Does anyone here remember the show “Liquid Television”? It was on MTV back in the early 90s when they still played music videos and featured a wide variety of animated shorts that were quite bizarre but also very cool. “Beavis and Butthead” and “Aeon Flux” were among some of its well known titles and I wish they would reissue the series. I mention this program because all of these nominees would fit perfectly on it. They all are extremely well animated, but the majority of them don’t make any sense, just like a lot of shorts on that show. Only two of them tell a complete story, while the rest just try to amaze you with visuals alone. Even then, I was not that impressed.

Director: Patrick Doyon

(Long Sigh) Dimanche is about a kid who is at church and then goes to have lunch with some relatives. He enjoys putting coins on a railroad track and has an active imagination. This was the longest nine minutes of my existence. I have never been so bored before in my life and I have seen The Tree of Life twice in theatres. The animation makes the first season of “South Park” look like something Pixar would have made. If someone out there saw more in this than I did, please let me know.

Directors: Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

(Another Long Sigh) An Englishman moves out towards the frontier plains to try and make it as a cowboy with minimal success. To help explain this man’s story, they use cards that discuss the functions of a comet. Are the filmmakers trying to say that the main character is like a comet? He burns bright and large but then quickly fades. I have no idea, nor do I care because I found this to be a very tedious and boring short. The artwork was nice, but not for an animated movie . This would have worked way better as a picture book in my opinion.

Directors: William Joyce and Brandon Oldenberg

After his whole town is destroyed by a hurricane, Morris Lessmore finds himself at a library that features books that for some reason have their own personalities and can fly. He decides to devote his time and efforts into preserving these books because of all the comfort they give him. I honestly felt kind of sorry for the guy because it’s obvious he has never made any real connection with anyone living if he has to befriend a bunch of books. Plus he’s kind of jerk for spending time at a library instead of helping his town folk after they were hit by a hurricane. Yes, I get that books can be a great thing and I do enjoy reading very much but never would I choose it over actual human contact. The animation is very well done and I liked how one book had an illustrated character that could show changes in emotions by flipping a few pages. It was a great combination of both 3D and 2D animation. I just got kind of creeped out because of the main character’s obsession with books. He wasn’t whimsical or charming, he was just pathetic.

Director: Enrico Casarosa

Since Pixar failed to get a best animated feature nomination this year, it’s most likely they will win an award for this, although this is still a pretty weak short. The story involves a little boy who goes sailing with his papa and grandpa to the moon and helps clean away the stars. There is nothing more to it than that. Yes, it’s beautifully animated and features a great score from Michael Giacchino but there’s really nothing more to it than that. No bad guys, no conlict, no inner demons…nothing. It would have been a great ad for a light bulb company, but not as a stand alone short.

Director: Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

Have you heard the one about the man who walks down the street and sees a chicken enter an apartment? You haven’t? Well what if I told you the same story in different time periods and with different animation styles? Would you be excited then? Of course you wouldn’t because it is a dumb premise to begin with. Nothing happens in this entire short. You watch the same chicken enter an apartment three different times and that’s it. Maybe if I had never seen a computer animated movie before I would be impressed, but this was just pointless. This is the kind of short you present in order to receive another grant, not win awards with.

I understand the difficulties it must be to create an animated movie and I admire these filmmakers for wanting to experiment with different styles. It just felt like they were only interested in themselves instead of their audience.

If you agree with my reviews, please post comments below . If you are among those who disagree with my reviews but understand that the majority of my opinions are correct, please post comments below.  Joking aside, just don’t be rude.