together in Istanbul at a clinic to reverse it. What ensues is an absurdist exploration of the brothers’ relationships and insecurities that comingles the real and the bizarre in ways only Dutch humor can explain. The character models are all wonderfully designed, and the details not obscured by fog are incredible to behold.

In the Shadow of the Cypress (dirs. Hossein Molayemi, Shirin Sohani)

In the Shadow of the Cypress is a story told entirely without dialogue, but is no less impactful. Showing a man and his wife both struggling–him with PTSD, her with a beached whale–through the use of drawing, color, and other visual storytelling cues is very impressive. Although it is one of the longer shorts and does not have much in the way of plot, the meditative feeling it generates is well worth the time spent with it.

Magic Candies (dir. Daisuke Nishio)

In its 21-minute runtime, Magic Candies is able to squeeze in a few different stories, all centered on Dong-Dong, a lonely young boy who buys a mysterious bag of candies from a local bodega. Each time he puts one of the candies in his mouth, he begins to hear a voice. It might be his sofa, his loyal dog, his father, or someone else. These candies give Dong-Dong greater insight into his relationships, and allow him to build more self-confidence. Each segment lasts just as long as it needs to, and this gentle story is uplifting and cozy. The CGI animation is used to emulate stop motion puppetry to great effect, and this short is as visually arresting as it is heartwarming.

Wander to Wonder (dir. Nina Gatz)

What if someone employed 6-inch high people to star in a children’s show about a tiny, magical world? And what if that someone dies, leaving these Lilliputian-like people to fend for themselves in his home studio? With no knowledge of the outside world, Mary, Billybud, and Fumbleton attempt to survive, scavenging anything they can. Brought to life with incredible stop motion, Wander to Wonder embraces the darkness of its premise wholeheartedly, telling a story of grief, loss, and evoking the feeling of COVID lockdown all in one. This took 8 years to fully animate, and the dedication shows in every single frame.

Yuck! (dir. Loïc Espuche)

Set at a crowded camping area, Yuck! captures the adolescent feeling of being both curious about kissing and also repulsed by it. In this adorable short, the lips of people who want to kiss turn a sparkly pink to indicate this interest. One of the young boys at the campsite, Léo (Noé Chabbat) is shocked to find his own lips turning sparkly pink. Yuck! looks like a picture book in motion, which emphasizes the childhood point of view of the story. Director Loïc Espuche and the rest of the Yuck! creative team certainly understands/remembers what this specific age is like, and captures that perspective in a very cute way.

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