Perhaps the most pleasant surprise in this showcase of the five nominated animated shorts—plus four other recommended shorts to fill out the program—is how much wonderful hand-drawn animation you’ll find. The most familiar entry—Disney’s
Feast, which played theatrically before
Big Hero 6—is a charming CGI tale of a dog adjusting to his owner’s new life, but there’s also the unique mix of colored pencil and stop motion in
The Bigger Picture’s story of two adult brothers caring for their elderly mother, and
Me and My Moulton, a sweet reminiscence by director Torill Kove on her youth in 1960s Norway; the 2-minute CGI
A Single Life doesn’t have time to do much with its concept of a 45 rpm record with magical powers. But the most powerful nominee is
The Dam Keeper, a storybook-like tale in which a piglet deals with being bullied and ostracized by classmates until a new student arrives. And the supplemental material includes new material by veteran Disney animator Glen Keane, whose glorious
Duet is a reminder that there’s so much more to contemporary animation than digital.
By
Scott Renshaw