{"id":796,"date":"2012-12-04T15:00:24","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T22:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/summathissummathat\/?p=796"},"modified":"2017-03-17T15:08:43","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T21:08:43","slug":"animated-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/summathissummathat\/2012\/12\/animated-conversations\/","title":{"rendered":"Animated Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>The Pre-Oscars\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Hollywood\u2019s \u00a0own special brand of election in(s)anity \u2014 have begun<\/a>\u00a0in earnest. The big day (February 24th<\/a>) feels interminably distant, and the next few months will doubtless prove as relentlessness in their demands \u201cfor your consideration\u201d<\/a>\u00a0as ever.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the Cinematic Silly Season \u2014 read that out loud; it sounds funnier than it looks \u2014 provides me with one of my favorite opportunities: the chance to think about the Best Animated Feature<\/a> and Best Animated Short<\/a> candidates.<\/p>\n

That last genre, in particular, is near and dear to my heart. And the quick glimpses in the aforelinked \u201cFilm School Rejects\u201d post have whetted my appetite once again \u2014 or perhaps just reminded me that my appetite<\/a> for animated shorts is well and perpetually whetted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s shortlist for the\u00a0Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film<\/strong>\u00a0is an esoteric bunch, as always. The spread is international, including work from Japan, France, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom, alongside domestic productions. A number of the directors are relative newcomers, some of them selected for their graduation films. On the other end of the spectrum, a few of these animators have worked on Oscar-nominated films in the past and are veterans of the industry. There\u2019s the usual mix of hand-drawn, CG and stop motion styles, and at least one film that tries blending two of these forms together. If not fully representative of everything going on in the world of animation, the Academy definitely highlights some of the more exciting projects.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The \u201cFeature\u201d category<\/a> has been Pixar-dominated since its inception, and the good folks at GoldDerby<\/a> see no reason to buck that trend<\/a>. But this year\u2019s\u00a0\u201cShort\u201d category<\/a> lacks an Emeryville entry \u2014 La Luna<\/em><\/a> was eligible last year \u2014 and Pixar has been less than bullet-proof there, anyway.<\/p>\n

My money (if I had any) would be on John Kahrs\u2019 Paperman<\/em><\/a>. Beautiful stuff. But I\u2019ve always loved frontrunners. And sentient paper airplanes.<\/p>\n