The Great Oscar Baiter

Quite by accident, we at The Great Oscar Baiter have dedicated the last few posts to films produced by the National Film Board of Canada. That’s to be expected, really. As we’ve said before, the NFBC produced a wide variety of shorts across the years, a great deal of which received Oscar nominations. Today’s short, Les Drew and Kaj Pindal’s What on Earth! comes to us from the grand old year of 1967. And for better or for worse, it’s definitely a 60s cartoon! (via TV Tropes) What on Earth takes the form of a fake documentary commissioned by the National Film Board of Mars, which tells its audience of a startling discovery- there is life on Earth! Already we're off to a fine start, but this film has a bit of twist; the Martian scientists are under the impression that the dominant life form on Earth aren't human beings, but cars. It's a cute idea, and it makes for a cute short. Admittedly, What on Earth! is more clever than funny, and the premise is a little thin to sustai...

In the annals of Oscar History, the 72nd Academy Awards will not go down as one of the Academy’s finest hours. American Beauty’ s Best Picture win will only age worse with time, while the snub of more interesting (or at least far more influential) films such as Being John Malkovich, The Matrix and Fight Club will leave future viewers scratching their heads in confusion. Add to that other films largely ignored in the major categories, such as Julie Taymor’s Titus, Mike Leigh’s Topsy-Turvy or Pixar’s superb sequel Toy Story, not to mention completely snubbed classics like The Iron Giant and my beloved Galaxy Quest, and you’ve got an Academy Awards ceremony that’s a mixed bag at best. But there is one category, at least, which stands out above the rest. That year’s slate for Best Animated Short, with one major exception, very well might be the best group of nominees in the history of the category. And Torill Kove’s My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts is definitely not that exce...

Much like propaganda films, documentaries can occasionally be tricky to review. After all, if a film’s primary purpose is to inform, should how well it does that be the primary criterion by which to judge it? I would say no. After all, documentaries are an art form, and there’s more to gauge them by than just how educational they are. At least I hope so, otherwise I’m probably being a little unfair to Cynthia Scott’s Flamenco at 5:15. (via IMDb) Another production by the National Film Board of Canada, Flamenco at 5:15 covers a group of ballet students taking flamenco classes as part of their senior year. If you want to watch a movie about people learning to flamenco dance, you're going to be in for a good time. If you're looking for a little something more... well, you're out of luck. I don't know. There's nothing particularly wrong with this film- it's educational, watching people dance is fun, and there's some decent cinematography throughout. So as an ed...

With cartoon characters, there’s a fine line between annoying and endearing, and that line becomes especially fine when the characters are supposed to be cute. Chip and Dale tend to sit pretty firmly on that line. But there are ways to make cute characters more likable, and one proven method is to have them engage in acts of cartoon violence. And when all out fails, pit them against Donald Duck, as demonstrated by the 1947 short Chip an’ Dale. (via Wikipedia) Once again directed by Jack Hannah (who, thanks to the Academy's early rules about nominating short categories, was never nominated for an Oscar himself; the Academy should have at least given him an honorary award), Chip an' Dale is the first short in which the titular chipmunks have distinct personalities. Other than that, there's not much of a difference between this short and the earlier Squatter's Rights- Chip and Dale encounter a beloved Disney character in a winter cabin, said Disney character tries to sta...

The 91st Academy Awards were interesting to say the least. Some of the wins were exciting and cool; others, not so much. But of course the one that stood out the most to everyone was Green Book’ s controversial Best Picture win. Now is Green Book the WORST film to win Best Picture? I don’t think so. But it is one of the most infuriating. Considering the fact that 2018 also saw the release of films like Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman and If Beale Street Could Talk, Green Book wasn’t even the best film about racism of 2018, let alone best film over all. And that holds true even in the shorts categories, as can be seen with Ed Perkins’ documentary, Black Sheep. (via Wikipedia) The documentary is a very versatile genre, with films appearing in a wide variety of forms. Black Sheep takes the form of an interview with Cornelius Walker, with reenactments showing the events he describes. Walker talks about his life in a small town after his Nigerian mother insisted on moving from London afte...

While Goofy may not be as undeniably great as Donald Duck or as simply iconic as Mickey Mouse, he has still more than earned his status as a Disney legend. And while unfortunately A Goofy Movie was not nominated for any Oscars (despite the fact that “I2I” and “Stand Out” were far more deserving of a Best Song nomination than that year’s winner, “Colors of the Wind”), he still managed to have two shorts nominated for Oscar gold. And while today’s film, 1961’s Aquamania , may not be the best of Disney shorts, it’s still pretty entertaining in its own right. (via Pinterest) Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, who would go on to direct several Disney films such as The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book and Robin Hood, Aquamania more or less perfectly encapsulates the 60s Disney aesthetic. After the 1950s produced a series of artistically beautiful but not remotely cost effective films and shorts, efforts were made in the 1960s to keep costs down. Most notably was the use of "xerograp...

It’s finally come to this. After nearly three months of looking at short films from across Oscar history, it’s time to face my sworn enemy head on. Oh sure, I’ve taken a few pot shots at him from time to time. My feelings towards the man are certainly no secret. But never before have I confronted him directly. But that ends today. Today, dear readers, The Great Oscar Baiter is taking a look at the 1954 short Sandy Claws. Today, we’re talking about Tweety Bird. (via Listal) Directed by animation legend Friz Freleng, Sandy Claws is one in a long series of shorts pitting Sylvester (who is funny) against Tweety (who is not). These shorts are all variations on the same basic cat-and-mouse formula (or, in this case, cat-and-bird). Sylvester and Tweety always struck me as the poor man's Coyote and Road Runner, who were already the poor man's Tom and Jerry. And Sandy Claws does nothing to change my mind on that. (via TV Tropes) I suppose, as far as Tweety shorts go, there's not...

In recent years, Pixar has been making a slow but concerted effort to bring in more diverse voices behind the scenes. While it is undeniable that Pixar has achieved a level of critical and commercial success that would be the envy of most studios, it’s not wrong to point out that the vast majority of their work has been the brainchild of a bunch of straight white guys. Still, Pixar is trying to move in the right direction with both their features and their shorts. And it arguably all began in 2015 with Sanjay Patel’s Sanjay’s Super Team. (via Wikipedia) Released in theaters alongside The Good Dinosaur, a film I'm sure most of you forgot existed until right now, Sanjay's Super Team is based on Patel's own experiences growing up as a first generation American. It tells the story of a young boy and his father struggling to connect, with the father wanting his son to be interested in their tradition while Sanjay only cares about superheroes. So not at all relatable to contemp...

Although they may not have had as much Oscar success as the Germans, the Spanish people have nevertheless had a respectable presence at the Academy Awards. From the works of Luis Buñuel to the award-winning performances of Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, Spain has done pretty well for itself over the years. And that success extends to the short categories as well, such as Nacho Vigalondo’s 7:35 in the Morning. (via Wikipedia) Vigalondo is probably best known in the United States for directing a segment in indie horror anthology The ABCs of Death and Colossal, that Anne Hathaway movie I keep meaning to watch but never get around to. My own experience with the director comes from his work on the "Pooka!" episode of Hulu's Into the Dark, which was one of that show's better episodes. It's fairly clear that Vigalondo is a man with a dark, dry sense of humor, which is something that definitely comes across in this short, which you can watch here on Vimeo. Like many...

Some films have titles whose meanings are cryptic and vague, only understandable if you’ve seen the movie or have delved into its themes. Geoffrey Jones’ Snow is definitely not one of those movies. Released in 1963 to document British railway workers handling the UK’s Big Freeze, Snow is definitely one of those movies where the title pretty aptly sums up what you’re in for. (via Wikipedia) Despite being a documentary, Snow was nominated in the category for Best Live Action Short Film, which is pretty fitting. Unlike most documentaries, Snow does not really seek to educate its audience. It doesn't even set out to tell a story. And while there is a bit of a message in there, contrasting the comfortable conditions of the railway passengers to the hard work necessary to keep it that way, Snow functions more like an experimental film than anything else. It's not something you necessarily need to understand, just vibe with. (Be warned that the video below contains some strobe-li...

Ask any cinephile what the best decade for filmmaking was, and there’s a very good chance they’ll answer with the 1970s. And it’s not very hard to see why. The era of New Hollywood resulted in an unprecedented amount of creative freedom from studio projects, resulting in such classic films as The Godfather, Chinatown and Star Wars. But of course, just because great films were being released in those days doesn’t change the fact that they made a lot of crap, too. It’s just that the crap doesn’t get remembered. Case in point- the 1971 animated short, The Legend of John Henry. (via Film Affinity) Directed by Sam Weiss, The Legend of John Henry is not the first animated short to be made about its titular folk hero; it's not even the first to be nominated for an Oscar! But it is definitely the most 70s, for better or for (mostly) worse. Set to an original song performed by Roberta Flack, The Legend of John Henry uses limited animation and a funky beat to tell one of America's m...