Oscar Nominees for Best Animated Short: Denver Screening

In Denver this week, you can see the Shorts International program of Oscar Nominated Short Films in Live Action and Animation, as well as Best Short Documentary nominees. The Oscar Nominated Short Animated Films and Live Action Films are showing at the Denver Landmark Chez Artiste Theatre. The Documentary program is screening at the Denver Film Center on Colfax.

The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2011: Animated

This program screening at the Landmark Chez Artiste is a burst of animation enjoyed in 7 animated shorts. The first 5 animated short films are this year's Oscar nominees, with 2 bonus shorts. Each of the nominated shorts is testament to the great diversity of animation thriving in film today.

"Madagascar, a journey diary" from Bastien Dubois is a French produced animated short with charming tones as a travelogue and exploration in animated textures. It conjures up fantasies for the future of postcards, as we get a colorful glimpse of Madagascar and its smiling inhabitants. The animation is splendidly original and experimental, yet within tolerable boundaries.

"Let's Pollute" is an animated film the reminded me of having nightmares after drinking martinis and watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons all night. The 1950s-esque animation is a riot accompanied by its educational film reel soundtrack, satirizing a campaign to keep America polluting. This animated short is sure to rally up lots of uncomfortable laughs, as we live an age of environmental awareness that can't escape a tradition of industrialized consumerism. It's creator is Disney Pixar ex-patriot Geefwee Boedoe.

"The Gruffalo" is an animated short that originally aired on the BBC, based on the children's book by Julia Donaldson. "The Gruffalo" tells the tale of a mother squirrel, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter, who distracts her offspring with a story to keep them from venturing into the predatory forest. Her story is about a mouse that spreads a myth of a hideous forest creature to keep his own predators at bay, only to find his creation myth become reality. The 30 minute short captures some delicately handled themes of nature as a world of eat or be eaten. The mouse conveys that brains are key to survival in the brutality of nature, both human and animal. It was directed by Max Lang and Jakob Schuh, featuring the voices of John Hurt, Robbie Coltrane and Tom Wilkinson.

"Day & Night" is this year's animated short from Disney Pixar, which was in theaters with their other Oscar nominee, "Toy Story 3." It's got a classic Disney feel to it, with the embodiment of day time and night time as they discover each other with initial prejudice, but learn to appreciate each other's uniqueness. The short is as brilliant as you'd expect it to be from the Pixar team, especially under the helm of up and coming animator Teddy Newton. "Day & Night" won the Best Animated Short award at the 38th Annie Awards for Animation this year.

"The Lost Thing" brings Shaun Tan's picture book to life with director Andrew Ruhemann. The animated short is a gem of unusual imagery, telling the story of outsiders who have lost their place in a world too preoccupied with productivity. This nominee brings the headiest brew of themes and interpretation to the table in 2011. If I was a voting member of the Academy, "The Lost Thing" would definitely get my vote.

The 2 bonus animated shorts included in the program are Bill Plympton's much raved about "The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger" and the sad, but endearing German short "Urs." Both of the bonus animated shorts where short listed for the 83rd Academy Awards.