Pixar rubs in its superiority in the 2010 OSCAR ANIMATED SHORTS PROGRAM (2010)

Posted by Stephen Jannise

In the 2010 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts program, now playing in Austin at the Alamo South Lamar, Pixar’s most recent short Partly Cloudy makes an appearance despite not actually having been nominated for an Oscar. And it’s the best of the bunch. Though the short’s visual style may not stray too far from the Pixar shorts of the past and its concept of a stork delivering babies has been done before in cartoons, the presence of Partly Cloudy in this program nevertheless serves as a reminder that Pixar has some of the very best storytellers in the film industry working in its employ. More than just a rehash of the age-old children’s myth that babies are delivered from the clouds via long-beaked birds, the short suggests in a consistently humorous way that outcasts and mischief makers, represented here by baby crocodiles, electric eels, and the thundercloud responsible for their creation, should not be feared and misunderstood but accepted as an important part of our society.

The other shorts in the program have their merits, to be sure, but some have less to offer than others. France’s Oscar-nominated French Roast, about a snob in a coffee shop who disregards a homeless man’s request for money before realizing when the bill arrives that he has misplaced his wallet and cannot pay, and Canada’s not-Oscar-nominated Runaway, which deals with class segregation on a runaway train, are not as funny or thoughtful as they could have been.

More successful are Ireland’s Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty and Spain’s The Lady and the Reaper, both about little old ladies who are sick of being old. In O’Grimm, a young child, who has clearly been terrorized by Granny’s bedtime stories before, girds herself for Granny’s presentation of the Sleeping Beauty tale, in which Granny herself angrily assumes the role of the evil fairy who was not invited to Sleeping Beauty’s christening because she was too old and out of touch with the times; after all, with those aching knees, how could she hope to keep up with the younger, sexier fairies? Granny’s ire is palpable, and hilarious.

Grandma's on a tear.

The old lady in Lady and the Reaper is also sick of being told of what she can and can’t do. In this case, just when she is about to die and be reunited with her dead husband in the afterlife, a studly doctor saves her life, and a battle ensues between the doctor and the Grim Reaper himself. This is probably the looniest of the toons on display in this program, breezy and lighthearted, at least until the somewhat…grim…conclusion. Speaking of loony, I would be remiss not to mention the welcome return of beloved United Kingdom duo Wallace and Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death, which gives the bumbling Brit and his dutiful dog a delightful whodunit to work through.

The final two shorts in the program are somewhat heavier in tone, and both expertly use the animation medium itself to send their messages (paging Marshall McLuhan). Poland’s exquisite The Kinematograph, with its long dialogue beats and static camera shots, seems more fitting, visually and narratively, for the live-action medium. And yet its story of a man desperately trying to complete his radical new invention, colorized moving pictures, at the expense of his relationship with his wife, is strengthened by this stunning computer-animated visual presentation. Watching a man struggle to create a decades-old invention in a film that has been itself created with an invention still in its infancy (CG animation) leads us to consider just how many long nights and broken hearts have been sacrificed to the ongoing progression of this great art form we call the cinema. The ending of The Kinematograph, involving a death and a newsboy running through the streets screaming something about two brothers from France, was the most poignant of the evening.

How does that old saying go, ''Behind every great man...''

Finally, as with any shorts program, there is bound to be a film that will draw equal parts love and hatred, a role happily seized upon by the final short of the night: France’s Logorama. The title brings to my mind the word “logorrhoea” which refers to an excessive use of words that are often abstract and make little sense. In the case of this film, words are replaced with product logos and mascots. Every character, building, vehicle, everything is represented by recognizable marketing icons, which, considering that the icons themselves are essentially drawings, could only be done with animation.

I think I see my house.

To watch this film is to not only be inundated with product placement but also to be reminded that we essentially spend every day being inundated by product placement. This is not a short you will fall in love with, but it likely isn’t intended to be loved. The filmmakers have sacrificed instant gratification in order to make their point, which means I wouldn’t put my money on this one come Oscar night.

You won't want to miss Mr. Peanut's demise. You'll crack up.

Indeed, this program managed to increase my ire toward this year’s Academy Awards, as my two favorite selections (Partly Cloudy and The Kinematograph) were both disregarded. If I had to choose from the five that have been selected, I’d have to say I expect Wallace and Gromit to take this one easily, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Logorama climb the scaffolding, to turn a phrase.