Well, ten of them anyway. There are so many to choose from but these came to mind straight away as my own personal favourites. They’re a varied bunch, some old some new, some computer some traditional. The one thing they all have in common is that I get goosebumps when I watch them. So, in no particular order…
1. The Big Snit
A Canadian short about a couple who start an argument just as WW3 begins. Similar in style to The Cat Came Back. Love the rattling eyes.
2. Gopher Broke
A recent Oscar nominated 3d short by Blur Studios. Wonderful slapstick never goes out of fashion.
3. Le Papillon
Beautiful japanese style short, like a watercolour come to life. I love the hair and the subtle facial expressions.
A recent film by French film-maker Louis Clichy. Boy meets Girl, Girl beats Boy, Boy and Girl run through Paris.
5. Mange
A second film by Louis Clichy. Will resonate with anyone who has a picky eater in the house. Reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons.
You’ll need your hankies for this Canadian short. It won an Oscar all the way back in 1986.
7. Family Dog
This was a series of shorts by Brad Bird (who went on to direct The Iron Giant and The Incredibles). Hilarious character design and observations. The Simpsons owe a lot to this one.
A beautiful 2d animation by Michael Dudok De Wit. The way the animation and the music work together is genius not to mention how so much emotion is conveyed through a simple character we never get to see up close.
And if Anna & Bella didn’t get you then this Oscar winner from 2001 will have you sobbing into your keyboard. Another one by Michael Dudok De Wit. I love the different characters on all the different bicycles. Also the details like the flock of birds flying over the lake and when she is cycling against the wind and then with the wind…you really feel it.
10. Le Building
After you’ve dried your eyes this one will cheer you up. A very short short with a mix of 2d and 3d animation. The fact that it’s done by students (at Gobelins in Paris) does leave me feeling somewhat queasy though.
So there you have it, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
**As requested by Omani…thanks for the suggestion, I had a lot of fun putting this together.
13 replies on “Best Animated Shorts”
Claire,
Fantastic, fantasic post. That’s what I call public service blogging!
Sometime back in the early 90s, I think it was 1993, but it might have been as early as 1990. I saw an Animation Festival thing that a short that has stayed with me ever since, even though I can’t remember its name.
It was very short, maybe less than 2 minutes and it featured people, walking around, talking. Only the talking was actually colours and shapes in bubbles above their heads. And they were all trying to find the person who spoke in the same colours and shapes.
I know, it loses something in the translation, but have you seen this? I’ve been wanting to see it ever since but have been unable to think of its name.
It kind of rings a bell Ann but I can’t say I know it. Sorry 🙁
Perhaps if you knew the name of the Festival it was in you could track it down?
It was something like “The X Annual International Animated Shorts Festival” or something where X is a number that could be 7th, 8th, or 9th. Or, indeed, it could be something entirely different all together.
Maybe I need to start taking Gingo Biloboa. Thanks for trying though.
Hmm, I think they’re all called something like that 😀
Oh well, I’ll keep my eye out for it though.
Oh thank you for doing this. So far i’ve only looked at one and loved it. It’s really good of you to put such a collection together.
No problem Omani, like I said, it was a lot of fun 🙂
Thank you for putting in a link to the Big Snit. I saw this when I was a kid, and it’s stayed with me, even though I never saw it again or knew it’s name. I had sometimes wondered whether it was an embryonic version of the Simpsons, because of the googly eyes, and the scrabble gag that Homer repeats in an early episode. But looking at it now, it’s clearly unrelated (although, I’d say, a definite influence). Anyway, many thanks.
You’re very welcome Ben, I’m glad I was able to reunite you with it ;D
Does anyone know of an animated short about a man who plants seeds in the desert and over many years turns that desert into a forrest?
[…] A comment left by Kris here led me to go looking for this film and I’m not sure if it’s the one Kris was asking about but I can’t think of any others that fit the description. It’s the “The Man Who Planted Trees” a Canadian film by Frédéric Back from 1987. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated film and is widely considered to be one of the best short films ever created. […]
Oh thank you for doing this. So far i’ve only looked at one and loved it. It’s really good of you to put such a collection together.
Love the list, I’ve also put together an Ultimate list of Animated Shorts. Check it – http://www.redux.com/playlist/the_ultimate_collection_of_animated_shorts