While Disney Animation Studios’ newest feature film Wreck-It Ralph has been delighting audiences and taking in record numbers at the box office, perhaps one of the biggest treats of seeing the film in theaters is the opportunity to see the short film before it, Paperman. This week, Paperman came one step closer to an Academy Award nomination, as the film made the “short list” of the top 10 Animated Short Films to be considered for an Oscar.
Paperman, directed by John Kahrs, tells the story of two strangers who find each other in New York City, thanks to a little help from some paper airplanes. This silent and simplistic, yet completely magical, black-and-white short was created using a brand-new animation technique, which layers hand-drawn animation on top of computer generated images, combining both major forms of animation at the same time.
The film, along with nine other animated short films, was selected from a group of 56 films for the short list for the Academy Awards nomination. From there, three to five of the films will be officially nominated for the award for Best Animated Short Film. Here are the other films that made the short list:
- “Adam and Dog,” Minkyu Lee, director (Lodge Films)
- “Combustible,” Katsuhiro Otomo, director (Sunrise Inc.)
- “Dripped,” Leo Verrier, director (ChezEddy)
- “The Eagleman Stag,” Mikey Please, director, and Benedict Please, music scores and sound design (Royal College of Art)
- “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Raul Garcia, director, and Stephan Roelants, producer (Melusine Productions, R&R Communications Inc., Les Armateurs, The Big Farm)
- “Fresh Guacamole,” PES, director (PES)
- “Head over Heels,” Timothy Reckart, director, and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, producer (National Film and Television School)
- “Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare,’ ” David Silverman, director (Gracie Films)
- “Tram,” Michaela Pavlatova, director, and Ron Dyens, producer (Sacrebleu Productions)
The nominations for the 2013 Academy Awards will be announced on January 10, 2013. The 85th Annual Academy Awards will take place on February 24.
