Best Animated Short - 2025

Procrastination is such a pain, huh? It's been over a month since the nominations were announced, and I had to delay writing the review because of the fact that I hadn't seen all of the nominees. However, when I did watch The Three Sisters I didn't go rushing to write this review. Sure, there were a lot going on in my life such as potentially having to move while transitioning from a day shift job to a night shift job to having a pony convention to driving to Arizona for spring training. And maybe parts of me was still bummed out that films such as Éiru and Snow Bear were snubbed, and another part of me was dreading just how long and detailed my reviews have gotten. But all of those are just excuses, and if I really cared about the Best Animated Short category then I would find the time to sit down and write down what I think about these films.

And so with it being less than a month until the Oscar ceremony I figure it's finally time for met to get this review out of the way. Better late than never, right?

Forevergreen

It was a dark and snowy night, and a young and hungry bear was wandering around in the dark woods looking for something that could fill its empty stomach. It found some berries, but the tree was growing off the side of a cliff. When the tree collapsed, the small bear hung on for dear life. Its cries caught the attention of a giant evergreen tree, who saved the bear and fed it with seeds from its many pine cones. The bear and the tree became a small family, with the bear continuing to feed on the seeds while helping to raise a small sapling. However, the lives of both bear and tree will change forever when the bear found an empty bag of potato chips. After that nothing would satiate the bear and his new appetite for ultra-processed human food. What happened next would forever change both of their lives. I have absolutely no artistic talent whatsoever and I can't fathom how difficult it is to make a piece of animation. All I can say is anybody that does go into animation much have a love for art and its process. It seems that one common destination for animators is to work for one of the large film studios such as Disney or Pixar or Dreamworks or Sony Animation or Illumination where they can help contribute to the big budget films such as Zootopia 2 or Elio or KPop Demon Hunters or the Super Mario Galaxy Movie. While they are are cog in a larger corporate machine, it seems that for some animators their artistic ambitions remain strong as they work on their own projects independently. It has led to several films that have gotten nominations of their own in this category, such as The Dam Keeper, Borrowed Time, Weekends and several films made via Pixar's SparkShorts program. Forevergreen is the latest film within this lineage. Directors Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears were veterans of Disney animation, with Engelhardt serving as a supervising animator and Spears as a storyboard artist for Zootopia 2. With Forevergreen they set out to make a film using CGI animation that appears as though it was made out of wood. The filmmakers claim that the team devised revolutionary new techniques to achieve this goal, and they very well could have although the details are way beyond my scope of understanding. And the end results do achieve that look of which everything was carved out of wood which is technically impressive, but I can't help but think that there is some sort of artificiality. The film could have easily been made using stop motion techniques, although I suppose that sort of animation is out of the scope of practice for the filmmakers. The story is fairly simple but rather effective as it is an allegory of a family and the sacrifices that a parent would make out of love. It is easily the most accessible and family friendly of all of the nominees. I just wish the bear wasn't quite as annoying. I don't think Forevergreen is quite as good as Snow Bear which was on the shortlist but was snubbed, but it's still a sweet film that will warm the heart of viewers.
Where Can I Watch It?

The Girl Who Cried Pearls

A young girl goes snooping around in the office of her wealthy grandfather in post-war Paris. She comes across an apple-shaped container that carries in it a single pearl. When her grandfather comes walking in, she quickly hides underneath his desk. He quickly detects her presence and notices that she had found the pearl. He calls it his most precious treasure, and proceeds to tell the story of how he came to possess the pearl and why it is so precious. He grew up a poor urchin in the streets of Montreal, and squatted in an abandoned apartment next to a poor family with a girl and her abusive stepmother. One night after a particular brutal beating he witnessed her crying, but to his amazement her tears became pearls. When she swept the pearls away he was able to retrieve them, and brought them to a local pawnbroker. When the pawnbroker verified their authenticity they struck a deal, but their collaboration will change the lives of everyone involved forever. I began watching films nominated in this category shortly after the ceremony honoring the films of 2006, the year The Danish Poet won to claim a victory for the National Film Board of Canada. As such the following year became the first year in which I watched all the nominees before the Oscars ceremony. One of the films nominated that year was Madame Tutli-Putli, a luscious stop-motion animated film from the Canadian duo of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski renowned for its use of live action eyes on the stop-motion puppets to heighten the emotion. It failed in its efforts to get the National Film Board a second straight win, but a mishap during its production involving a pearl necklace led to the germination of the film that would become The Girl Who Cried Pearls. It is a modern fable about the price of greed and the power of storytelling. It isn't quite as allegorical as Madame Tutli-Putli, although it does deal with some heavy themes of abuse and death and as such is quite sad and tragic. The ending is a bit of a shocker and for some it may detract from the overall effectiveness of the story, or it may add to it. Either way, the story really does take a backseat to the animation, which like Madame Tutli-Putli is done through exquisite stop-motion animation. There is no overlying of eyes, but the puppets still look vivid and full of life, possibly because the film was storyboarded entirely with live action actors. The set decoration does capture the contrast between the opulence of Paris with dirt and grime of Montreal. The difference is heightened with the addition of lip syncing done through CGI in the Paris scenes and the complete lack of them in the Montreal scenes, which does contribute to the sense of it being a flashback. The English narration done by veteran Canadian actor Colm Feore is quite good. There is no doubt that The Girl Who Cried Pearls is the most visually stunning of this year's nominees, but would it be enough to get the National Film Board of Canada its first win since The Danish Poet?

Where Can I Watch It?

So far you're in luck if you live in Canada because the National Film Board of Canada has it on its website. If you don't live in Canada, well...you're just going to have to find some other way.

Papillon (Butterfly)

An elderly man goes swimming by himself in a bay outside of the port town of Cerbère. As a young man he was once a championship swimmer, but now in his 60s he swims primarily for the exercise. As he glides through the water in a familiar butterfly stroke that had once won him numerous awards, his mind flashes back to moments in his life. Some of them are joyful ones, such as how his brother helped him overcome his fear of water as a boy growing up in French Algeria to winning  races until he is able to represent France in the summer Olympics in Berlin in 1936. Most of all he remembers falling in love with a fellow swimmer and their burgeoning romance. However, he also remembers the terrible moments, such as being discriminated against for his dark skin color, or even worse his Jewish ancestry. Most significantly, he has memories of his arrest and physical separation from his wife and daughter within the German concentration camps. He survives the ordeal, makes a triumphant to the Olympics, and becomes a well respected swim teacher. Yet he continues to be haunted by his memories. Would there ever be an escape? Florence Miailhe is a well-respected animator in France who is known for her use of paint-on-glass technique, a difficult technique previously utilized by such animators as Caroline Leaf (The Street), Wendy Tilby (Strings), and most significantly Alexander Petrov (The Old Man and the Sea). The process is arduous and pain-staking, but creates a fluidity that is unlike any other sort of animation. Miailhe achieved one milestone in 2021 as her film The Crossing became the first full-length feature film to be animated entirely with paint-on-glass. For the film that helped her achieve her first Oscar nomination, she went with a subject matter that hit close to home. She grew up hearing her father Jean talk about a resistance fighter he had known in Toulouse by the name of Alfred Nakache. It just so happened that she was taking swim lessons from an individual named William Nakache, who happened to be Alfred's brother. She had even met Alfred once as a 10-year-old girl. The memory remained inside her, but it wasn't until she had grown up that she began looking into the life of Alfred Nakache, and what she found was shocking to her. The memory of her father and the swim champ and resistance fighter returned to her as she as she was planning for her next film, which became Papillon. Papillon is a dramatization of Nakache's life and all of the triumph and tribulations that was involved. Using Nakache's final swim as a narrative device, the film flashes back to several key moments of his life from his early fears to his romance to his involvement with the Holocaust. One memory flows between another with a fluidity that is reminiscent of the water that Nakache is swimming through. The transitions are well animated and can be something like individuals in their colored swim trunks morphing into the colorful ropes that separate the lanes. The nature of the paint on glass technique also helps to contribute to a dream-like atmosphere with a sense of longing that is pervasive throughout the film. More importantly, Papillon helps to bring attention to a significant figure within the world of sports that is not as well remembered. He never won a medal in the Olympics, but the fact that he was able to compete at all after surviving one of the most horrific experiences in human history is remarkable in and of itself, and one I wish got a little bit more attention in the film. Nevertheless Papillon is a powerful testament to the resilience and tenacity of the human spirit, and the capacity of good as well as evil. It is a beautiful film both visually and thematically, and one that may become more and more important in our current socio-political climate. 
Where Can I Watch It?

Retirement Plan

After years of work, Ray is coming up on an important milestone in his life: he is about to retire! At last he will have the time to do the things he always wanted to do but couldn't. He begins making a list of the important items he aspires to do in order to make his retirement a success. He starts out with some simple but practical items, such as replying to every email that he had flagged or reading all the articles and books that he missed out on. He begins having lofty dreams, such as writing a poem that is devastating but optimistic. As he adds to the list he comes to realizes that he may not be entirely prepared to take on some of his items on the list, and that some of his desired acts have unintended consequences. Moreover, he finds out that time is a limited resource, and he is never quite sure how much of it he has left. I had studied psychology in undergraduate, then decided to make a career out of it for my day job. There are theories within psychology that date back to my very first psychology course all the way back in high school, and one of those is Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. The theory posits that an individual's growth through his or her life is defined by a series of stages, and in each stage the individual must solve a psychosocial crisis in order to move on in a relatively healthy fashion. For example, an infant must determine if they can trust the world, or would they lead a life full of mistrust? The early stages cover short gaps in one's life, but as they grow older the stages can last for decades. The final two stages are concerned with generativity vs stagnation, whether they are able to continue to contribute to family or society, and ego integrity vs. despair, whether they felt that their life has been worth living. These are the thoughts that I got while watching Retirement Plan, easily the most existential of this year's nominees. The existentialism is likely deliberate, as it was inspired by a panic attack suffered by the director, Irish animator John Kelly, on a plane. Panic attacks can be quite frightening for those unfamiliar with them, as they often feel like a potentially fatal event. During the event Kelly reportedly began thinking about all that he had wanted to do with his life. The idea persisted and soon germinated into this film about a man planning out everything he wanted to do with what was left of his life. It plays out as a to-do list, which was pretty much how the script was written. The items on the list start out simple, but soon become overwhelming as it goes into items where you wonder if Ray or anybody attempting them would actually have the time to accomplish them. This idea is driven home with the film's animation style, which is deliberately very subdued and understated. Each item on the list is paired with its own shot of Ray taking part in the described activity. Even though the script seems to be Ray making the list, the film progresses as though Ray is doing them. He starts out the film grayed and balding with a distinct paunch, but midway through he clearly begins to age as he becomes skinnier and frail. Soon he becomes a belligerent patient in a hospital. By this time Retirement Plan begins to become something more than a short film, and more of a reminder that life is limited and time is precious. The entire experience is driven further with the soothing piano score that accompanies almost the entire film as well as the superb narration done by Domhnall Gleeson who manages to provide Ray with significant pathos. Retirement Plan certainly isn't the easiest watch with its existentialism, but it is a welcomed addition to the Best Animated Short lineup.
Where Can I Watch It?

The Three Sisters

On an isolated island in the middle of the sea there lived a trio of sisters. They lead a fairly ascetic lifestyle, dressing very conservatively while residing in one of a trio of houses lined up in a row. They obtain their supplies from a small ship who delivers them once a week. However, disaster strikes one day when their bag of coins falls and rolls into the sea. Left with very little, they are forced to rent one of their houses, but they are determined to get through this difficult time together. They quickly get a tenant as an old sea captain comes and rents the house. The two older sisters are disgusted by the man's foul body odor, but the youngest is charmed and soon wins the affections of the captain and his coat as well as a flower. Not to be outdone, the middle sister changes into a snazzy dress and earns the captain's hat. Soon all three sisters have completely changed their ways and live a carefree life centered around the captain. Bit are they able to maintain this lifestyle? You might know by now, but most shorts earn qualification for this category by winning prize in animation festivals. There are festivals all over the world, but getting in isn't as simple as submitting your film. There are only a limited number of spots available, and it's possible that the curators of the festival may be more inclined or even disinclined to select a film by a well-respected director, one like Konstantin Bronzit, the Russian animator who was nominated twice before in this category for Lavatory Lovestory and We Cannot Live Without Cosmos. As Bronzit explains it, he's had earlier films sunk by jury members at festivals, so he wanted to see what would happen if he submitted a film under a pseudonym, in this case Timur Kognov, the name of a relative. He found that he received much more rejections than he was accustomed to, but he was still able to win a few awards and qualify for the Oscars, which be submitted under his own name. As for the film itself, it is an amusing character study. I'm not sure if Bronzit was going for any deeper messages about solidarity, but it's funny to see three uptight characters completely let loose. The animation is fairly simple like Bronzit's other two nominated films, but there are some nice use of perspectives. The film is dialogue free, but the characters do make a lot of noise whether it's laughter or squeals. It kind of reminds me of Mark Baker's Jolly Roger. The theme is surprisingly somber for such a comedic short, but I am still amused by how the first few notes sound very similar to the Oath to Order in the Nintendo 64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The Three Sisters isn't quite the best of this year's batch of nominees, but it certainly is the most fun.

Where Can I Watch It?

This is another film that currently isn't online. My plan of registering with Polydont Productions didn't quite work out, so I had to watch it in a showing for the Best Animated Short nominees. Too bad.

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There you have it, the five films nominated for 2025. They're not a bad bunch, but I still wish Éiru and Snow Bear would have gotten nominations. I am glad that Éiru did get included in the showing for the Best Animated Short nominees, and Snow Bear won the Annie for Best Animated Short. I do think Papillon is the best of the bunch as it is a tremendous film both visually and thematically. There's no way to know how the Academy is going to vote. It does seem that Papillon includes most of the elements that would appear to Oscar voters but I don't think any other film winning would be much of a surprise. Anyways, as I did for all my previous reviews I'll provide my rankings by quality and by preference.

My Rankings (by quality)

Papillon > The Girl Who Cried Pearls > Retirement Plan > Forevergreen > The Three Sisters

My Rankings (by preference)

Papillon > The Girl Who Cried Pearls > The Three Sisters > Retirement Plan > Forevergreen