Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

Logorama won under a different system. Now, all shorts are sent to the entire Academy to vote on, not just a small number of viewers. I think something like Life Smartphone is less likely to be appreciated by the broader Academy. Besides, I don't think it's really that interesting compared to what I've seen so far.

I didn't find Life Smartphone that bloody, and that won't necessarily make it untouchable by the Academy. They did give the award to Logorama, a film that I loved but declared would never win because it was too foul and bloody.

I don't see Fox and the Whale as being very straight forward. I still don't know precisely what it's about even after having seen it. Lovely animation, though.

Cradle is devastating in a wonderful way. Garden Party looks like some stunningly photorealistic animation, but I haven't seen the actual film. Life Smartphone is on YouTube and it's interesting, but far too bloody for the Academy.

“Cradle,” Devon Manney, director (University of Southern California)
“Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, director, and Kobe Bryant, writer (Glen Keane Productions)
“Fox and the Whale,” Robin Joseph, director (Robin Joseph)
“Garden Party,” Victor Caire and Gabriel Grapperon, directors (MOPA)
“In a Heartbeat,” Esteban Bravo and Beth David, directors (Ringling College of Art and Design)
“Life Smartphone,” Chenglin Xie, director (China Central Academy of Fine Arts)
“Lost Property Office,” Daniel Agdag, director, and Liz Kearney, producer (8th in Line)
“Lou,” Dave Mullins, director, and Dana Murray, producer (Pixar Animation Studios)
“Negative Space,” Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata, directors (Ikki Films)
“Revolting Rhymes,” Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer, directors (Magic Light Pictures)

"Lou" played before Cars 3 this summer and got very strong reviews. I haven't seen it yet. "Dear Basketball" also has a lot of hype on sports circles because of Kobe Bryant's association, and I imagine both are shoo-ins for nominations.

"Cradle" and "Fox and the Whale" are both on Short of the Week, but I don't know for how long. "Cradle" is a moving exploration of a wounded veteran returning home from Iraq, and I imagine it will play very well to the committee. "Fox and the Whale" is a lovely, but very straight-forward, adventure tale about animals that I could easily see being left off.

"In a Heartbeat" is also online, and it is wonderful. Only 4 minutes, it is a sweet little love story that I imagine will hit home with the committee. It, along with the Pixar, could be an early favorite to win.

I missed a chance this summer to see "Revolting Rhymes," but it is also a series of very short films. Curious to see what is short-listed, the full series or one "episode."