I have got to see all but one of the Best Animated Short Oscar nominees for the 2026 Oscars and once again there are some real crackers in the list. There are links to where you may be able to find them (subject to change of course) within each review.
The nominees for Best Animated Short Oscar:
- Butterfly (France) by Florence Miailhe
- Forevergreen (U.S.) by Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears
- The Girl Who Cried Pearls (Canada) by Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski
- Retirement Plan (Ireland) by John Kelly
- The Three Sisters (Russia) by Konstantin Bronzit
Butterfly (5*).
Original title: Papillon.
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
An old man swimming in the sea recounts his life and its association with water.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This has not been rated by the BBFC, but based on the content (some racist language) I believe it would be classified as a 12A rating.).
Talent:
Directed by: Florence Miailhe
Written by: Marie Desplechin & Florence Miailhe
Running Time: 15m.
“Butterfly” Review:
As I started to watch this film, I was immediately struck by its artistry. Miailhe uses paint to brilliantly conjure up the movements of the man doing butterfly stroke through the ocean. But as we progress with the film we go from a whimsical ocean swim to the heart of darkness as the man remembers his past life.
For this brilliant animation tells the life of Alfred Nakache, a French Algerian Olympic swimmer who competed at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, survived being separated from his family at Auschwitz and went on to compete in the Olympics once again, this time in London in 1948. All of his experiences link back to water and swimming and the film beautifully segues from one scene to the other through the use of swirling oil paints.
An emotional stinger in the tail is that (if my ‘O’ Level French is still up to scratch) the director was taught to swim by Nakache’s own son: a scene which is kind of reproduced near the end of the film. Very sweet.
It’s simple beautiful, hard-hitting and (I think) a worthy winner of the Oscar.
Where to Watch it:
At the time of writing, the film is available to watch on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCsDnszbQRk .
Trailer for “Butterfly”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxzgHBFcZc4.
Forevergreen (3.5*)
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
A lost bear cub and a pine tree form an unlikely friendship which is put at risk due to the bear’s greed.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This is not rated by the BBFC, but would think it would be a PG.)
Talent:
Directed by: Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears.
Written by: Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears.
Running Time: 13m.
Review:
After the heavy duty drama of “Butterfly”, “Forevergreen” is much lighter fare and suitable for kids to watch, which is not a bad thing. The animation is cute if quite angular and there is a nice story woven into here of self-sacrifice and renewal that is quite touching.
The film also has a sweet music soundtrack by Isaac Wardell and Josh Garrels.
I don’t think this one is going to win the Oscar, but it is a charming and very watchable animated film.
Where to Watch it
At the time of writing, the film is available to watch on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4EPW7JUMTM.
Trailer for “Forevergreen”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKik4TkeUs4 .
The Girl Who Cried Pearls (4*)
Original title: La fille qui pleurait des perles.
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
An old man recounts a strange tale of his youth to his granddaughter. The tale of a girl who, like the biblical Eve cried pearls and helped him to make his fortune.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This is not rated by the BBFC, but would think it would be a 12A due to a brief scene of physical child abuse).
Talent:
Directed by: Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski.
Written by: Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski & Isabelle Mandalian.
Starring: James Hyndman, Jeanne Madore, Simone Paradis.
Running Time: 17m.
Review:
This Canadian stop-motion animation is impressive to watch…. the effort in modelling to create these sets is astonishing to me. I’m never a great fan of stop-motion animation, but the story behind this one is intriguing as it unwinds, leading to a surprising sting (literally) in the ending.
There is an interesting ‘making of’ film on Youtube here which is also worth watching.
Again, I don’t think this quite beats Butterfly for me, but I have to take my hat off to the artistry on show here.
Where to Watch it:
At the time of writing, the film is available to watch on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MTvV4bKX4w. (This is the French language version, but you can turn on auto-translate for the subtitles). It also seems to be available in a dubbed English version on Prime Video in some regions (but not it seems yet in the UK).
Trailer:
The trailer for “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRrAWHZLaD0 .
Retirement Plan (4*)
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
A man lists all of the things that he will do in his retirement.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This film is not rated on the BBFC but I think it would be a 12A for some adult themes.)
Talent:
Directed by: John Kelly.
Written by: John Kelly & Tara Lawall.
Starring: (Voice of) Domnhall Gleeson.
Running Time: 7m.
“Retirement Plan” Review:
How on earth do you compare chalk with cheese in this category?
This is probably the most broad and simplistic animation in the whole category, but what sets this short film apart is that it is genuinely funny with some nice Irish humour (as narrated by Taylor Swift’s best new friend, Domnhall Gleeson). The film is basically a man listing out all of the things that he will do during (and indeed for a short time after) his retirement. As someone who did retire from his day job over 5 years ago now and who DID have many of these ambitious goals, many of these observations made me laugh out loud (although, to be clear, I haven’t tried swinging… yet!).
It’s a lovely, well observed short and although I don’t expect this one will win, I did enjoy it very much!
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
The only place I could find this film to watch (at the time of writing) was on the New Yorker website here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mqa4zfJdx4, and then I needed to establish a VPN to the US in order to be able to watch it.
Trailer:
The teaser trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O660kFEm3kY.
The Three Sisters
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
TBC.
Plot Summary:
Three sisters living on an isolated island must rent out one of their houses.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (The film has not been rated by the BBFC.)
Talent:
Directed by: Konstantin Bronzit.
Written by: Konstantin Bronzit.
Running Time: 14m.
“The Three Sisters” Review:
Sadly, I’ve not yet been able to find a copy of this film to watch, so this will need to be a mystery. I’ve asked the director to send me a screener but have yet to hear back.
There’s an interesting backstory to this film’s entry, since the director – Academy member, the Russian Konstantin Bronzit – entered this film under a pseudonym and under a Cypriot-flag. So, I would guess, that purely on political grounds this entry will not be likely to win. But I am sight-unseen of it.
Where to Watch it
If you know, please let me have a link!
Trailer:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atyZl8vxTHQ .
Who Will Win and Who Should Win?
Once again the four animated films in the Best Animated Short Oscar category that I’ve seen are great and all very different from each other. But my choice purely on the grounds of artistry and how the story moved me has to be “Butterfly”.
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