Dan Lancellotti
Arts & Culture Editor

hero719_oscar-experience-logoOn February 13th at five p.m. the Ware Center Film Series showed the five animated shorts nominated for best picture. All five were diverse and evoked different emotions and they were all silent. They used the animation and music to tell their stories. Here is my ranking of the films from worst to best.

5. Fresh Guacamole
This is a well-done stop motion movie that is about two minutes long. Someone is making guacamole and instead of the normal ingredients the items turn into dice, and there is a pool ball in the avocado. It is neat to watch how different foods turn into items. The movie is clever and fun but there is not much meaning in it like there are with other animated films.

4. Head Over Heels
An old couple live in a flying house in the sky. The house rotates so one member of the couple lives on the floor while the other lives on the ceiling due to the gravity changes. They have stopped talking with one another as they go about their daily routines in their house. The short is boring, but the end is sweet.

3. Maggie Simpson: The Longest Daycare
This is a fun short that shows the Simpson baby’s time at daycare. When the baby with one eyebrow, Maggie’s nemesis, starts killing butterflies Maggie makes it her mission to save her butterfly friend. The one eyebrow baby chases Maggie through the daycare and all its obstacles.

2. Adam and Dog
The animation is simply done, but the environments are beautiful. A dog wakes up in the woods and runs around looking for companionship. He meets a man, Adam, and the two become fast friends. What happens next is a little unnerving, but well worth a watch even though the short is around 15 minutes.

1. Paperman
A man and a woman are waiting for the train. One of his papers blows into her face and leaves a lipstick mark on it. She quickly leaves on her train before he can talk to her. He spends the rest of the short trying to find her and get her attention. What makes this the best is just how fun, clever, and whimsical the short is. It is probably the favorite to win Best Animated Short at the Academy Awards.