2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films Animated             4½ stars

Yuck!     France

This stylistically simple animated short tells what happens when we let peer pressure force us to conform to other’s expectations. It can deny us the happiness that we desire. We observe a group of children exploring the family campground where they are staying. The children like to spy on adults of all ages and when they spot a couple engaged in kissing, they yell in disgust, point at them saying Yuck! Only in this world when people are thinking of kissing their lips glow with sparkling pink, so we get a clue of what’s coming. One of the children, Leo, finds himself thinking about another child, Lucie, and is embarrassed when his own lips start to sparkle. Lucie must be thinking the same thing, because she experiences the sparkling lips as well. Leo hides in shame when the other kids spot them and make fun of Leo, realizing that this is unacceptable behavior to his peers. However, when he is inside the tent at night, he can spot the glow coming from his own parents, then when he peers outside, he can see that all of the tents in the campground have the same pink glow; thus, revealing that what he is feeling is neither unusual nor shameful. So, he might just find the courage to act on his feelings, realizing that the taunts of others are just an act of hypocrisy.

Wander to Wonder         Netherlands/Belgium/France/UK

A much different style and darker tone are featured in the shop motion animated short Wander to Wonder. In this extremely detailed piece, we meet Uncle Gilly, a children’s TV show host who has created an animated show in eighties style using a video camera and VHS tapes. His show features three animated characters who look like fuzzy bear puppets whose antics are suitable for children. Gilly has conversations with them while filming them for broadcast. Later, we see the shoes of Uncle Gilly still on his feet suggesting that he has passed away. The three characters live on and are left to fend for themselves in the decaying studio that now has flies accumulating around Gilly’s body. We see that the fuzzy characters are actually tiny humans in costumes, and they now have to find ways of surviving as they look for scraps of food in the confines of the studio. Left unsupervised, they descend into depravity and lose any sense of decency. They experiment with schemes to escape their situation that could lead to their demise. The film is a bold statement that reminds one of Lord of the Flies. The animation is impeccable and remarkably realistic.