Oscar Nominated Shorts- Animatoin

Saw the Oscar Nominated Shorts- Animation tonight. There were maybe 6 shorts, ranging from 6 minutes to 30 minutes (almost all were under 10). The first was called French Roast, in it a stereotypical Frenchman drinks coffee at a cafe. He refuses a beggar's hand and discovers he's lost his wallet, so he keeps on ordering coffee to delay having to pay. An old woman comes in and gives the beggar a lot of money and the Frenchman contemplates pickpocketing her. Chaos ensues. This was really just a silly story. Very fun.

The second short was really really good. It was from Spain and produced in part by Anotonio Banderas. An old woman gets into a tug of war between the grim reaper and an E.R. doctor. Death becomes so frustrated that the lady keeps on coming back to life via AED's that he chases her through the hospital.

I think the next one was Wallace and Gromit: Between Loaf and Death or something like that. It was 30 minutes long and developed a real plot. I didn't think it had quite the originality of the Wallace and Gromit movies Sophie and I watched at Nana and Papa's house, but that's nostalgia for you.

An American short by Disney-Pixar starring a sultry cloud and his loyal stork friend was pretty fun, and in the words of the woman behind me "very kid friendly."

A Canadian short was rather silly and probably my least favorite, it was placed on disfunctional train packed with aristocrats and lunatics.

I forgot to mention a German short called Old Grimmy's tales or something like that. This was the funniest because it was spot on with its humor. A grandma tells her terrified grandson her version of Sleeping Beauty, starring her, the elderly, decrepit fairy with a knee problem.

last short was interesting, called "Logorama." It was an adult-oriented thing (think South Park except way drier) and there were hundreds of references to brand names. For instance, the main characters were some Michelin men (cops). The landscape, the cars, the pedestrians, all the houses, everything was a culture reference. This movie was French, and most of the brands were American-- is that a jab?

This is the kind of thing that makes Cornell Cinema really really worthwhile. Unfortunately, students composed a minority of the audience. So while we each pay a certain amount for Cornell Cinema, I don't think that's the problem; we simply aren't taking advantage of it. I mean, everyone pays for Running Club, Photo Society and every other club (though much less for each of those than Cornell Cinema). This showing, along with the other Oscar Nominated Shorts- Live Action, the Andy Warhol thing, The Quay Brothers, guest speakers, Black Maria film fest... those are the things that people really miss out on! You could see Inglorious Basterds or even Exploding Girl or City of God pretty much anywhere (and you can always download that stuff and watch it on your computer or on a projector), but these unique festivals and guest speakers are truly special, and are not things you can see just anywhere. I don't think we need to reduce Cornell's student funding, but it should be a priority to make the whole thing sustainable. To do that, I think better advertising is needed.