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Media Notes / Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film

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The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an Academy Award, first presented at the fifth Oscar ceremony. To qualify, a short must be animated and under 40 minutes in runtime.

For the first thirty years or so, it was awarded to the best cartoon shorts subjects released by the major Hollywood studios, which routinely made cartoon shorts to accompany their features in theaters. However, as those types of shorts were phased out due to the rise of television, the award started being won mainly by foreign and independent projects. Today, it's a mix of studio and independent fare. Every year after the nominations are announced, the ShortsHD cable channel, in conjunction with Magnolia Pictures, release the nominated shorts in selected theaters all around the world until just before the Oscar telecast, after which they are released onto VOD and iTunes.

Here are some fun facts about the award:

  • Disney's Silly Symphonies and MGM's Tom and Jerry are tied for the most-honored cartoon series, winning seven each. Tom and Jerry got nominations for thirteen years in a row, from 1940 to 1952.
  • Some controversy erupted due to the nomination, and eventual victory, of Richard Williams' adaptation of A Christmas Carol due to it making its debut as a TV special and only premiering in cinemas at a later date. In response, the Academy updated the rules to state that, for a short to qualify, it has to initially be shown in theaters.
  • Moonbird by Faith and John Hubley was the first independent animation to win Best Animated Short, and Charade the only animated student film to take home the award.
  • The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is the longest film to have won the award, at 34 minutes. Pear Cider and Cigarettes is the longest film to be nominated for it, at 34 minutes and 59 seconds.
  • The Crunch Bird is the shortest film to win an Oscar, at 2 minutes and 32 seconds. Fresh Guacamole is the shortest film to be nominated for an Oscar, clocking at 1 minute and 40 seconds.
  • The Crunch Bird is also the first from a US state outside of New York or California to win the award, being made in Michigan. Closed Mondays, from Oregon, and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, from Louisiana, also went on to win the award.
  • The National Film Board of Canada received six awards, the most honors for an international studio. Aardman Animations is the most-honored British studio in the category, with three.
  • Ersatz (aka The Substitute) by Yugoslovian studio Zagreb was the first foreign film to win this category, in 1961. A Place in the Sun, from Czechoslovakia, was first to be nominated the year prior, but lost to Munro (which was made in Czechoslovakia, but by an American team). La Maison en Petits Cubes was the first anime short to capture the trophy, in 2008, and Bear Story, from Chile, was the first Latin American animation to win, in 2015.
  • 1956 marked the only time that all the nominees were from a single studio, all three being by United Productions of America. Not only that, but UPA co-founder Stephen Bosustow was nominated for all three shorts, the only time an individual received all the nominations in one category. 1938 was the year with the most nominees by a single studio, with four of the five nominees being by Disney.

    open/close all folders 

    1930s 

    1940s 

    1950s 

    1960s 

    1970s 

    1980s 

    1990s 
  • 1990 — Creature Comforts
    Producer: Sara Mullock
    Director: Nick Park
    Producer: Bob Copeland
    Director: Nick Park
    Producer: Bruno Bozzetto
    Director: Bruno Bozzetto
  • 1991 — Manipulation
    Producer: Daniel Greaves
    Director: Daniel Greaves
    Producer: William Pettigrew
    Director: Christopher Hinton
    Producer: David Verrall
    Director: Wendy Tilby
  • 1992 — Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase
    Producer: Joan C. Gratz
    Director: Joan C. Gratz
    Producer: Christopher Moll
    Director: Peter Lord
    Producers: Colin Batty, Paul Berry and Ian Mackinnon
    Director: Paul Berry
    Producer: Glenn Holberton
    Director: Barry Purves
    Director: Michaela Pavlatova
  • 1993 — The Wrong Trousers
    Producer: Christopher Moll
    Director: Nick Park
    Producers: Elaine Donelly and Stephen Palmer
    Director: Stephen Palmer
    • The Mighty River
    Producers: Frédéric Back and Hubert Tison
    Director: Frédéric Back
    Producer: Michael Hayes
    Director: Bob Godfrey
    Producer: Pam Dennis
    Director: Mark Baker
  • 1994 — Bob's Birthday
    Producers: David Fine, Alison Snowden and David Verrall
    Directors: David Fine and Alison Snowden
    Producers: David Stoten and Tim Watts
    Directors: David Stoten and Tim Watts
    Producer: Vanessa Schwartz
    Director: Vanessa Schwartz
    Producers: Patrick Eveno and Jacques-Remy Girerd
    Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
    Producer: Lee Stork
    Director: Erica Russell
  • 1995 — A Close Shave
    Producers: Michael Rose and Carla Shelley
    Director: Nick Park
    Producer: John R. Dilworth
    Director: John R. Dilworth
    Producers: Robin Barger and Chris Landreth
    Director: Chris Landreth
    Producers: Anatoly Prokhorov and Alexander Tatarsky
    Director: Alexey Chartidi
    Producer: Ron Tipp
    Director: Chris Bailey
  • 1996 — Quest
    Producer: Thomas Stellmach
    Director: Tyron Montgomery
    Director: Timothy Hittle
    Producers: Richard Condie and Ches Yetman
    Director: Richard Condie
    Producers: Jo Allen and Michael Rose
    Director: Peter Lord
  • 1997 — Geri's Game
    Producer: Karen Dufilho
    Director: Jan Pinkava
    Producers: John Coates and Catrin Unwin
    Director: Joanna Quinn
    Producers: Aleksandr Petrov and Dmitry Yurkov
    Director: Aleksandr Petrov
    Director: Sylvain Chomet
    Producer: Steve Moore
    Director: Steve Moore
  • 1998 — Bunny
    Producer: Nina Rappaport
    Director: Chris Wedge
    Director: Jonathan Myerson
    • Jolly Roger
    Producer: Claire Jennings
    Director: Mark Baker
    Producer: Steve Kalafer
    Director: Mark Osborne
    • When Life Departs
    Producer: Anders Mastrup
    Directors: Stefan Fjeldmark and Karsten Kiilerich
  • 1999 — The Old Man and the Sea
    Producer: Tatsuo Shimamura
    Director: Aleksandr Petrov
    Producer: Nico Crama
    Director: Paul Driessen
    • Humdrum
    Producers: Michael Rose and Carla Shelley
    Director: Peter Peake
    Producers: Marcy Page and Lars Tommerbakke
    Director: Torill Kove
    Producer: David Verrall
    Directors: Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

    2000s 
  • 2000 — Father and Daughter
    Producers: Claire Jennings and Willem Thijssen
    Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
    Producer: Annatte Schaffler
    Director: Steffen Schaffler
    Producer: Don Hertzfeldt
    Director: Don Hertzfeldt
  • 2001 — For the Birds
    Producer: Karen Dufilho
    Director: Ralph Eggleston
    Producer: Seamus Byrne
    Director: Ruairi Robinson
    Producers: Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O'Connell
    Director: Cathal Gaffney
    Producers: Cordell Barker and Jennifer Torrance
    Director: Cordell Barker
    • Stubble Trouble
    Director: Joseph E. Merideth
  • 2002 — The ChubbChubbs!
    Producer: Jacquie Barnbrook
    Director: Eric Armstrong
    Producers: Jarek Sawko and Piotr Sikora
    Director: Tomasz Baginski
    Producer: Gale Gortney
    Directors: Pete Docter and Roger Gould
    Director: Koji Yamamura
    Producer: Georg Gruber
    Directors: Chris Stenner, Arvid Uibel and Heidi Wittlinger
  • 2003 — Harvie Krumpet
    Producer: Melanie Coombs
    Director: Adam Elliot
    Producer: Osnat Shurer
    Director: Bud Luckey
    • Destino
    Producer: Baker Bloodworth
    Director: Dominique Monfery
    • Gone Nutty
    Producer: John C. Donkin
    Director: Carlos Saldanha
    • Nibbles
    Producer: Ron Diamond
    Director: Chris Hinton
  • 2004 — Ryan
    Producers: Steven Hoban, Marcy Page and Mark Smith
    Director: Chris Lendreth
    • Birthday Boy
    Producer: Andrew Gregory
    Director: Sejong Park
    • Gopher Broke
    Producer: Al Shier
    Director: Jeff Fowler
    Producer: Bill Plympton
    Director: Bill Plympton
    Producer: Baker Bloodworth
    Director: Mike Gabriel
  • 2005 — The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
    Producers: John Canemaker and Peggy Stern
    Director: John Canemaker
    Director: Shane Acker
    • Badgered
    Producer: Jamie Wolpert
    Director: Sharon Colman
    Producers: Anthony Lucas and Julia Lucas
    Director: Anthony Licas
    Producer: Osnat Shurer
    Directors: Mark Andrews and Andrew Jiminez
  • 2006 — The Danish Poet
    Producers: Lise Fearnley and Marcy Page
    Director: Torill Kove
    Producer: Katherine Sarafian
    Director: Gary Rydstrom
    Producer: Don Hahn
    Director: Roger Allers
    Producers: Geza M. Toth and Eva M. Toth
    Director: Geza M. Toth
    • No Time for Nuts
    Producers: John C. Donkin and Lori Forte
    Directors: Chris Renaud and Mike Thurmeier
  • 2007 — Peter & the Wolf
    Producers: Alan Dewhurst and High Welchman
    Director: Suzie Templeton
    • Even Pigeons Go to Heaven
    Producer: Pierre Buffin
    Director: Samuel Tourneux
    • I Met the Walrus
    Producer: Jerry Levitan
    Director: Josh Raskin
    Producer: Marcy Page
    Directors: Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
    Producers: Konstantin Ernst and Dmitry Yurkov
    Director: Aleksandr Petrov
  • 2008 — La Maison en Petits Cubes
    Producers: Masanori Kusakabe and Yuko Shin
    Director: Kunio Kato
    Producers: Aleksandr Boyarskiy and Sergey Selyanov
    Director: Konstantin Bronzit
    Directors: Julien Bocabeille, François-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier and Emud Mokhberi
    Producer: Richard Hollander
    Director: Doug Sweetland
    • This Way Up
    Producers: Charlotte Bavasso and Christopher O'Reilly
    Directors: Adam Foulkes and Alan Smith
  • 2009 — Logorama
    Producers: Francois Alaux, Herve de Crecy and Ludovic Houplain
    Directors: Francois Alaux, Herve de Crecy and Ludovic Houplain
    Director: Fabrice Joubert
    Producer: Darragh O'Connell
    Director: Nicky Phelan
    • The Lady and the Reaper
    Producers: Marcelino Almansa and Antonio Banderas
    Director: Javier Recio Garcia
    Producer: Steve Pegram
    Director: Nick Park

    2010s 
  • 2010 — The Lost Thing
    Producer: Sophie Byrne
    Directors: Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan
    Producer: Kevin Reher
    Director: Teddy Newton
    Producers: Martin Pope and Michael Rose
    Directors: Max Lang and Jakob Schuh
    • Let's Pollute
    Producers: Geefwee Boedoe and Joel Bloom
    Director: Geefwee Boedoe
    • Madagascar, a Journey Diary
    Producers: Ron Dyens and Aurelia Previeu
    Director: Bastien Dubois
  • 2011 — The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
    Producers: Lampton Enochs, Alissa Kantrow and Trish Farnsworth-Smith
    Directors: William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
    Producers: Marc Bertrand and Michael Fukushima
    Director: Patrick Doyon
    Producer: Kevin Reher
    Director: Enrico Casarosa
    • A Morning Stroll
    Producer: Sue Goffe
    Director: Grant Orchard
    Producers: Marcy Page and Bonnie Thompson
    Directors: Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
  • 2012 — Paperman
    Producer: Kristina Reed
    Director: John Kahrs
    • Adam and Dog
    Producer: Minkyu Lee
    Director: Minkyu Lee
    Producers: PES and Sarah Phelps
    Director: PES
    • Head Over Heels
    Producer: Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
    Director: Timothy Reckart
    Producers: Al Jean, Richard Raynis and Richard Sakai
    Director: David Silverman
  • 2013 — Mr. Hublot
    Producer: Laurent Witz
    Directors: Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
    Producers: Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
    Director: Daniel Sousa
    Producer: Dorothy McKim
    Director: Lauren MacMullan
    Producer: Yasumasa Tsuchiya
    Director: Shuhei Morita
    Producers: Martin Pope and Michael Rose
    Directors: Jan Lachauer and Max Lang
  • 2014 — Feast
    Producer: Kristina Reed
    Director: Patrick Osborne
    • The Bigger Picture
    Producer: Chris Hees
    Director: Daisy Jacobs
    • The Dam Keeper
    Producers: Megan Bartel and Duncan Ramsay
    Directors: Robert Kondo and Daisuke Tsutsumi
    Director: Torill Kove
    Producers: Marieke Blaauw, Joris Oprins and Job Roggeveen
    Directors: Marieke Blaauw, Joris Oprins and Job Roggeveen
  • 2015 — Bear Story
    Producer: Pato Pierart
    Director: Gabriel Vargas
    • Prologue
    Producer: Imogen Sutton
    Director: Richard Williams
    Producer: Nicole Grindle
    Director: Sanjay Patel
    Director: Konstantin Bronzit
    Director: Don Hertzfeldt
  • 2016 — Piper
    Producer: Marc Sondheimer
    Director: Alan Barillaro
    Producer: Marc Bertrand
    Director: Theodore Ushev
    Producer: Amanda Deering Jones
    Directors: Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
    Producer: Cara Speller
    Director: Robert Valley
    Producers: Karen Dufilho-Rosen and Regina Dugan
    Director: Patrick Osborne
  • 2017 — Dear Basketball
    Producer: Kobe Bryant
    Director: Glen Keane
    Producer: Julien Deparis
    Directors: Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperson, Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Theophile Dufresne and Lucas Navarro
    Producer: Dana Murray
    Director: Dave Mullins
    Producer: Ru Kuwahata
    Director: Max Porter
    Producer: Jan Lachauer
    Director: Jakob Schuh
  • 2018 — Bao
    Producer: Becky Neiman-Cobb
    Director: Domee Shi
    Producer: Michael Fukushima
    Directors: David Fine and Alison Snowden
    Producer: Nuria Gonzalez Blanco
    Director: Louise Bagnall
    Producer: Shaofu Zhang
    Directors: Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pointillas
    Producer: Jeremy Slome
    Director: Trevor Jimenez
  • 2019 — Hair Love
    Producer: Karen Rupert Toliver
    Director: Matthew A. Cherry
    Producer: Daria Kashcheeva
    Director: Daria Kashcheeva
    Producer: Kathryn Hendrickson
    Director: Rosana Sullivan
    Producer: Jean-François Le Corre
    Director: Bruno Collet
    Producer: Siqi Song
    Director: Siqi Song

    2020s 

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