2011 Oscar nominated animated short films reviews

If you saw “Toy Story 3” in a theater, you probably also caught this charming Pixar short about characters representing Day and Night discovering they each have a unique way of seeing the world. It’s a sweet, simple concept that opens with kid-pleasing bathroom humor, closes with an inspiring sound bite from a ’70s motivational speaker—and manages to make it all work. Keep an eye on first time director Teddy Newton, a Pixar employee since 2000 and the voice of the Chatter Telephone in “Toy Story 3.” (USA, 6 minutes)

The most substantial of the animated short nominees, this adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s 1999 picture book boasts a star vocal cast and a Christmas 2009 premiere on BBC (it aired in December 2010 on ABC Family in the US). A mother squirrel (Helena Bonham Carter) entertains her children with the story of a clever mouse (James Corden) who outsmarts a fox (Tom Wilkinson), an owl (John Hurt) and a snake (Rob Brydon) by warning them about an imaginary monster called a Gruffalo. Then the mouse actually meets a Gruffalo (Robbie Coltrane). Directors Jakob Schuh and Max Lang capture the warm feeling of a familiar bedtime story and the top notch production—featuring a terrific score by René Aubry—could easily bring home Oscar gold. (UK, Germany; 27 minutes)

This satirical, sarcastic spin on 1950s instructional films is presented as a guide to pollution, waste and environmental destruction. It feels like an animated aside you’d find in a Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock movie, and filmmaker Geefwee Boedoe, a former Disney and Pixar animator, hammers his one joke into the ground. But it’s also lively, attractively animated and features a perfect voiceover from narrator Jim Thornton. Still, a six minute short shouldn’t feel overlong. This one does. (USA, 6 minutes)

There’s a gentle melancholy to this story of a young boy who discovers an unidentifiable creature at the beach one day and realizes it’s lost. The boy seeks to find the creature a home but encounters indifference wherever he goes. Directors Shaun Tan (who also wrote and illustrated the picture book the short is based on) and Andrew Ruhemann bring a steampunk style to the story that makes it the most creative and magical of the nominees. (Australia, UK; 15 minutes)

Not to be confused with the entirely different DreamWorks franchise, this post card from filmmaker Bastien Dubois’ trip to the African island pays tribute to the country’s culture and natural beauty. A hodgepodge of drawings collide in a stylistic jumble that comes across heartfelt but might have played stronger in live action (or a live action/animated combo). The short does boast the best end credits of all the nominees. (France, 11 minutes)