2021 Oscar Animated Shorts: Animated Passion Comes To Life

The animated shorts are a wealth of emotions wrapped within the artistic caress of animation. With COVID-19 gripping the world this past year, the viewing experience of the 2020 animated shorts has been interesting, to say the least. Thankfully, my local theater, Fairfield Theater Company in Fairfield, CT, embraced the easing of restrictions and my first return to a theater setting was for their annual showcase of the 2021Oscar nominated short animated films. There was a feeling of joy as I returned to the familiar atmosphere, as not only the venue embracing a wider audience but the need and want to see the creative hand of short film creators were still in demand.

Burrow (Madeline Sharafian)

Burrow, from wrier and director Madeline Sharafian, is a sweet little short, a little bunny determined to fashion a home all his own. Yet, it is the personal journey of this small bunny, learning to make himself vulnerable and embrace not only the independence of your own space but to further embrace the support and community around you.

As the young bunny bangs his mailbox into place, he moves on to make the perfect home. With a small sketch in hand, there is pure joy in the potential of creating his own home. He finds himself quickly overwhelmed however as the neighbors appear, their dwellings are more glorious and grand than the bunny could have ever dreamed for himself. While the neighbors and surrounding critters attempt to help the young bunny, greeting him with food, help, and even a bit of friskiness, the bunny runs, choosing solitude and distance from comparisons.

Though, as he will find, embracing those around you is an ingredient to success. As the bunny burrows deep below the earth’s surface, he mistakingly releases underground water into the community, the only way to save everyone is to push past his fear and embrace the help of those around him.

At 6 minutes, this 2D animated short is one that pulls on the heartstrings and warms the soul. There is a resonating feeling in the bunny, a kindred spirit we can all relate to. We have all taken the step into the big world, certain of our potential success, yet overwhelmed when compared to the newfound surroundings around us. And just like the bunny, we have each had to learn we are not alone. One of my favorite animated shorts of the year, Burrow is definitely one of the front runners to clench the prize Oscar night.

Burrow is now available on Disney+!

Genius Loci (Adrien Merigeau)

Honestly, Genius Loci, from writer and director Adrien Merigeau, was my least favorite of the nominated animated shorts. I feel like my viewing was partially impaired by a recent reading of postcolonialism in French filmmaking, Kathryn Kalinak‘s essay titled Discipling Josephine Baker: Gender, Race, and the Limited of Disciplinarity found in Music and Cinema. Within the chapter, there is a discussion of stereotypical characterizations of the Black community that, unfortunately, I found strangely hard to reconcile with my screening of Genius Loci and the crafting of its characters.

Beyond the depiction of its central figures, Genius Loci teeters along the line of acceptability, masking its depictions within a surrealist environment, the artwork likening itself to a Picasso painting. It is an open-ended short that allows the viewer to come to their own conclusions about what its entirety means and where it all ends up.

The main character clearly seems to suffer from a possible addiction or form of dementia, wandering either literally through the streets of Paris or through the recesses of her mind. As the short continues, the environment surrounding our main character morphs, going from a sense of clarity to a menagerie of interactions and internal deliberations. Where the short invites you to open your mind to understanding, it also limits the experience, making it almost inaccessible at times to grasp.

If Anything Happens I Love You (Will McCormack and Michael Govier)

If Anything Happens I Love You, from directors Will McCormack and Michael Govier, was the most gut-wrenching viewing experience of the evening. I had gone blindly into the event, knowing little about this year’s nominees. And for this one, I wish I had given myself a heads up. Deeply affecting and forever ingrained, If Anything Happens I Love You examines the shadow of both memory and grief, driving home its investment and emotional catharsis.

For its relevancy alone, If Anything Happens I Love You reaches into the recesses of America, keeping the memory of a national crisis alive. As schools are returning to session following closure and restrictions from COVD-19, the memory of school shootings is still prevalent and possible (at the completion of this article, another sadly enters the history books). Not originally clear in its direction, its sudden reveal reminds viewers in a time of a renewed call for gun control and awakening to the destruction around us that there are families still out there living with the pain and communities still struggling to move past the impossible grief left in the wake of school shootings. And healing does not come as easily, or in the same shape for everyone.

This is an informative short film, one that is crafted with a heavy heart. Whether the filmmakers had direct contact or access, they are in pain nonetheless. And with every shooting that continues to pass, the pain only grows heavier.

But If Anything Happens I Love You also presents a small sense of hope, that those left behind – can still live in the memory of their child and the moments that they shared. That those memories can never be taken and are uniquely theirs. Hope that we can continue to push forward in their name and attempt to find new and rekindle love and support in those around you.

Yes-People (Gísli Darri Halldórsson)

Thank god for Yes-People, from writer and director Gísli Darri Halldórsson. In a set of animated shorts that stretched the limits of human emotion, Yes-People brought some much-needed humor along the way. Deep within the monotony of everyday life and relationships, there is a thread of emotion that keeps the characters of Yes-People pushing forward. Pushing forward in love, school, and work, each of these characters, at the end of the day, find not only a means to cope but the love that coaxes them forward.

Cute, humorous, and entertaining, Yes-People is an easy watch and, while it might not be the most memorable of the bunch, brings a light-hearted feeling to the everyday droll many of us take for granted.

Opera (Erick Oh)

Opera, from director Erick Oh, was, by far, my favorite animated short film of this season and the front runner for the win. As the camera pulls away and moves down the pyramid, there is a clear sense of division in class and labor, an elite upper class and a vast lower class, each structure unique, yet dependent on the other. And when on side fights, it affects the entirety of the pyramid. Honestly, I can not wait for the opportunity to see Opera again.

There is beauty to the pyramid, the monotony of life constructed in a brilliant rhythmic encapsulation of life. A metronome of imperialism, cast systems, and societal functionality, the music is oriental yet uniquely euphoric as it matches the movement of the residents within the pyramid.

As night falls, chaos takes over, each descending into the darkness below, each taking a side, beauty morphed into madness. In the intense moment of violence and confusion, there is no order or rhythmic pattern to the movements of life. Only survival and a fierce dedication to the mission at hand.

Absolutely stunning and brilliantly crafted, Opera deserves every ounce of recognition it has received.