The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Animated

Time is a common theme across all five Oscar-nominated short films in the animated category this year. Whether it be the struggles of growing up, the perils of present, past and future, or the distinct aching of memory, the five films honored in this category forge a connection that universally bonds us all: The clock never stops.

In "Borrowed Time," a gorgeously animated, yet thematically grasping, exploration of grief, loss and memory, we encounter an aging sheriff in the Old West as he laments at the location of his life's most tragic memory. A pocket watch plays a major role in both the film's allegory and straightforward plot, yet the movie never quite achieves the emotional gut-punch to which I presume it is aspiring. It's nonetheless a fine short film, but in a strong animation category it ironically stands out as being the most forgettable of the five.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is "Pearl," an achingly earnest and magnificent five-and-a-half minute short that has already cemented itself into my lasting memory. It's the shortest of the five films and yet the strongest, bursting with an individual animation style and a theme that's destined to touch many. From childhood to adulthood, we see the journey of a father, daughter and the beloved hatchback in which they not only drive around the country, but also what was once their home. The film fits what seems like a lifetime into its neat and orchestrated minutes, set to a lovely song that carries more and more meaning as the film progresses. It feels like a time-obsessed Richard Linklater film, like "Boyhood" or the "Before" Trilogy, albeit smaller and shorter in scale (even the animation carries visual dashes of the filmmaker's "Waking Life"). The wonderfulness of "Pearl" can't be stressed more.

"Blind Vaysha" is another strong entry, following a title character who is deemed blind because she has one eye that can only see the past, another that can only see the future. Therefore, the present never exists. It reminded me of a favorite quote of mine, by the Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu, "If you are depressed, you are living in the past.�If you are anxious, you are living in the future.�If you are at peace, you are living in the present." The empathy of "Blind Vaysha" inventively, yet honestly, captures the painful essence of what it feels like to not be at peace, especially when the struggles of anxiety and depression combine.

"Blind Vaysha" is the most uniquely animated of the five films, followed closely by "Pear Cider and Cigarettes," the collection's longest film by far at 34 minutes. The film mixes anime aesthetics with sharp, vibrant, comic-book style graphics, set to a noir-style narration throughout. Our narrator tells the story of his troubled friendship with a man named Techno, from an unexpected childhood connection to the nightmares of alcoholism that plagued most of Techno's adult life. It's an extremely R-rated adult tale (which will be shown last in the program, so kids can appropriately be shuffled out of the theater), and its thematic roots are incredibly profound. Told in a style that feels straight out of an action movie or neo-noir interlude, the tone may be a bit hard for some to cope with for longer than a half hour. For myself, cut this film down to 20 minutes and I'd probably consider it a masterpiece. At 34 minutes, I still find it impressively executed, yet it overstays its welcome in only the slightest of manners.

From troubled adulthood to the innocence of youth, Pixar's "Piper" is the fifth and final nominated film, about an adorable sandpiper hatchling leaving her nest for the first time. Like most years, this Pixar entry played before the studio's major release of that year (this year was "Finding Dory"), so mainstream audiences are most familiar with this one. On a second viewing, it's still cute as a button, but it fails to hold a candle to the more reflective natures of the other four.