5 Best Oscar Animated Shorts Winners of the 2000s and Where to Watch Them Online

Here's a look at where to watch the 5 best Oscar animated shorts winners of the 2000s online in honor of one of the Academy's coolest categories. From a fearsome forest-dweller to adorable aliens and tales that are real tearjerkers, the five best Oscar animated shorts winners of the 2000s are just as powerful as the full-length Oscar winners that get so much more attention:

The House of Small Cubes (2008)

This is my favorite of the Oscar animated shorts winners of the 2000s. It's a beautifully-animated tale of a man living in a flooded world, and the moving pictures in this traditionally-animated film are worth much more than a thousand words (there's no dialogue). Fortunately, our lonely hero has found a very creative way to avoid having to leave his home and all of the memories there behind. Watch it here and get ready to shed a few tears.

The Chubbchubbs! (2002)

And if you want to bring a smile back to your face, then this is one of the best Oscar animated shorts winners of the 2000s to follow "The House of Small Cubes" up with. It's packed full of alien movie references (you've got to love the "Total Recall" cleavage and Jar Jar Binks' cameo), but it's also fun because it contains a great message about the rewards of being kind and caring (and we also learn that "American Idol" contestants don't need to be able to sing if they've got Chubbchubbs for backup singers). Watch this hilarious and fun little CGI flick here.

Peter & the Wolf (2006)

I absolutely love stop-motion animation, and this take on the classic fairytale is one of the best examples of the art form I've seen. You'll totally get lost in Peter's wintry world, and I really adore the ending (it's much better than that of the original tale). Check out another of the best Oscar animated shorts winners of the 2000s with no dialogue and an amazing soundtrack here.

The Danish Poet (2006)

And here's one of the more light-hearted, humorous Oscar animated shorts winners of the 2000s, featuring actress Liv Ullmann narrating and providing the voices of all the characters in the film. The animation style is traditional and simplistic, but the story about love and the amazing way chance and circumstance can bring two souls together makes it very entertaining and thought-provoking. It will also make you appreciate your existence a little more while making you reflect on all the decisions you've made and will make in your life. You can watch this powerful little film here.

Harvie Krumpet (2003)

This is another of the best Oscar animated shorts winners of the 2000s takes a look at a life over a long period of time, starting with the words, "Some are born great. Some achieve greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them...and then...there are others." Of course Harvie Krumpet is one of the others in this charming stop-motion animation film narrated by Geoffrey Rush. He looks like a gray, smushed-up version of Wallace from the "Wallace & Gromit" movies; suffers from Tourette's; and has a magnetic metal plate in his head. We get to see all of Harvey's ups and downs throughout his life, from hospital stays and job troubles to finding a wife. However, what makes Harvie most interesting is his love of life, despite all the trouble it has given him, and his very helpful book of "fakts". You can watch Harvie prove that life can be far from perfect but still beautiful here.

So if you're looking for a movie to move you, you don't have to waste an hour or more of your life in front of a screen; watching these best Oscar animated shorts winners of the 2000s will make you laugh, cry, and think

SOURCES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKl8Q4aQEl0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO3tscCAVJ8
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/urVezuOEeC0/
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/animation/watch/v519278fqDPwk4Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouyVS6HOFeo