It only takes about ten to thirty minutes to win an Oscar. Through the years, a number of memorable animated short subjects have proven this.
Last year, I looked at several of these Oscar-winning animated shorts that were celebrating anniversaries. With the Academy Awards airing this Sunday on ABC, and a new roster of animated shorts going for the gold (the nominees are: Beautiful Men, In the Shadow of the Cypress, Magic Candles, Wander to Wonder and Yuck!), here are three more classic animated shorts that have taken home the Oscar and are celebrating an anniversary this year.
A Close Shave (1995) – 30th Anniversary
Like all of the films from Aardman Animations Studio, the stop-motion animation in this short is simply humbling.
Directed by Nick Park, the beloved duo of Wallace (Peter Sallis) and his dog, Gromit, are back. In A Close Shave, the two own a window-washing business and adopt an adorable sheep, who they name Shaun (the debut of Aardman’s wildly popular character). Wallace falls for Wendolene (Anne Reid), a wool shop owner. Wendolene’s dog, Preston (the short’s villain), runs an underground sheep rustling business to supply the shop.
Gromit winds up being imprisoned after being framed for running the rustling business. Shaun and his sheep friends stage an escape for Gromit, which results in a staggeringly staged chase scene in the short’s finale.
The scene segues from a chase between a truck and a motorcycle (upon which the sheep form a cheerleader-like formation) to Gromit’s sidecar transforming into a plane, to a gun that shoots porridge and culminates in a Terminator-like version of Preston.
The movements here unfurl with incredible fluidity as the camera swoops dizzyingly to give A Close Shave the look of a live-action film. Like most audiences, Academy Members were undoubtedly wow-ed and rightly awarded Aardman the Oscar for this outing.
The Dot and the Line (1965) – 60th Anniversary
With the subtitle, “A Romance in Lower Mathematics,” this audacious short could have only come from the genius of Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble, who co-directed this unique film.
Narrated by actor Robert Morley, The Dot and the Line tells the story of the two titular characters: a red Dot and a vertical Line. The Line is in love with the Dot, but the Dot is in a relationship with a free-spirited Squiggle.
Dejected, the Line soon learns more about themselves when they dare to bend and make an angle, allowing them to become whatever shape they would like. This creativity and uniqueness attracts the Dot, who leaves the Squiggle for the Line.
With a stylized look of the era, courtesy of Philip DeGuard and Don Morgan, The Dot and the Line is enchanting to watch, as it displays animation in its purest form, with the simple shapes taking on personality and expressing emotion.
Sharply written by Norman Juster, who also authored the 1963 book upon which the short was based, The Dot and the Line features such rich dialogue as, “You are as meaningless as a melon.” There are also great visual puns (when the Line is “on edge,” it moves to the edge of the screen).
Brimming with originality, it’s no wonder that The Dot and the Line took home the Oscar, for as the short declares in the finale, “To the vector belong the spoils.”
Quiet Please! (1945) – 80th Anniversary
A simple premise fuels this clever and entertaining Tom and Jerry short. Spike the bulldog (voiced by the great Billy Bletcher, who also voiced Pete for the Disney Studio) wants nothing more than to take a nap, but Tom constantly chases Jerry (and uses weapons such as a shotgun and an ax to take out the mouse) and keeps waking Spike up.
The bulldog threatens Tom, “Lay off the noise, huh? ‘Cause if I hear one more sound, I’m gonna skin ya alive!”
Once Spike goes down for his snooze, Jerry’s cue is to make as much noise as possible to wake up the bulldog and get revenge on Tom. Great gags follow, including one where Jerry drops light bulbs, and Tom contorts himself to catch each one before they hit the ground.
We also get the rare instance where Tom talks (credited to actor Harry Lang). After giving Spike “Knock Out Drops,” he sings the dog a lullaby, and when Tom reads Jerry’s last will and testament and sees that Jerry is leaving the cat one custard pie, Tom shouts, “One custard pie?!? Lemme have it!” And, yes, the pie to the face follows.
Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who knew these characters best, Quiet Please! is a quintessential Tom and Jerry short that deserved its Oscar win. It’s filled with creative comedic chases and beautiful animation that have only become more appreciated over the years.
And so, congratulations to this year’s Oscar nominees and winners who will soon join this illustrious list of pure animated gold.
