Starting February 20, the 2026 Oscar-nominated Short Films will be available in theaters. This is the only opportunity for audiences to watch all of the short film nominees in theaters before the 98th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 15, 2024. Each nominee is released in one of three distinct feature-length compilations according to their category of nomination: Live Action, Animation, or Documentary.
Buy Odds & Ends: Rare Animated Shorts from the Thunderbean Archive Blu-ray
The Three Sisters (director Konstantin Bronzit; Israel, Cyprus, Russia; 14 min) – In this dialogue-free cartoon, the sisters are sole residents on an island. In need of money, they rent a house to a burly sailor, who disrupts their lives because of their attraction to him. It’s a very amusing story with a great conclusion.
Forevergreen (director Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears; USA; 13 min) – The relationship of an anthropomorphic tree and the young bear whose life it saves plays out like a parent and child. It’s a bit predictable and a little too cute but has a tender conclusion.
The Girl Who Cried Pearls (director Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski; Canada; 17 min) – Told mostly in a flashback, a man tells his granddaughter about a young girl he loved whose tears turned to pearls. Having very little, he sold the pearls to a pawn shop, but was conflicted about her sadness being his gain. Modern technology is so good I wasn’t certain if I was watching CGI or stop motion. The short tells a good story about the importance of stories and other morals.
Butterfly (director Florence Miailhe; France; 15 min) – Inspired by the life Jewish French Olympic swimmer Alfred Nakache, the plot offers a wide range of events and emotions. The frames are hand-painted oil/pastel on glass and bring to mind the work of the Impressionists, the 19th-century Parisian art movement.
Retirement Plan (director John Kelly; Ireland; 7 min) – Ray (Domhnall Gleeson) ruminates on all the things he is going to do with his life when he retires. It’s quite an amusing and impressive list of activities but since no one knows what time they have, it might not get to all of them, even if he starts now, although why he is waiting isn’t clear.
If I was an Oscar voter, I would select Butterfly as the art and animation are exquisite, and the story told very moving.
This program is rounded out with Éiru from Cartoon Saloon, the animation studio behind Wolfwalkers. Éiru is a young girl, training to be a warrior like the Chieftain of her clan, which battles two others. No one takes her seriously, in part due to her size. When water from their well has been taken, she volunteers. Being the only one small enough to pass through the well, she is lowered into it. Once inside, a lesson is revealed, which hopefully all will learn.
