This year's crop of Oscar-nominated animated shorts is unusual. In the past, normally there are 2 or 3 films which are exceptional and I would be happy seeing any of them win. This year, however, "Get a Horse!" is so superior that I would be incredibly shocked if it did not win. Now I normally prefer shorts from small film companies--as I want to encourage the non-corporate players and an Oscar is a great way to do it. But Disney simply outdid itself and the rest just pale in comparison.
In addition to the nominees, the show also included a few so-called 'commended films'--excellent films that did not receive nominations. Oddly, this year's crop of three commended shorts were better than several of the actual nominees! "The Missing Scarf" is narrated by George Takei (yes, THAT George Takei). It's a very simple story that sounds like it's out of a children's book and the animation style is unusual but not the type you'd normally see nominated. I liked the animation but it was very minimalistic. So why did I like it? Well, the surreal and bizarro ending made me laugh--and with so few actually funny nominees this year, it was like a breath of fresh air. Well worth seeing--and I won't say more about the ending!