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Oscar Nominated Shorts
🕑 Added 2023-05-06 20:24:05 +0000 UTCI have a friend who each year, takes it upon himself to watch the oscar nominated shorts, both animated and non, before the Academy Awards. He's not interested in the Academy Awards per se, however he likes to support short films. I watched a few of them that he recommended. Le Pupille was my favorite that I saw. It's everything you could want in a short film, in my opinion. Wonderful style to it.
But the one that intrigued me the most was the winner for the animated category, "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse," because my friend hated it with intensity. Seemed like a fairly harmless little story to me. So I was very curious why he had such a strong reaction to it. After watching it with him....my eyes are now wide open haha. Wow...that short really got under my skin as well. I cringed, I laughed out of embarrassment, was nauseated by the schmaltz, insulted by the the spottiness of its so-called "message." I can see the potential for a good short with this style of animation. But this...this is not it. Felt like watching Winnie the Pooh adventures dumbed down for a sensitive generation...and therefore our motivational speeches have no basis for existence really within the narrative. Was like we took motivational quotes, and tried to string some resemblance of a narrative to it. No work has to be done for our characters, no testing of ones boundaries. So long as you love yourself you'll be alright, I guess? And thus magical realism can just exist with no explanation, and happy endings can just exist, "so long as you believe in yourself." lol....was very lame to me. The moment the horse said he could fly I yelled out "THEY FLY NOW???" XD XD XD (Though admittedly Rise of Skywalker was far worse of an experience)
If this is supposed to pander to kids, or just anyone...I feel people deserve better. Have any of you seen it? If so, were you as opposed to it as my friend and I? And how does something like this win?
Comments
Deepfocuslens
ah I see.
kron
I guess I didn’t know know that it would win, but it was generally favorited to win and the only short that was widely campaigned for and on a major platform (Apple TV+)
Tyler Shobe
No, this is the only one produced by Apple and is only available on Apple TV+.
Deepfocuslens
Ah...good point. JJ does have power lol.
Deepfocuslens
But aren't all the shorts backed by apple, and all available there? I really don't know. But yeah more than that, I think these "moral lessons" are actually detrimental here. It sends the wrong message to kids, and that's what really bugs me. I suppose the intent is noble, but its execution is offensive, especially to kids I think
Deepfocuslens
Haha, yes. I was told that by an ex boyfriend.
Deepfocuslens
How did you know it would win? Hunch? (my friend felt the same)
Deepfocuslens
XD....thank you for saving it. Seriously. The writers desperately needed you. But yes....you do nail it for sure. This is not a film I would want to show my kids lol. It sends the wrong message in life.
Bennett Oliver
“And so the boy decided not to go to the village, with its ample warmth and security, to stay with his new friends and look up at the stars. Ignorant of the fact that he wasn’t dressed properly for the subzero temperatures at night, the boy froze to death before the sun came up. The horse was sorrowful about the loss of his friend, but then remembered the wonderful wings the plot had magically given him in order to skip to the end of the tale. And so he took flight and headed south where there was no cold weather of which to die from. The mole despaired at the sudden loss of his new friends and embraced the fox with great affection and need, saying that, now more than ever, we should love and appreciate one another no matter what we are and, more importantly, indeed for what we are. The fox took his words to heart and promptly ate the mole. And so life in the wild went on, devoid of any lessons from Hallmark cards of which to apply in futility to its savage nature.” There, fixed the ending. But for reals, that was vapid, saccharine nonsense. And it won the Oscar because it contains the sort of maddeningly simplified, overbearingly positive message the Academy wishes to associate with its brand. That and because Apple has the deep pockets to fund a strong campaign.
Wolfman Brandon
Sounds like something out of a bad 90s kids film.
Ross Skilton
Yeah I saw it last Christmas, I only watched it cause it has a similar animation style to The Snowman (1982) which gets played on UK TV every Christmas. However, unlike The Snowman which does have a magic quality about it I found The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse to be rather vacuous and missing that magical quality. I noticed in the credits that JJ Abrams was involved so that's prob how it won.
Tyler Shobe
Yup, absolutely awful. And it's not even saved by some impressive animation or anything. But of course everyone knows the best way to teach kids morals or life lessons is to just talk at them for a half hour with no other significant stimulus? It's based on a book that I think is fairly beloved but u don't even see how this works any better as a book. Just worthless and it only won cause of the Apple backing? Did you get a chance to watch any of last year's animated nominees? I really enjoyed My Year of Dicks and Ice Merchants and was disappointed but not surprised they didn't win last year.
Ken
This is unrelated, but yesterday I bought the debut album of Lights called “The Listening”. I looked at the back cover and had to do a double take because she looks just like you. Has anyone ever told you you look like her?
kron
YES THIS SHORT WAS TRASH. I hated it so so much and the worst part is that I knew it was going to win. Ice Merchants was way better and easily should have beaten this crap. Freaking Oscars and the stupid campaigns that allow shorts like this to win. Bullshit. I’m still mad about it too.
