Oscar Nominated Short Films 2018: Animation, 2018.
Dear Basketball
Directed by Glen Keane.
Starring Kobe Bryant.
You needn’t be crazy about basketball to get something out of this ethereal adaptation of Kobe Bryant’s retirement letter to The Players’ Tribune, which is rendered via watercolour while accompanied by Bryant himself narrating his own letter.
There’s plenty of controversy surrounding Bryant even being nominated in this field considering his historic sexual abuse allegations in the year of #MeToo, yet the film, while enjoyable, had little chance of winning the Oscar anyway (which has now been reduced to virtually nought).
It looks nice, it’s got a sweet message about the joy of sports, and reeks less of ego-mania than you might expect from a project such as this, but even with its potent John Williams score, Dear Basketball ultimately doesn’t amount to too much substantial.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Garden Party
Directed by Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon and Lucas Navarro.
Garden Party is by far the most visually jaw-dropping of the five nominees, in large part due to how effectively it pulls off an ultra-realistic animation style, beautifully replicating complex real-life textures such as water, leaves and silk, not to mention the extremely lifelike renderings of the amphibians who spend the short prowling around their rich owner’s house.
To say too much about the film would be criminal, but it sustains its entirely wordless 7-minute run-time with terrific physical comedy, eye-popping visuals and a final reveal that’s nothing if not stunningly provocative in the current political climate.
Whether or not its grimmer elements will bristle against voters a little too much remains to be seen, but as a technical showcase it’s an absolute home-run, and should ensure the French studio responsible, Illogic, enjoys plenty of fruitful publicity regardless of win or lose.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Lou
Directed by Dave Mullins.
Starring Jack Bright.
Pixar’s latest entry into this field is far from one of their best, but it still boasts enough of their customary charm, inventiveness and visual majesty to satisfy.
Revolving around a lost-and-found box that comes to life to torment a bully into returning stolen items to their owners, Lou isn’t exactly an ambitious effort nor is it really saying much new.
The message is simple and easily digestible for kids – don’t be a dick, basically – but the beautiful visuals sadly aren’t enough to make it especially convincing as a serious awards contender. If this wins, AMPAS voters en masse probably didn’t even bother watching them all and just voted for the Pixar name.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Negative Space
Directed by Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter.
The only stop-motion entry in this year’s competition is a peculiar doozy well worthy of your attention, revolving around the unconventional relationship between a young boy and his father, who bond primarily over efficiently packing the father’s suitcase for his various business trips.
Making the most of its low-fi conception with a wealth of visual imagination, Negative Space may ultimately prove too sparse and unwieldy for the Academy – even with its mere six-minute run-time – but it crystalises beautifully with an unexpected final rug-pull that’s at once deliciously macabre and tenderly affecting.
Keep your fingers crossed that it might prove the spoiler and score a surprise win, because it’d be a delight to see Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter on the podium.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Revolting Rhymes
Directed by Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer.
Starring Rob Brydon, Bertie Carvel, Gemma Chan, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Tamsin Grieg, Rose Leslie, Bel Powley, David Walliams and Dominic West.
Revolting Rhymes is by far the most disappointing of the five nominees, and honestly, it’s difficult to parse why something so decidedly average and conventional made the cut at all, beyond the star power involved.
An adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s poem book, this revisionist parody of fairy tales has an amusing setup – the Wolf (Dominic West) explains the truth about Red Riding Hood (Rose Leslie) and Snow White (Gemma Chan) to a befuddled babysitter – but is hugely disadvantaged by its cheap-looking animation and excessive 29-minute run-time.
Without the celebrity voices – who are mostly terrific, it must be said – it’d be tough to believe this was a professional production, let alone one competing for an Academy Award with the above films. Dahl’s rhymes are undeniably infectious and some of the subversive moments do prove intermittently hilarious, but overall it’s just fine, really.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more film rambling.
Originally published February 10, 2018. Updated February 11, 2018.
