The Chubbchubbs! 10/28/12, Best Animated Short 2002
One of the benefits of watching the winners in the Short Film/Animated categories is that you usually get to watch the competition at the same time as part of a compilation. And as a result of that, you can make almost instantaneous comparisons (or at least with an hour or so). The Chubbchubbs! was originally released with Men in Black 2. After watching all of the contenders, I really don’t know how this won. It’s funny and kind of cute, and there’s an irony in these cute little chick-like creatures being so fierce, but I don’t think it should have won. If you want cute and cuddly and funny, Mike’s New Car, starring Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. is just that. If you want intellectual and thought-provoking, Katedra or Atama-Yama would be the ones (although I really didn't get Atama-Yama). If you get the compilation disk, then you can judge for yourself.
This Charming Man 10/28/12, Best Live Action Short 2002
This Charming Man was an entry from Denmark, and is an interesting take on racism and discrimination in a country that is not usually associated with those topics. Lars is an out-of-work accountant who gets his identity mixed up with El Hassan, a Pakistani immigrant. There are a few twists and turns along the way, and considering that this was made just one year after 9/11, it was a fairly bold way to look at one’s country. I’ll wait for the next one was from France, and was very clever, but I thought was a little mean-spirited (yes, I do have a heart); fait d’hiver was from Belgium and reminded me of a scary story told around a campfire (most of my campfires have been in suburbia, but in my imagination, it would be told around a campfire), something from Hitchock or Steven King. I did not see the end coming at all, but perhaps that’s why it didn't win. Inja was from Australia but set in South Africa. At first, I thought it was some cute little story about a boy and his dog. Um, yeah, I didn't see that coming at all. It’s a reap what you sow story, and that’s one of the name of the songs that is sung. The animation and live action came on one disk, and if you want to see a lot of different ideas and stories without a huge time commitment, then you should check these out.
