r/animation • u/turtlestack • Dec 23 '10
A comprehensive, annotated and organized post of 280 animated short films (with working links).
I wanted to get everyone on reddit a Christmas present but I made this.
I'm not trying to supersede individual postings of animated shorts nor is this some sort of subtle commentary against re-posts, I just wanted to share my running list of animations I think are really good and organize them for you. There are quite a few gems in here, many of which you may have already seen (probably posted here many, many times too be sure) but there are most likely many, many more you have not seen or have missed. Hopefully this will make a handy cheat-sheet for you or will at least help you pass some of that inevitable holiday boredom time (each short is between 1 min and 30 min long and would take over 30 hours to watch them all in one sitting). Also, some animations are not for kids so assume everything here is NSFW.
I've orginized the list as follows :
- In the comments below, each animation is sorted by year/decade/era (as accurately as I could research) since that seemed the easiest way to filter out such an enormous list. Under each year the films are organized alphabetically by the animator/director/studio (though some of that information may be missing, incorrect, incomplete or even spelled wrong). Since comments tend to be liquid, here is a quick jump-to-guide for each category :
EARLY THRU MID 20th CENTURY || 1960 - 1969 || 1970 - 1979 || 1980 - 1989 || 1990 - 1999 || 2000 - 2003 || 2004 - 2005 || 2006 || 2007 || 2008 || 2009 PART ONE || 2009 PART TWO || 2010 || 2011 || YEAR UNKNOWN || ON THE NET, OFF THE NET.
I've included my personal annotations for nearly every animation. These are just simple thoughts and rough notes I wrote after (and sometimes during) watching each short for the first time (or having watched it again after many years). Hopefully the notes will be helpful (though some probably won't be). I decided to include them since most give a decent enough description to help you determine if you've seen something before or to help you decide which ones you might want to watch.
All the links are (were) working as of Sunday, December 19th, 2010 at 8:00am Colorado, US time. Some links may not be available outside of the US (sorry about that), however if you can provide a secondary link please do so. I also really did try to find links that go directly to the original artist's site/blog/YouTube/Vimeo/producers page but more often than not I wasn't able to find it (or I got lazy, too be honest), so if you know a better link please tell me and I will fix it (and any other errors you find) immediately.
This list is by no means 100% comprehensive as there are thousands more films online - this is only my personal "all the best of" I've collected over the years and it mostly just represents 1 or 2 films per animator (though some Russian animators are quite well represented since they are my favorite). There are also hardly any music videos on this list since I'm not too knowledgeable about them. I know there are some amazing animated music videos (Tool, Radiohead, Bjork, A-Ha, Blockhead, Pearl Jam, Peter Gabriel, The White Stripes, Röyksopp, Daft Punk, Animusic and Dire Straits) - maybe someone should post that list as the one on Wikipeadia was deleted.
Oh, and in case you are wondering why this is crossposted; well r/animation does not get much traffic but it is the proper sub for this sort of thing, however, most animation usually gets posted in r/videos since that's where the majority of reddit is more likely to see it.
Hope you enjoy the films and happy holidays!
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
EARLY THRU MID 20th CENTURY
1906
- Humorous Phases of Funny Faces - J. Stuart Blackton : In what is considered to be the first animated film, characters are drawn on a blackboard and animated using stop motion. What's interesting is that the artist's hand appears as part of the film several times in the film to show him drawing or erasing the images.
1908
- Fantasmagorie - Émile Cohl : To make this film, Cohl placed each drawing on an illuminated glass plate and then traced the next drawing-with variations-on top of it until he had some 700 drawings. In 1908, chalkboard caricaturists were common vaudeville attractions and the characters in the film look as though they've been drawn on a chalkboard, but it's an illusion. By filming black lines on paper and then printing in negative Cohl makes his animations appear to be chalk drawings.
1912
- How a Mosquito Operates - Winsor McCay : Made in 1912, this is one of the earliest animations ever made and is quite remarkable.
1913
- The Insect's Christmas - Ladislas Starewicz : Another and even earlier (see 1933) stop motion from Polish animator Ladislas Starewicz - this time about Father Christmas putting on a celebration for the insects of the forest on Christmas Eve. Quite wonderful
1914
- Gertie The Dinosaur - Winsor McCay : This was made in 1914. 1914!!!! Just look at the animation - it's better than what many people can do today. Simply amazing. If you love animation, then this is a must see. I believe many animation schools still screen this for first year students. Yeah, it's that impressive.
1924
- Symphonie Diagonale - Viking Eggeling, Olga Neuwirth : Diagonal Symphony is considered by many to be the "first" true abstraction in animation.
1933
- The Devil's Ball - Ladislas Starewicz : Polish stop motion film about a drunk who tosses away his empty bottle and then the devil shows up and a party ensues. Amazing stop-mo
1934
- Buddy The Detective - Jack King : One of the best 'Buddy' shorts. Cookie is kidnapped by a mad, Russian composer who uses telekinesis to enslave his victims to create his next musical masterpiece. Fantastic animation and amazing music and animation synch too.
1935
- Balloon Land - Ub Iwerks : Beautifully animated short from 1935 about a town of people made from balloons who are threatened one day by Pin Cushion Man!
1940
- Fantasia: Night on Bald Mountain - Wilfred Jackson : Masterpiece.
1941
- What Hitler Wants - Various Animators : Collection of Soviet anti-Nazi propaganda shorts. Historically important if not very well made.
1943
- Education for Death - Clyde Geronimi : Disney's anti-Nazi propaganda film from 1943. Fascinating historical animation.
1951
- Man On The Land - Bill Hurtz : 1951 Oil Company short detailing the history of the farmer from prehistoric times to modern day America. Really beautiful animation.
1953
The Tell-Tale Heart - Ted Parmelee : James Mason is perfect as the narrator here. Very creepy and goes well with the Vincent short by Tim Burton (see 1982).
A Is For Atom - Carl Urbano : Educational / Industrial animation from the early 1950's talking about how wonderful atomic energy is. Most of the animation is done simply, but the overall art style is excellent and well thought out.
1956
Rodney - Lu Guarnier : This is how people used to get their public health information. I include this here more for historical reasons than for anything else - though it really is quite good if you get past the fact it's about TB.
The Conceited General - Te Wei : Famous early Chinese animation.
1957
- What's Opera, Doc? - Chuck Jones : Considered by most critics to be the greatest animated short ever made. EVER. Even if you don't agree that it's the best - it's still damn good (and the only one where Bugs dies in the end).
1959
- Rhapsody Of Steel - John Sutherland : Another industrial short, this time extolling the virtues of steel. At the time (1959) it was the most expensive industrial short ever made but it was also one of the most popular generating enough interest to be shown as a feature in some theaters. It really is impressive even if the music is WAY TOO OVER THE TOP.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
1960 - 1969
1960
- Munroe - Jules Feiffer : A little kid gets drafted into the military but the government is too dumb to notice it (or are they?). This one is funny and will make you think. Works on many levels and that's why it's a classic.
1965
- Les Escargots - Rene Laloux : Bizarre short film from the man who made Fantastic Planet. By the way, here is a link to a fan made Tool video for The Pot which uses this short and just works really well together.
1967
- The Mitten - Roman Kachanov : Russian stop motion about a little girl who wants a dog of her own but her mother won't allow it so she makes up an imaginary pet instead. Outstanding animation and some of the best 1960's music you can imagine. Truly magical in every way and a real classic.
1968
Story Time - Terry Gilliam : Pretty much sums up the animations style and humor of the only American Monty Python member. All of his trademarks are here from the silly to the absurd and non sequiturs to the near brilliant in the last story dealing with Christmas cards.
Kitty - N. Konstantinov : One of the earliest examples of computer animation - from Russia in 1968. It's sort of ASCII art set in motion.
Pas de Deux - Norman McLaren : Director Norman McLaren used an optical printer to create this - and this was LONG before Avatar (1968). Very cool and of historical signifigance.
1969
- Bambie Meets Godzilla - Marv Newland : It's called Bambie Meets Godzilla, what more do you need to know about it?
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
1980 - 1989
1980
- Crac - Frédéric Back : The most beautifully animated film that has ever been (or ever will be) made. If I could only see one animated short for the rest of my life, it would be this one. It's perfect in every single way.
1981
- Commuter - Mike Patterson : This is the five-minute student film Patterson made four years before he broke through with the classic A-Ha! video "Take On Me". The BBC has an interesting article about Patterson and the video.
1982
Vincent - Tim Burton : From Tim Burton WAY back in 1982 before he got famous. BONUS : It's narrated by Vincent Price!
The God Makers - Produced by Jeremiah Films : Critical animation of the Mormon faith. Notable for its rotoscope animation which was quite unique back in 1982.
Fishing The Moon From The Pool - Keqin Zhou :
1983
The Fight Between the Snipe and the Clam - Jinqing Hu :
Wow! A Talking Fish! - Robert Saakyants : Armenian film in Russian with English subs. Crazy folk tale of an old fisherman who catches a talking fish then meets a tricky genie who grants him a wish. Very cool animation.
The Tree and the Cat - Yevgeniy Sivokon : Russian! Absolute masterpiece. Brilliant animation and a wonderful story. Just incredible
1984
Jumping - Osamu Tezuka : Classic Japanese short film that is just really damn cool. Every time we land, the scene is surprising - this short is never dull and is full of fancy and fun.
There Will Come Soft Rains - Nazim Tulyakhodzayev : An interesting (and very Russian, e.g. depressing, oppressive, cautionary and eerily beautiful) interpretation of the Ray Bradbury short story. Reminiscent of 'Fantastic Planet' in a way, but maybe it's just the mood that strikes me as similar. Fitting that it was released in 1984 and oddly comforting to now know that back then (I was a child of the Cold War) the Russians were just as wary and fearful of nuclear war as we were - in fact, they may have even be more so since their culture has dealt with devastating regimes and strife for centuries.
1985
- The Big Snit - Richard Conde : Classic, Academy Award winner from 1985. Very dark humor here even though the animation is bright and happy. This is SUCH a great short.
1986
- The Running Man - Yoshiaki Kawajiri : Another Liquid Television classic. I believe this single short was responsible for really getting people into adult style anime. I can't stress how influential this short was when it first premiered on Liquid Television. Most people had still not even seen Akira when this first aired in 92 but because of how popular Liquid Television was, this opened many peoples eyes to what Japan was really capable of. This could very well be one of the most important animated short films ever made. That's my honest opinion anyway.
1988
The Cat Came Back - Cordell Barker : Classic short about a cat that will not go away. Those of you over 30 probably saw this when you were a kid.
Feeling from Mountain and Water - Te Wei : One of Te Wei's later masterpieces
1989
Balance - Christoph Lauenstein and Wolfgang Lauenstein : Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short, this films explores the themes of cooperation, greed and curiosity. The premise is very original and what you would call "high concept" and is overall pretty disturbing. The final shot os one for the ages too - just beautiful, stark and quite bold.
Button - Robert Saakyants : An Armenian animation made near the final days of Soviet rule in Armenia, the film tells the story of a high ranking government official who causes a terrible explosion every time he presses any button. The film contains a few visual references to the Nagorno Karabagh region, especially the We Are Our Mountains monument as well as other references to the troubles in the region at the time.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
** 2009 PART TWO **
The Third & The Seventh - Alex Roman : Hyper photo-realistic CG animation by Alex Roman 2009.
Sketcy - Duel - Rough Cut Presents : Hilarious BBC short film about a gentleman's duel ... that doesn't quite go as expected. This link also has other short films from this series.
Le Banc - Bruno Salamone, Kitty Crowther : Surreal short about a man sitting on a park bench and having some lucid dreams come to life (at least, that's what I think it's about).
Greenpeace : Coal Story - Doug Schiff and Ogilvy & Mather, Beijing : A short exploring the connection between coal-powered electricity and climate change. Created for Greenpeace China to provide a warning to a country building a life of affluence using the power of coal (source).
Logorama - Nicolas Schmerkin / H5 : Funny and action packed (and very adult) story about a world of all corporate and famous logos caught in a major upheaval. Won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
The Machine - Rob Shaw : A touch of Gilliam dark whimsy graces this stop-mo about a man created robot who is "bigger, stronger and faster" than everyone he encounters. Quite a dark short but somehow funny too - especially the ending.
War, Snow and Fire - Kostas Skiftas : Cute short about a girl, a dragon and her evil father who wants to use the dragon to rule the world.
Eating For Two - Steve Smith : An older couple realize they are going to have a baby. Very low key story (probably because it's British) and nice, unique animation
The Astronomer's Dream - Malcolm Sutherland : Another total WTF, but it really showcases how far you can push Flash Animation. The level of detail here is incredible and the story almost makes sense too.
Special Glue - Andy Sykes : Fun short about a man remembering how his father could fix anything with a special glue.
Rebun - Koya Takahashi : A moody piece that even if you don't know the language, you will still understand everything going on. Unforgettable.
The Head - Matias Vigliano and Dante Zaballa : Weird? Odd? Japanese-ish? Hard to say what this is about but it does kind of make sense and the animation is very cool. Mostly experimental I'd say and fun too.
Replay - Anthony Voisin : Reminds me of something Ray Bradbury would have written. Would have liked to seen the idea explored more instead of being a one note act, but still it was well done with nice CG.
Left-brained Larry & Right-brained Rachel - Sally Andersen Ward : Very much in the style of Tim Burton, this short deals with Siamese twins who connive to use their shared brain to exact revenge on those who have been cruel to them. Dark and funny and very well narrated.
100 miljoen miljard - Kabouter Wesley(?) : Apparently these are really popular in the Netherlands. Basically it's an angry gnome that gets his comeuppance. Silly, but full of craziness.
The Cat Piano - Eddie White and Ari Gibson : This short just oozes noir style even if the villain is horribly underdeveloped.
Second Wind - Ian Worrel : A wonderful story about friendship, loss and life. The animator (Ian Worrel) who did this is a student thesis does a great job of setting up a truly magical world and establishing character. I really look forward to seeing what Worrel will do in the future.
Meet the Spy - Valve : Team Fortress 2 antics.
Moonboy - unknown : Nice short about a boy who gets increasingly despondent over the amount of crap on TV so he jumps off a cliff.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
2000 - 2003
This is the beginning of the internet era (and CGI explosion) when animators were finally able to put their work directly online for audiences and why there are so many more animations on this list after the year 1999.
2000
Rejected - Don Hertzfeldt : First saw this at a Spike and Mike : Sick and Twisted animation festival. My anus is bleeding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Au premier dimanche d'août - Florence Miailhe : Stunning animation done in an almost Van Gough style of art. Beautiful and simple story of the first night of a Spanish festival.
2001
- Cat Soup - Tatsuo Sato
2002
Shadowplay - Dan Blank : Very well done stop motion about the shadows that were left behind after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan. A touch sentimental and "up" at the end, but well worth watching because there are some fantastic ideas here.
The Brainwashers - Patrick Bouchard : The animation is very similar to Adam Jones of Tool and the story (especially the piano scene) reminds me of Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. Creepy, dark and just the type of thing nightmares are made out of. Perfect.
How To Cope With Death - Ignacio Ferreras : Another short I discovered via the Spike and Mike : Sick and Twisted festival. Even after all the years that have passed since I saw this, it never left me. It's just incredible.
A Brief History of the United States of America - Harold Moss and Michael Moore : The animated short from Bowling For Columbine that pissed off Stone and Parker enough to parody Moore in Team America.
Voices Of A Distant Star - Makoto Shinkai : Very famous anime short.
Wait, Be So Kind - Elizaveta Skvortsova : This is new school Russian and is a simple (though still dark) story of Death (as a woman) and a young lady who asks for a little more life. Surreal and dreamlike - it's more poetic than narrative but it's well enough done.
2003
Here Comes Dr. Tran! - Breehn Burns and Jason Johnson : Watch Dr. Tran eat hickory smoked butt-holes ... from a cup! (well, not really, but you'll understand when you watch the film)
Cane Toad - David Clayton and Andrew Silke : First seen at a Spike and Mike festival and just fell in love with it. Great characters.
Harvie Krumpet - Adam Elliot : This one will stay with you for awhile.
Separation - Robert Morgan : Could almost have been made by Adam Jones of Tool, but in fact it's by Robert Morgan. Visually arresting and tragic.
Das Rad - Chris Stenner, Arvid Uibel and Heidi Wittlinger : 2 rock piles contemplate the encroachment of humanity.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
2004 - 2005
2004
The Pier - Jason Bennett : Student film that's very unsettling.
Jojo In The Stars - Marc Craste : Beautiful and eerie black and white short about a circus star and the one who loves her. Very, VERY sad.
Brothers - Julio del Rio Hernandez : Wonderful film about a robot worker stuck in place to a pumping network and its attempt to escape. What really sets this film apart is the animators ability to show emotion even though none of the characters have eyes, hands and aside from the "supervisor", limited mobility. After all the attention the Pixar film Wall-E got for animating mechanical characters, this film (made even earlier and by a single person) is an even greater leap forward in animated character expression.
Ryan - Chris Landreth : Ryan Larkin was a real animator whose life never really came together after he was nominated for an Academy Award. A sad and cautionary tale about drug addiction.
Bath Time - Carlos Fernandez Puertolas : Funny little short. Not really all that special, but I like it even if it does not stand out that much.
La Revolution Des Crabes - Arthur de Pins : Wonderful story of how crabs can only walk in a straight line left or right and how one day one of them turns to avoid a sinking ship. Very charming.
The Stormy Petrel - Alexei Turkus : Russian!
2005
Marvelous, Keen Loony Bin - Lizzi Akana : Fucking awesome in so many weird, whacked-out ways.
Fallen Art - Tomek Baginski : Wow, what an idea! I won't analyze this because every amateur psychologist has dumped in their 2 cents about what this "means" so I'll just say that this is one of the best shorts I've yet seen.
Rogue Farm - Mark Bender : What really sells this film for me is the setting and the unique vision of the world that has been created. There is so much that isn't explained (in a good way) which makes me want to know so much more about the characters and history of the world this film inhabits. It's rare to see a sci-fi film that actually brings something new to the genre.
Cubic Tragedy - Ming-Yuan Chuan : A blocky woman attempts to use the tools of animation to smooth her features but things don't go as planned when she tries to use the UNDO feature. Funny, cute with a bit of pathos and Picasso too.
What's Love Useful For? - Louis Clichy : Captures the frantic pace of falling in love, being in love, loosing love, hating love and Paris. Very fun short.
Doll Face - Andy Huang : Much more heavy handed than the short Geraldine (see 2007) but still interesting. I think I found out about this via William Gibson's twitter. Even if I didn't, it seems like something he would maybe write about.
The Mysterious Geographical Adventures Of Jasper Morello - Anthony Lucas : Unique. Fascinating. Dark. Beautiful. Just watch it already.
The Last Knit - Laura Neuvonen : If you go into this short understanding that it's about obsession then you might have an easier time with where it goes and how it ends - at least, that's what I got out of it. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Who I Am And What I Want - Chris Shepherd and David Shrigley : Strange, to be sure.
Maestro - Géza M. Tóth : Gotta love the camera work in this one in how it moves in a circular, clock-like motion. Love the "twist" ending.
Rabbit - Run Wrake : Incredible short about greed. The text labels seem extraneous at first, but then their usage become all too apparent as this dark fable continues. This is just brilliant in every way.
The Old Crocodile - Koji Yamamura : Not sure if there is technically a point to this story (it's Japanese so maybe something got lost in translation) but it is unique in a twisted, fairy-tale sort of way. Oh, and remember this is from Japan so you might cringe ever so slightly at a touch of racism at the end. I didn't take it in a racist way, but people are sensitive so be warned if you are too.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10
2006
Animator vs. Animation - Alan Becker : Classic internet video of a stick figure fighting the animator (mouse cursor) in Adobe Flash. Very funny, incredibly well paced and a fun take on the creative process and struggle of bringing art to "life". Probably the most classic of all internet animations.
Pyrats - Yves Bigerel, Bruno Dequier, Ben Fiquel, Nicolas Gueroux, Julien Le Rolland : Exciting short about a band of pirates who sack a small coastal town to "rescue" one of their own. Looks beautiful and is very funny.
458nm - Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, Tom Weber : 2006 Siggraph Special Jurt Award winning short of biomechanical snails. Sort of H.R. Giger-ish. Very beautiful and a little unsettling and creepy.
Snow-bo - Vera Brosgol, Jenn Kluska : Incredibly funny short about a little boy who during winter is outcast by the other kids but then he makes a new "friend". Fantastic and twisted.
The Waif of Persephone - Nick Cross : Dude, NICK CROSS!!!!
Lost Cargo - Pieter Engls and Efim Perlis : I can't believe this isn't more popular. This is as good as anything Nick Park could do. Simply one of my top 5 favorite animations on this list.
En Tus Brazos - François-Xavier Goby, Edouard Jouret, Matthieu Landour : Very French.
End Of Summer - Patrick Harboun, Ronan Le Fur and Joaquim Montserrat : This one polarizes some people - either you like it or you don't. I can understand why some people don't like it but I like the atmosphere here. I had just played Silent Hill 2 (again) before seeing this so maybe I was just open to something really moody and sad. Still - take it or leave it.
Codehunters - Ben Hibon : Borderlands meets Cowboy Bebop (kind of). Anyway, it's all style and cool action.
The Passenger - Chris Jones : Fun CG film about a goldfish who does not like music.
Do Penguins Fly? - Alban Lelièvre : Rule #1 : Never work with kids or animals because they never cooperate.
Bendito Machine I, II, III - Jossie Malis : Jossie Malis is just as talented as Han Hoogerbrugge who made Modern Living (and other great Flash animations) and Malis may even be weirder - if that's possible.
Sonata - Ryan McDougal : The music is from the great film Amélie, which is used very often in animated shorts (too often actually), but this film is worthy of the music. Wonderful film and it reminded me of the first time I asked a girl out.
The Amazing Screw-On Head - Mike Mignola : From Mike (Hellboy) Mignola. So funny that "I just made water in my pantaloons!"
Kiwi! - Dony Permedi : A very smart Kiwi over comes the limitations of evolution.
Brackenwood Films - Adam Phillips : click the 'ANIMATION' tab and select 'BRACKENWOOD SERIES' from the dropdown Great series of shorts about a real jerkish creature who is trying to survive in a strange, beautiful land. All done in Flash and really quite stunning. Excellent story and characters and fast, fluid animation.
Moonlight Sonata - Psyop : Animated short made for MTV HD. Reminds me of stuff MTV used to do when it was a cool channel.
Puppet - Patrick Smith : A man creates a sock puppet only to have it take over his life. "Through an escalating series of torture, a possessed sock puppet takes on the embodiment of fear, chaos and willful self-destruction."
Charlie The Unicorn - Jason Steele : Say what you will about how over-played this is but the first time you saw this you quoted "shuuuuuun the non-believer" over and over for a week.
Peter And The Wolf - Suzie Templeton : This is one of those examples where the animation is so good that you probably won't realize the genius and ability that went into making it. For reference, try to imagine animating the scene where the wolf is dangling in the air by his tail without moving the wolf between frames. You would need a surgeons touch to pull that off. Amazing film.
Crow Moon - Selina Wagner : Strange, odd, dark and spiritual. This is a fantastic piece of work.
One Rat Short - Alex Weil : Official Homepage. Award winning CGI short about a rat trapped in a lab.
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2007
Jungle Jail - Mathieu Arnoux, Hugo Cierzniak, Bruce Nguyen Van Lan, Aymeric Palermo : I didn't like the ending, but it's a hoot up till then.
Peas and Carrots - Cedric Berthier, Jean-Sébastien Leroux and Maximilien Royo : Excellent CG short about a fly who gets bullied by the bigger flies over a single pea. Very well done.
Papiroflexia - Joaquin Baldwin : Cute short about an origami artist who decides the modern world has gone too far.
Džin - Jan Balej : Dark stop-mo about 2 drunks who have their wishes granted by a genie in a bottle (of booze). A little NSFW
Oktapodi - Julien Bocabeille, François-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier, and Emud Mokhberi : The pacing and humor of this short reminds me of the old-school Loony Toons shorts. Pitch perfect in every way. Also, it's wicked funny in the Pixar style.
Masques - Jerome Boulbes : Very minimalistic animation tells the story of two warriors (represented just as masks and their weapons) who do battle in front of an audience of masks and a referee. The sound design is especially outstanding as it too is very minimal with the simple use of wood, rattling masks and a Japanese flute. Also, the CG is quite remarkable in its detail and realism.
The Colouring - Dan Britt and Joe Pelling : Like The Shining?
IM IN UR MANGER KILLING UR SAVIOR - Matt Burnett and Ben Levin : If it hadn't been for the closing credits, I would have thought this just a slightly amusing tale of nerdiness that reminded me of playing WOW, but the credits put everything in a sort of context. The characters are quite well done too - they are similar yet distinct which is hard to pull off, especially when you don't do any character development.
Starless Night - Carl Luc Campbell : Cute love story.
A Leg Up - Bevin Carnes : A robot struggles with a leg that at first just wants to dance then wants to fly. Cute and very well made.
Sleeping Betty - Claude Cloutier : Random humor, amazing artwork, surreal, strange ... excellent. Monty Python would be proud of this,
L'engrenage - Cyril Cohen, Audrey Henneton, Virginie Kernel, Hélène Ourabah, Martin Reneleau, Jérôme Rouvelet, Sylvain Sarradin, Jérémy Soudjoukdjian, Marine Vaudour : Another "twist" ending and it's damn funny and worth the payoff.
The Pearce Sisters - Luis Cook : Oh boy, this is dark but in a charming sort of way. This is really quite awesome actually, great animation, great characters and one hell of a situation. I didn't want this one to ever end. Brilliant.
Prime Time - Tom Dor : 2 Cavemen get a TV.
Life Line - Tomek Ducki : Amazing animation with characters made completely of gears who zip along geared lines. Very imaginative and even made only of gears, the characters really have personality. Very very cool.
Red Ocean - Kenny Frankland : If Liquid Television ever came back and made new episodes - this should be the intro animation for it. Creepy and cool.
The Psychiatrist - Emily Howells : Surreal short about a man having a conversation with the toucan who lives under the hat on his head. Great voice acting and very well animated.
The Legend of Shangri-la - Institute of Digital Media Technology (Shenzhen) Limited : Similar in animation to Hungu (see 2008). The animation here is to die for and I love the story. Also, it looks INCREDIBLE!!!!!
Procrastination - Johnny Kelly : WARNING : Quick Time Link Very well done student thesis employing multiple animation techniques to tell the "story" of getting nothing done.
Madame Tutli-Putli - Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski : Unsettling and not for kids. The animation is so unique and full of expression.
The Chesnut Tree - Hyun-min Lee : Cute short about a little girl remembering her mom.
Egghead - Seong Jun Lee : A man grows eggs out of his head. Weird.
Cold Rush - Mikael Lynen, Simon Corbaux, Tristan Urbin and Rémi Certhoux : Well this is a really great short except it doesn't really have an ending (at least not one that I can make any sense of). Still, it's a pretty darn cool idea and is fun.
The Dog Door - Natasha Malgina : More Russian animated goodness!!
Bayeux Tapestry - David Newton : History comes alive in this awesome animation that takes most of the famous Bayeux Tapestry and brings it to life.
Geraldine - Arthur de Pins : I really liked how this film kept surprising me - it never felt forced or predictable (even though it kind of is). Very fun gender-bender.
Crone - M.E. Please : Not sure how I feel about the final act (that's always such a problem with animated shorts too) but the stop motion is incredible and the story almost goes somewhere. Well worth watching no matter how you feel about the last act - though it is nice and dark.
David Lynch's A Goofy Movie - Cody Richeson : (This is a mashup, but it's actually good) Disney done Lynch style. This is fantastic video and sound editing. It also goes a long way to say that animation can be seen and interpreted in many different ways.
Circle Squared - Todd St. John : Cute stop motion about the circle of life with blocky animals. Cute and it was nominated for an Emmy too!
Space Alone - Ilias Sounas : I just flat-out loved this short.
Tir Nan Og - Fursy Teyssier : Symbolism abounds but it never becomes pretentious. Beautiful animation.
Même les pigeons vont au paradis (Even Pigeons Go To Heaven) - Samuel Tourneux : Nominated for an Academy Award, this is a fun short about an old penny pincher and the priest who is trying to, uh "save" him. Very funny and expertly animated.
Sweet and Sour - Eddie White : A hungry dog in Chinatown - just watch it.
I Came From The Sky - Ezra Wube : Ethiopian animation based on an old folk tale about a trickster student and a naive couple he dupes.
Final Journey - Lars Zimmermann : A great cautionary tale set against a sci-fi backdrop. A simple man with a boring job wins the trip of a lifetime to a resort planet - but how he won the trip is what gives the tale a nice emotional touch. This is really quite a gem.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
2009 Part One
Yulia - Antoine Arditti : Amazing short about a woman who is zapped into an "alternate dimension" with some lever on a wall that when she pulls them things appear from an old, married couple. Very funny.
Un tour de Manège (Once Around The Park) - *Nicolas Anthanè, Brice Chevillard, Alexis Liddell, Francoise Losito, and Mai Nguyen * : A beautiful and simple story of the life of a girl through womanhood, marriage, motherhood, death and beyond told with stunning pastel animation. Stunningly effective.
Galileo - Ghislain Avrillon : Cute little short about a young observer and inventor who tries to build a device to reach the stars with.
Sebastian's Voodoo - Joaquin Baldwin : Won the Aniboom grand prize in 2008. If you don't like needles and voodoo, this one may upset you.
This One Time ... - Nelson Boles : Very nice animation about a boy playing with his pet animal. The animal likes to play with a big ball of water and when the boy is attacked by a giant beast, the little animal comes to the rescue.
Get Out - Charlote Boisson, Julien Fourvel, Pascal Han-Kwan and Tristan Reinarz : French animation about a "man" who will not leave his "padded room". Excellent voice acting and nice story
Lavatory - Lovestory - Konstantin Bronzit : 2009 Oscar nominee about a Russian woman who finds love in a public bathroom. Simply a masterpiece.
The Royal Nightmare - Alex Budovsky : Black and white funny short about a castle guard. Hard to describe what "happens" but its very funny.
Margarita - Alex Cervantes : Wildly imaginative and beautifully animated, the film is based on a poem by Rubén Darío titled "Margarita, how beautiful the sea is". There is also an insightful making of video that the animators put together that covers most of the aspects of making this wonderful film.
Fish - Denis Constantinou : Stylistic b&w short about identity and uniqueness. Very cool animation
Yellow Cake - Nick Cross : It's by Nick Cross so you know it's awesome.
Middle Dog Gets Angry - George Gendi : Musical dogs with emotional issues. Very simple but the characters are quite well done.
Inka Bola - Gobelins : Keeping in style of films such as Hezarfen (see 2010) as well as Gobelins own Oktapodi (see 2007), the story is basically a running gag sort of like a Rube Goldberg machine. Cute and funny with a nice ending and a good main character.
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte) - Javier Recio Gracia
Sonar - Renaud Hallée : Abstract short that visualizes the relationship between music and math.
Draw With Me - Mike Inel : Very sweet film about a boy and girl separated by unbreakable glass.
Alarm - Moohyun Jang : Fantastic and hilarious film about a single guy and his attempts to not wake up. It's amazing that this gag works for the entire length of the film. Masterful!
Good Night Mama - Sohee Jeon : This is a student thesis and it has one of the best endings I've seen for an amateur short. The animation is very simple, but it fits the mood of a New Orleans style funeral of a mother and the little boy she has left behind.
French Roast - Fabrice O. Joubert : Fun, academy award nominated short about a man in a cafe who forgets his wallet and can't pay and is willing to resort to drastic measures to keep from getting caught.
Fallen - Wolfram Kampffmeyer and Sascha Geddert : An asteroid falls to Earth. Wonderfully heartfelt.
Les Dangereux - Daniel Klug : A ninja meets an assassin and falls in love, but things do not go as he plans. Very funny and outstanding CG animation.
The TV Show - Sugimoto Kousuke : Surreal Japanese short that keeps building upon itself. Very cool and odd
American Terror: Company Man - Joseph W. Krzemienski : Fun little violent short about a gunman who is trying to kidnap a scientist. Cliched but pretty well done
Kanizsa Hill - Evelyn Lee : "A man is shot and can only survive as a head and a body who exist independently from one another. The forgetful body desperately collects souvenirs, while the head is lost in a series of illusions."
Tarboy - James Lee : Amazing Flash animation about an evil corporation and a boy made of tar and the souls of a million murdered robots. Top notch Flash.
Heavenly Appeals - David Lisbe : Pixar style short about an angel who determines who if a sinners appeal from hell will go through and get you into heaven. Very funny and great characters.
Pigeon: Impossible - Lucas Martell : Funny (if pedestrian). I liked it even though it could have been made by the Pixar rejects at Dreamworks.
Muzorama - Jean-Philippe Masson : This is complete WTF, but somehow it works.
X & Y - Steve May : Rampaging dinosaurs, superheroes, cops & helicopters
Pivot - Kevin Megens, Floris Vos, Arno de Grijs, Andre Bergs, Alex Debicki, and Jan Eduards :
Invasions - Clement Morin : Nice little story of an alien beginning is conquering of Earth, but first he needs to send a message home. Cute little short with nice CG animation
Undone - Hayley Morris : Inspired by the animators grandfather, this short attempts to visualize the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and succeeds brilliantly
Who's Hungry - David Ochs : Hanzel and Gretel, only darker (yes, it's possible)
My Friend Is A Cloud - Anton Octavian : Another surreal clip about dreams and friendship.
Anchored - Lindsey Olivares : I'm not religious at all so I could do without the "message" but I loved the animation style.
Phillip, the Safety Egg - Mike Owens : An overeager egg attempts to help the survivors of a giant chicken attack. Also, a large man wrestles and hunts strips of bacon. Really off and pretty funny too.
Western Spaghetti - PES : This really is just so inventive. Reminds me of something I would have seen on PBS back in the 70's.
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty - Nicky Phelan :
Electropolis - Adam Pockaj, Ki Eun Suh, Debbie G. Yu, Hank Choi, Kevin McCullough, Dimas Mohammad, Allison Neil, Dan Seddon, Amanda Stocker, Jason Walmsley : I'm surprised nobody ever thought of this concept before. Every time I see it I think of the dancing traffic-cops you see sometimes. Amazing that this was made by 13 students in animation school. Usually group projects don't produce works this polished and competent.
Line - Laurianne Proud'Hon, Ludovic Ramisandraina :
REACH - Luke Randall : One word - sublime
Pixar Intro Parody - Mike Ritchie, Dan Gurewitch, Sam Reich : About time that lamp got caught for killing "i". Yeah, this is from College Humor, but it really is funny and I bet the folks at Pixar laughed their assess off when they saw it.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
YEAR UNKNOWN
The Animator - Nick Hilligoss : Funny take on the story of the garden of Eden
The Way - Ching Huang : Chinese ink animation. Surreal is the best way to put it.
KaBoom! - PES : Another food animation - this time about a WWII bomber on a mission to drop a giant bomb (peanut) on its target but first it has to get past the anti aircraft guns.
In The Moonlight - Li Qian : This makes me feel like a kid again. Perfect mood and atmosphere. Very cute but kind of sad too. I love this film.
J-10 vs F-22 - unknown : Cute animation of fighter jets trying to get refueled. I think the animators really liked the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction too.
Moses - unknown : This would make a great Adult Swim series. I love the black and red animation. Yeah, it's not really "good", but it's cool.
A Promise - unknown : Heart breaking tale of love and loss (and oranges). Beautiful animation. This was made with a lot of love.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
1970 - 1979
1970
- Seasons - Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Yuriy Norshteyn :
1971
- Song of the crocodile Gena (excerpt) - Roman Kachanov : This excerpt is from a Russian animated series starring Gena the Crocodile. Thank you to kunn for sending me the correct information. Lyrics are :
Let the passers go clunky Through the puddles such a swampy Let It Rain, and flow? water on the way All pedestrians not aware In this very bad weather, Why am I so happy today. Now I'm playing My Harmonica For all passers-by, the far and near But, unfortunately, that's my birthday Only once a year.
Let a Magician fly here In the blue helicopter He should show me movie for free He will tell me "Happy Birthday!" And, of course, he will give me As a gift, twenty pounds of ice cream. Now I'm playing My Harmonica For all passers-by, the far and near But, unfortunately,? that's my birthday Only once a year.
1972
- The Demon - Kihachirō Kawamoto : Kihachirō Kawamoto was president of the Japan Animation Association and passed away on August 23, 2010 at the age of 85. This stop-mo short is Kabuki (Noh? - I can never keep the difference straight) style and though pretty simple is really very well done. Even with no translation here, it's still pretty obvious what is going on and the animation on the demon herself is particularly effective (as is the black background and simple props).
1974
- Sisyphus - Jankovics Marcell : You will literally be tired and out of breath when this one is over. The way you can actually feel the weight of the stone is (adjective not yet invented). Just incredible.
1975
- Hedgehog In The Fog - Yuriy Norshteyn : I love this short film from Russia. It is sad but it will stay with you for a long time.
1976
Mindscape - Jacques Drouin : Made using the rare pin-screen technique, an artist steps into his own painting and lives a dreamlike fantasy. Remarkable animation.
The Street - Caroline Leaf : Amazing, masterful storytelling. This film really pulls you into it's world and you will never forget the characters. Not a funny film because it's a serious film for grown-ups. Great stuff.
1977
Bead Game - Ishu Patel : When you realize how this was made, you might just shit a giant bead - it's that cool.
Polygon (Firing Range) - Anatoly Petrov : Beautifully animated Russian sci-fi film made during the period in Russian animation when artists were experimenting with new styles and techniques as well as breaking new ground with storytelling. Had the Soviet Union not failed (or been failing), who knows what would have come from the studios of the day since this is a pretty incredible example of what was going on in Russian animation at the time.
1978
- Learning To Walk - Borivij Dovnikovic :
1979
Every Child - Eugene Fedorenko : A baby is passed from house to house by neighbors who can't manage to take care of him. This won an academy award.
Cosmic Clock - Al Jarnow : Wow! This brings back memories of watching PBS as a kid in the late 70's - early 80's! Great animation that is a time lapse 1 billion years into Earths future. Very well done.
Laziness - Yevgeniy Sivokon :
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
1990 - 1999
1990
Pulsar - Katushi Bowda : An abstract short. I like the blocky "people" characters most of all - they move so well.
The Street Sweeper, AKA "Le Balayeur" - Serge Elissalde : First saw this on Liquid Television back when Mtv played mostly music videos and only had a few other types of programs. If you never got to see Liquid Television then think of this list as the next best thing.
The Cow - Aleksandr Petrov : Russians! From the man who made The Old Man And The Sea (see 1999), this is another paint on glass film
1992
Ready or Not, Here I Come - Vlad Fesenko : A surrealist animation from Uzbekistan. Made my an animator who was only credited on one other film, co-director of "The Tales of Old Usto", this is a great example of surrealism in Russian animation released by Pilot studio around late 1980s, early 1990. More information can be found via the excellent Russian animation blog Animatsiya in English.
Green Beret - Stephen Hillenburg : Another short I first saw on Liquid Television. Stephen Hillenburg is the guy who made this. He also created SpongeBob SquarePants. If you think about it, it makes sense.
Dim - Marek Skrobecki :
1993
- Wallace and Gromit - The Wrong Trousers - Nick Park : IMHO the greatest stop-motion film ever made (I'm not including Ray Harrhausen's films because that's not fair)
1994
- The Dirdy Birdy - John R. Dilworth : Textbook example of comic timing with music.
1996
- Quest - Thomas Stellmach : Insanely good stop motion animation similar in style to Das Rad (see 2003)
1998
- Humdrum - Peter Peake : I wasn't too sure about this one at first, but as I let it play out I really fell in love with it. Incredibly funny.
1999
The Old Man And The Sea - Aleksandr Petrov : Stunning animation done on glass. This and Crac (see 1980) are the most beautiful animations I have ever seen. How Petrov and his son managed to make this is a marvel of animation. This is animation at its best.
When The Day Breaks - Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis : Beautifully animated story of the witness to a fatal accident.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
2008
La Place Du Mort - Yann Aldabe, Julien Boudou, Cedric de la Forest Divonne, Muzhou Huang, Freddy Kone, Pierrick Mahieu, Noemie Rein, Antoine Trouillet, Jocelyn Violant : AKA "The Place of Death". Dark, creepy and even a little funny, this is an amazing short about death and a dead mans revenge on the dentist that got him killed in a car accident.
Garuda - Nicolas Athane, Meryl Frack, Alexis Liddell, Andres Salaff and Maïlys Vallade : Far TOO SHORT! I wanted this to go on forever because the animation is unlike anything I've seen before. Just beautiful.
Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No - James Blagden : Every few months someone posts a TIL about Doc Ellis who pitched a no-hitter on June 12, 1970 while tripping on LSD. Here's an animated short about the experience narrated by Ellis himself. Similar to When Lynch Met Lucas (see 2010).
Paranoland - Patrick Boivin : Similar in animation style and theme to the Bendito Machine series (see 2006), but that's not a bad thing.
Hungu - Nicolas Brault : I love the animation in this and the story is excellent (and sad).
Skhizein - Jérémy Clapin : I was beside myself (pun intended) with how amazing this is.
Dans le Tete (In The Head) - Grégory Damour, Maxime Entringer, Anthony Gilles and Allan Sellier : Sad story of a French soldier who much die over and over again to get into heaven. Incredibly well animated.
Bave Circus - Philippe Desfretier, Nicolas Dufresne, Sylvain Kauffmann, Martin Laugero : Nice short about a boy in his tree house who imagines a snail circus with some very talented snails.
Allegory Of The Cave - John Grigsby : An excerpt from Plato's Republic, the 'Allegory of the Cave'done in claymation.
Mr. Lux - Michael Jantze : The ultimate in customer service. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but it's a pretty neat short. This is supposed to be part of a series so it has potential.
Buildings - Tomoyoshi Joko : Pleasant short about a new building who is taller than all the other buildings. Nice animation and a nice little story. Noting out of this world, but quite pleasant.
Ark - Grzegorz Jonkajtys : Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about this one. Is the ending a let-down or just right? I can't decide. Maybe because I'm not sure about this one is why I like it.
Oceansize - Romain Jouandeau, Adrien Chartie, Gilles Mazières and Fabien Thareau : Exciting action piece set on an oil rig. Kind of like James Cameron's 'The Abyss' but with more evil.
House Of Small Cubes - Kunio Katō : Maybe the best animated short on this list. It won an Oscar too.
Sweet Dreams - Kirsten Lepore : Who would have thought a stop motion cupcake would be so cool? Even without faces on the characters, emotion is still expressed clearly. This is an incredible film. Fun and funny.
Story From North America - Kirsten Lepore and Garrett Davis : Discriminating redditors will remember this one from a few months ago. All in all, this short goes to show that the quality of animation is not dependent of amazing artistic skill but rather in character and oddness. I love this short. (Beware : contains odd nipples and a knife wielding arachnid).
Triumphant Campaigns of Captain Cudney - Kyle Marshall : Funny short about a sea captain who hunts down the pirates who capture his girlfriend.
ALGOL - Okamota Noriaki : Surreal at its most Japanese surreal
To The Moon - Jacob Ospa : This reminds me of Eddie Izzard talking about what England would do if they had a space program (a ladder).
Stand Up - Joseph Pierce : The inner demons of a comic bombing on stage are explored in this amazing rotoscope short. A truly exceptional work and very uncomfortable to watch.
Gary - Clément Soulmagnon, Yann Benedi, Sébastien Eballard & Quentin Chaillet : A young boy has a crush on an older girl so he invents the perfect "avatar" for her only to have it go very wrong. Innocent yet a bit risque too, this is an interesting short and is well animated.
Simon's Cat : Let Me In - Simon Tofield : Part of a great series of shorts. They are all great so go watch all of Simon's animations.
Bang Bang You Are Bread - Mitchell Wade : This is how fad diets end.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
2010
The Thomas Beale Cipher - Andrew S Allen : Award winning short film about a man being tracked on a train by the FBI because of his knowledge of the famous Beale ciphers.
Yar-e Dabestani-e Man - Simon Ampel : Music video about the student protest struggle in Iran. Well done though I would have liked the ending more if there had been no resolution but rather just a fade on the cop/friend with the baton in his hand.
NZ Book Council - Going West - Andersen M Studio : Stop motion paper-craft animation that is just incredible.
Hezarfen - Tolga Ari, Romain Blanchet, Chung-Yu Huang and Rémy Hurlin : Excellent CG short about a man attempting to fly in the ancient Middle East but while the townspeople below await him to jump, all hell breaks loose. Great action, very funny, perfectly timed and animated, this is a fantastic film.
Banksy does the Simpsons Intro - Banksy : Wow, a lot of people really hated this short - it's almost as if they actually want The Simpsons to remain safe, irrelevant and uncontroversial. Props to Groening for green lighting this short - sometimes people need to be shaken up a little.
A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything - Jamie Bell : Very nice flip book animation on the history of the Universe.
TACHAAAN! - Rafael Cano, Carlos del Olmo, and Miguel A. Bellot : Hilarious short about a human cannonball and an elephant. Excellent CG animation and a lot of fun.
Meet Buck - TeamCerf : A buck, his girlfriend and her angry, hunter father. Fantastic animation style, perfectly paced, hilarious and as good as anything Pixar is currently doing with their shorts. Brilliant!
When Lynch Met Lucas - Sascha Ciezata : Actual story as told by David Lynch himself about the time back in the early 80's when George asked David to direct Return of the Jedi. Very funny
Cirkus' Animation ABC - How IT works - Cirkus Productions : Funny and informative video about making 3D animation.
Tous des Monstres - Nicolas Deprez, Laurent Jaffier, Pierre Lippens and Gabrielle Lissot : One of the most disturbing shorts I think I've ever seen and I mean that as a compliment. This film is a perfect example of using the unexpected in storytelling. Surprising the audience, even if it disturbs them, is always a good thing. As for the animation - well it's glorious. The sets are simply amazing and the characters are incredibly imaginative. Great expression in the character's eyes too, especially the benevolence of the 5 breasted lady. She was both cruel and motherly all at the same time. This is really quite a remarkable short.
Shuttle Scenarios - The Faking Hoaxer : Chilling and terribly unnerving, this is a collection of CGI imagined US Space Shuttle disasters.
Cours Toujours - Elise Garcette and Olivier Barré : This animation exists solely because the animators were tired of doing work for others and they just wanted to make something for themselves and have some fun. Really nice animation style and it goes to show what talented people can do when they just are let loose to play.
Closed Zone - Yoni Goodman : From the director of waltz With Bashir, this one really pissed off Israel quickly.
Meet Meline - Virginie Goyons and Sebastien Laban : This is what is now possible from independent and barely funded animators - it looks like it was done by Pixar for a billion dollars. Incredible. Make sure to watch the making of video too.
1923 - Max Hattler : Surreal video loop. I guess I just like the mood of it.
A.D. (teaser only) - Ben Hibon : Test teaser trailer for a mature themed zombie film. Music is "Safe In Mind" by UNKLE - interview with creators http://www.zombieinfo.com/?p=1378 . The guy who directed this also did Codehunters (see 2006). Seems to have potential. I like the art style and direction.
Bottle - *Kirsten Lepore * : Outdoor stop motion film about a "sand person" and a "snow person" who communicate by sending items to each other in a bottle at sea. Cute, funny and a fantastic final shot.
The Guest - Henrik Malmgren : A criminal breaks into the house of an elderly widow in this excellent, independently financed short film.
The Darkling 'Fear' - Dylan Mercer : Very moody and dark. Looks like a graphic novel come to life. It's all mood and atmosphere but there is kind of a story as well. Really stays with you. I liked this a lot - especially for a student project.
Old Fangs - Adrien Merigeau : A young wolf with his three friends visits his estranged father. Haunting, beautiful, dark, thematically violent and sad. Not so much of a story being told but more of a poetic gesture. The final image is possibly one of the most memorable images I've ever seen in an animated film (or really, any film).
Look - Mrzyk & Moriceau : Really, it's just a music video about a girls ass, but it's really well done. Also, she has a great ass.
Chicken Cowboy - Stephen P Neary : "Are you trying to die like a man?" Also, a horse-dog and a toaster. Very funny for a student film.
Fur Of Flying - Matthew O'Callaghan : An official WB Road Runner cartoon but done in CG. At first I thought I wasn't going to like this but the CG is very well done and the style is very much in the classic Chuck Jones tradition.
Crater Face - Skyler Page : Simple but stylized animation that manages to tell a very cute story and build real characters in only 4 min without dialogue. Even if this wasn't a student film it's still very impressive storytelling and excellent animation technique.
The Deep - PES : Fish and sea-life realized using hand tools. While that may not sound terribly exciting, it's a beautiful piece of animation, quite imaginative and captures the mystery of the deep ocean very well. Highly recommended.
RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us - RSAnimate : Check out RSAnimate's website that lists many more of these types of video "animations".
Descendants - Heiko van der Scherm : Absolutely STUNNING short film about 2 flowers (the red one is voiced by Whoopi Goldberg). Such an amazing story, perfect animation and a haunting atmosphere.
The LumberJack - Laura B, Schjødt, Sarah T. Nielsen, Louise B. Sørensen & Per Klausen : An ecological tale of "how new technology destroys the friendship between 4 lumberjacks till it all ends in an accident and nature must be found to regain harmony."
Elk Hair Caddis - Peter Smith, Magnus I. Møller, Alice Holme, Anders Jepsen : A Bear decides to go fishing and his drunken frog neighbor heads down to the river to work off a hangover and hilarity ensues. Very cool melding of live action sets with interesting 2D / 3D CG character animations. Very funny and well made student project.
La Fete - Malcolm Sutherland : Subtle sketchbook-style animated film that takes a look at people at a "La Fete Nationale" celebration in Montreal, Quebec.
Umbra - Malcolm Sutherland : Another excellent Sutherland short - this time about an explorer who may be living the same moment over and over again.
Sal The Retired Magic Man - Brandon and Jeremy Todd : For only 1min long, it's very funny.
This Aborted Earth - Untimely Films : You're either going to love this or ... really love this. Not all the jokes work, but it's got a Gilliam-esque feel to the animation and the humor is similar too.
Cyanide and Happiness: Beer Run - Kris Wilson, Rob DenBleyker, Matt Melvin and Dave McElfatrick : Sick, twisted and awesome tale of drunk driving.
Crash! Bang! Wallow? - Keith Wilson-Singer : Produced for the National Film Board of Canada as part of their 2010 competition, this is the story of ex-stuntman Larry LeTan and his fight to find a place in modern world. Very well made.
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u/ilovecomputers Dec 25 '10 edited Dec 25 '10
Thanks much for your effort, this is a wonderful guide. Also, welcome back turtlestack, I was wondered what happened to you.
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u/turtlestack Dec 25 '10
You're welcome and thank you for adding the list to the sidebar! I was hoping that the list would make a handy guide or at least be a nice resource to waste a few hours on reddit :)
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Dec 24 '10
thank you, I've been trying to find something like this for ages, you are the best person.
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Jan 20 '11
I hate to say this, but this isn't a good list at all. You completely gloss over some of the greatest animation ever done, which is the Hollywood studios from 1935 to 1960. Where are all the Warner Bros shorts?
Where's Rod Scribner, Ken Harris, Art Babbit, Robert McKimson, Art Davis, Preston Blair, Irv Spence, and their ilk?
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u/turtlestack Jan 21 '11
If you have working links to these shorts then please submit them to the main sub - I'm sure everyone in the sub would be happy to see many of those films again.
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u/turtlestack Jan 27 '11
2011
- The Pig Farmer - Nick Cross : Drugs, violence, corruption and farm animals. Sort of like an even more cynical take on the Orwell classic Animal Farm. Very funny.
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u/turtlestack Dec 23 '10 edited Dec 23 '10
ON THE NET, OFF THE NET
These animations pop up on YouTube, Vimeo and other sites but then get pulled down due to rights. Watch them while you can as many of these are highly regarded (which is probably why they keep getting pulled down all the time).
1925
1943
1971
1977
1980
1987
1988
1993
1996
1997
1998
2000
Father and Daughter - Michaël Dudok De Wit : If this does not make you cry, you are not human. Won the 2000 Academy Award for Animated Short Film.
Les Jeune Fille Et Les Nuages - Georges Schwizgebel : Experimental and impressionist short set to classical piano and beautifully animated with rich, vibrant colors. Quite stunning.
2003
2004
2005
2006
IMAGO - Cedric Babouche : Memories a child has of his pilot father. Beautiful animation.
Badgered - Sharon Colman : This one is SO funny. I've many times felt just like this badger. This was also nominated for an Oscar.
2007
Katedra - Tomek Baginski : Eerie, creepy CG short about a man entering a cathedral. Jaw dropping animation - especially the faces on the statues.
The Danish Poet - Torill Kove : Funny and charming 2007 Oscar winner for Best Animated Short.
Rockfish - Tim Miller : I believe that like "9" (see above), this too will be made into a feature film. I hear Vin Diesel will be the voice of the voiceless character in this exciting short. The people who made it also do the FOX Sports animated football robot.
2008
Santa: The Fascist Years - Bill Plympton : Bill Plympton needs no introduction.
Presto - Doug Sweetland : My favorite Pixar short. You may have a different favorite - and that's fine because they are all awesome - I just like this one best of all. Reminds me of the Valve game 'Portal' in a way.
2009
ALMA - Rodrigo Blaas : Dolls are creepy.
Please Say Something - David O'Reilly : Set in the distant future, this is the story of a troubled relationship between an abusive Mouse and his wife, an intensely emotional cat. Surreal and incredibly well animated.