2010 Oscar Nominations for Best Short Film

• The Lady and the Reaper - (Kandor Moon)
• Logorama - (H5)
• French Roast - (Pumkin Studio)
• Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death - (Aardman)
• Granny O'Grimm - (Brown Bag Films)

Cartoon Brew has links to watch all five online here. French Roast gets my vote, closely followed by The Lady and the Reaper (stills above) with it's unexpected highly stylized cuts and sense of chaotic, cartoony fun with some heart.

"A.D." teaser (directed by Ben Hibon)

Atmospheric little set-piece teaser for an upcoming animated zombie flick. This is directed by Ben Hibon who was also responsible for our own Heavenly Sword story animations, an excellent spot for MTV called Codehunters, and a host of other work you may be familiar with.

More from him here:
Stateless Films

Tostitos “Salsa” (Laika)

Animation studio Laika who were behind Coraline also have a commercial wing called Laika/House. This spot is directed by Nicholas Weigel who was also involved with Psyop on the wonderful Inside the Happiness Factory for Coke.

Laika/House

CGS Production Focus: Where the Wild Things Are

A CGS Production Focus on Where the Wild things are, documenting the work of Framestore, Jim Henson's Creature Shop and others.

Annecy 08 promo (Andres Salaff)

Another great use of colour, this time from Cal Arts graduate Andres Salaff. The inky watercoloured backgrounds and use of what looks like oil pastels on the feathers near the end of the clip lend this a distinctive look.

Inka Bola (Gobelins)

Wonderful expressive stylised character design remeniscent of both Up and Disney's Hercules, great vibrant colour palette and top notch animation...

Skhizein (Jérémy Clapin,2008)

The style of this Oscar nominated French short film suits the stark quirkiness of the storyline very well. From the drab colour palette of muted greens and browns to the restrained use of ambient sound, there's an unsettling atmosphere throughout.

You quickly start to feel for the main character with his inconvenient situation. Set out in a style of animation that recalls paper cut outs and cardboard cutout backgrounds, there's a deliberate effort to make this look as though it's been hand-made. Some great attention to detail.

Richard Williams Documentary (1982)

A 1982 documentary on the Richard Williams Studio, Williams himself, his projects, and the painstaking process of animation. Featuring much interview footage of Richard Williams. Includes clips from The Thief and the Cobbler, his studio's commercials, A Christmas Carol, his shorts, and even Williams' jazz band.



The following pages have additional links to other Williams archived films and projects.

Richard Williams Studio Commercials

Anyone growing up in the 80's will be familiar with a lot of these. From the listing:

"A collection of many of the most famous of the commercials produced at 13 Soho Square in London. Includes a Diet Coke commercial filmed on the set of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, as well as commercials for Shell, Cresta, Tic Tacs, Sex Appeal, Fanta, the Pink Panther commercials for TDK and Owens-Corning, and many more!"

Reel 1


Reel 2


Link to more Richard Williams archived material.

Studio Links Added

Down on the right there, I've started a list of studios large and small. Any suggestions on additions are more than welcome!