Five animated shorts were nominated for this year's Academy Award for ""Best Animated Short,"" and their variety mirrors the many possibilities that the term ""animated"" now encapsulates: ""traditional"" pen-and-ink animation, computer-generated and even a hybrid of the two. Screenings of the nominated shorts are showing across the country, including one last weekend in Madison.
""Lifted""—The most visually exciting of the films, unsurprisingly, comes from Pixar, the studio that created films like ""Finding Nemo"" and ""Toy Story."" The short follows a teen UFO pilot taking his driver's exam, which includes abducting a sleeping farmer from his bed.
Creatively executed and stunning to look at, ""Lifted"" lacks some of the developed characters and warmth that the other nominees possess. However, it is a treat to watch for someone who cries every time Nemo finds his way home.
""No Time for Nuts""—""No Time for Nuts"" features the most familiar character of the five nominees: Scrat, the hard-luck saber-toothed squirrel from ""Ice Age"" who is always after that elusive acorn. In this short, Scrat, having found a time machine and losing his precious acorn into the time machine, chases it through time.
Though it features a familiar character, ""No Time for Nuts"" doesn't expand the computer-generated art form, and probably isn't the best animated short of the group but it is a fun twist on a character that could've easily gotten old by now.
""Maestro""—It's five minutes to curtain for a very familiar little performer in ""Maestro,"" and the artist must prepare for his performance with the help of his mechanical assistant.
""Maestro"" is a unique short, combining an operatic score to CG animation. It is also beautifully directed; the camera continually moves around the room like a second hand on a clock as time grows closer to the maestro's performance. The ending will surely surprise any first-time viewers.
""Maestro"" is the only computer-generated short to be nominated not from a major American studio, but it certainly holds its own against its bigger-budget cousins and deserved the nomination as much as any other nominee this year.
""The Little Matchgirl""—Though Disney animation has seen better days, ""Little Matchgirl"" reminds its viewers of the time when Disney was the hallmark of 2-D animation. Based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen, the short follows a poor girl selling matches on the street, and shows her dreams of a better life.
With beautifully realized colors and hand drawings mixed with newer computer-animation, ""Matchgirl"" is heartbreaking and sincere, and takes us back to a time when films like ""Aladdin,"" ""The Lion King"" and ""Beauty and the Beast"" were the best animation had to offer.
""The Danish Poet""—""The Danish Poet"" is by far the most crudely animated of the nominated shorts, using only 2-D animation. But it is almost certainly the best film of the five, winning the Oscar for best animated short.
The short features the rich story of a Danish poet and the woman he loves, but more than that it is about the number of small miracles and coincidences that must occur for a child to be born. The story is insightful and charming, and well worth following every twist and turn that the film presents.
What is great about ""Poet"" is its use of sound, as every floor board creaks and every step has a sound, and storytelling voiced by Swedish actress Liv Ullmann, star of films like Ingmar Bergman's ""Persona"" and ""A Bridge Too Far.""
One of the most engaging animated films in recent memory, ""The Danish Poet"" is a treasure that is best shared with someone you love, and makes you feel lucky that you have met at all.
Along with screenings at theaters, all films but ""Lifted"" are available on sites like YouTube and the iTunes Store. ""Lifted"" will be released with Pixar's ""Ratatouille,"" out later this year.
