The Envelope Please

I am going out on a short limb here with my prediction for tonight's Oscar winner of animation short. Last year my prediction of Shaun Tan's The Lost Thing, won this category rightly so, as it clearly stood out from the pack. Last week I watched all of this years' nominees for animated shorts and I feel there is another film short which really is a knockout: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, created by William Joyce and crew at Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, LA. Mr. Lessmore is a story about books and our hold on them, but this is not the entire reason it is my first choice. It is also the story which inspired their story and the production which went into making it.  
      I am so impressed with the work of all of these animators and the importance of the stories they tell. For years now I have been watching the work of Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis of Montreal. Their fabulous short Wild Life—also an Oscar nominee—is a very strong contender, but their storyline is not as moving as Mr. Lessmore. Twice this past year I have posted about the fantastic Mr. Lessmore and this may not be the last. I won't go on, but you can watch trailers of all tonites' contenders and judge for yourself. I'm just sayin'.

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Post-Oscar-Script:
Well this is a very sweet ending to a tale inspired in equal parts by Hurricane Katrina, The Wizard of Oz, Buster Keaton and the redemptive powers of storytelling. Mr. Dumpty will now have even more reason to smile when he shares a bookshelf with Mr. Oscar. ;)