The Great Oscar Baiter

I was finally able to catch Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast this weekend, and I have to say it certainly lived up to the hype. There’s a lot to love about this movie, from the gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, the exquisite performances from both the seasoned veterans and newcomers in the cast, to a script that’s brimming with heart and humor. But one aspect of the film I don’t see a lot of people mention is the way it incorporates footage from other films- most notably Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon, using not only a scene from the movie itself but scoring two pivotal scenes with the film’s theme song, the aptly-named (and Oscar-winning) “The Ballad of High Noon.” It was a bold choice to be sure, but who could blame Branagh? It’s a great movie, and a great song- and the subject for today’s installment in Song of the Week. (via Wikipedia) For those of you haven't seen High Noon... well, you really should get on that, it's a classic! Aside from being a taut, tightly edited thril...

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I think Ludwig Bemelmans’ Madeline books are quite possibly the most beautiful children’s books of all time. The stories may not always be spectacular (and can be, on occasion, somewhat offensive), but you can not deny the sheer artistry on display in Bemelmans’ illustrations. Every time I open one of those books all I want to do is jump in and let the world they create surround me. But unfortunately, that’s “physically impossible”, so we’ll just have to settle for the next best thing- today’s short, the 1952 film Madeline. (via TV Tropes) Robert Cannon is certainly not a household name, but he's at least become a fixture here in our Year in Shorts. A regular animator and director for UPA , Cannon is on hand once again to provide UPA's signature style of limited animation to the world of Madeline. Based very closely on the first book in the series (using its rhyming narration for its script as well as basing most of its imagery directly on...

There are some things Mr. Magoo just shouldn’t be trusted to do. Drive a car , go to the movies , carry a feature length live action film. Yes folks, whenever Magoo gets up to something, misadventure is sure to follow. That’s the premise of the shorts, after all. Still, there seems to be a point in which Magoo’s shenanigans stretch the limits of plausibility. I can understand why Magoo’s dimwitted nephew would trust him to take care of himself. But who in their right mind would trust Magoo with a baby? That question haunts the center of today’s short, Pink and Blue Blues. (via The Internet Animation Database) Directed once again by Peter Burness, Pink and Blue Blues is a 1952 short, making it the earliest Magoo short we've covered so far. It all begins one evening when Magoo's neighbors, desperate for a sitter, call in the services of Mr. Magoo. This is, of course, a terrible idea for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Mr. Magoo has clearly never raised any...

Like Chuck Jones, Tex Avery is rightfully considered a legend in the history of animation. Like Chuck Jones, Tex Avery had a decent amount of success at the Academy Awards (even if, due to the strange rules the shorts categories had in the early days, he never received a nomination personally). And like Chuck Jones, it’d be hard to tell based solely on the films of his we’ve covered in our Year in Shorts. And unfortunately, his 1953 short Little Johnny Jet will do very little to change that. But we’ve got to get to it one way or another. (via TV Tropes) Little Johnny Jet is set in a world populated by sentient planes, sort of like the world of Pixar's Cars (or its spinoff, Planes, or the spinoff's sequel, Planes: Fire & Rescue ), except there are also humans living in this world. That is not the most bizarre thing about this short. It tells the story of a retired B-29 bomber (voiced by Yogi Bear himself Daws Butler) who, despite being a decorated World War II veteran, ...

Ah, transportation. Where would we be without it? (These are the best jokes a not-for-profit blog can buy, folks!) Still, as important as transportation may be, it’s not a necessarily sexy topic, which would explain why it doesn’t get a lot of films made about it. Luckily for us, the National Film Board of Canada doesn’t care about how sexy something is, and that’s how we wound up with a short like The Romance of Transportation in Canada. Now there’s a title that’ll put butts in seats. (via Wikipedia) Directed by Colin Low, The Romance of Transportation in Canada is a very important short for the NFBC. Part of a series of postwar shorts and released in 1952, the film offers a somewhat humorous look at the history of transportation. Specifically in Canada. While most of their films later films would be more unique and auteur driven, The Romance of Transportation in Canada (oy, that's a mouthful) bears clear influence from UPA. Unfortunately, as Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom t...

Over the years, Tom and Jerry won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short seven times. Their first Oscar win came for the 1943 short Yankee Doodle Mouse , which we’ll be covering to celebrate Fourth of July (that’s called a “teaser”, folks). Their final win came a decade later, with a short that deviated slightly from the usual formula. Whether that’s better or worse is up for you to decide as we discuss Johann Mouse. (via Internet Animation Database) Yet again directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Johann Mouse sets itself apart from the other Tom and Jerry shorts we've discovered instead of having a contemporary American suburban setting, it takes place in the extravagant mansion of 19th century Austrian composer Johann Strauss. Yes folks, this is yet another cartoon which tricks you into listening to classical music! Lousy bastards, trying to give us culture. "Zat's right you little shit! You're going to appreciate classical music whether you like it or ...

Boy, and I thought The Bead Game was hard to talk about. But that was a walk in the park compared to Neighbours, which I think it’s fair to say is definitely the weirdest short we’ve covered so far. And yet I think it’s easy to argue that it’s simultaneously one of the best. And really, what better way to kick off the new year? (via IMDb) There's actually a lot of similarities between The Bead Game and Neighbours. Both were released by the National Film Board of Canada. Both are anti-war shorts. And both feature stop motion animation. The difference is that The Bead Game used beads for its animation; Neighbours used people, in a process you may recall is known as "pixilation." And if that doesn't sound weird enough to you, the NFBC has uploaded the whole thing to Vimeo to prove you wrong. (via BFI) So yeah, kind of a weird short, isn't it? Director Norman McLaren definitely had an odd sense of humor, but also an undeniable visual style and mastery of his cr...