For An Unforgettable Filmgoing Experience, Watch the 2022 Oscars’ Best Animated Shorts Nominees

The 2022 Academy Awards‘ nominations for Best Animated Short Film range from family-friendly to … absolutely wild. A trigger warning actually applies to the majority of the five nominated films, as they deal with themes of violence, sex, and generally dark or disturbing events.

Yet, the nominations all make sense, considering how insane the past two years have been, it’s only natural that these films would reflect that kind of manic and unbridled energy. But while the content may be dark, the animation itself is stunning and singular, with each film looking and feeling so completely different from the next that it’s almost impossible to believe these all are the creation of human minds and hands.

While the films may be difficult to watch for some, they are still, overall, a feat of innovation and an example of how we channel our joy, pain, obsessions, and desires into art, from all around the world. Here’s the low-down on each of the nominations (including some more specific warnings on which aren’t for kids or the faint of heart) for this year’s Oscars:

Robin Robin (United Kingdom)

We’re kicking things off with this stop-motion musical created and directed by Dan Ojari and Mikey Please and produced by Aardman Animations, because it’s the only truly family-friendly title title out of all of the nominations in the animated short category this year. Easily accessible by streaming via Netflix, Robin Robin is the 31-minute tale of a robin bird named, you guessed it, Robin (Bronte Carmichael), who is raised by a family of mice led by the welcoming and accepting Dad Mouse (Adeel Akhtar). While the rest of the mice are pros at covert expeditions into local homes to get crumbs to eat, Robin (despite her adorable faux-mouse ears) doesn’t really fit in with the rest of her adopted family, and instead has a knack for drawing attention to herself and, as a result, accidentally ruining her family’s attempted burglaries.

With their bellies empty and Christmas on the horizon, the mice are discouraged, and Robin is committed to making it up to them. This leads Robin to embark on an exciting adventure involving a daring heist, curmudgeonly Magpie (Richard E. Grant), and menacing Cat (Gillian Anderson) that culminates to create a sweet story about found families, self-acceptance, and life’s simple joys. No matter what time of year you’re watching Robin Robin, you can be sure to delight in its catchy tunes and holiday cheer!

Watch Robin Robin on Netflix

*From here on out, a content warning applies. The rest of the nominations are NOT kid-friendly! You have been warned. Not to sound ominous or anything. Just giving you a heads-up!* 

Affairs of the Art (United Kingdom & Canada)

I just have to start by saying that this film’s art is absolutely incredible (which I guess makes sense, since the central character of the short is a bit of an artist, herself). That being said, because the fluid and vibrant 2D hand-drawn on paper animation is so eye-catching and vivid, this might be a tough one to watch if you’re squeamish. Prepare yourself for nudity, mistreatment and straight-up murder of bugs and animals, and just some generally disturbing stuff to do with death (from plucking the chin hair off a laid-out deceased family to straight-up taxidermy). Okay, now that the warnings are in there, we can get a little more into what this compelling short is all about.

Directed by Joanna Quinn and written by Les Mills, Affairs of the Art is a 16-minute short film featuring Beryl (Menna Trussler), a 59-year-old factory worker who shares with us her own obsession with creating art, as well as the obsessions of some of the people closest to her. Her son Colin (Brendan Charleson), for example, is a grown man who still lives at home with her and her husband, Ifor (Charleson), and is a techno geek with obsessions that have ranged from a pigeon named Percy to railway signaling systems. Ifor is Beryl’s muse, and for as rude as he sometimes is to her, we still have to respect him for being willing to repeatedly fall down the stairs nude for the sake of his wife’s art. Perhaps most obsessive of all is Beryl’s sister, Beverly (Quinn), who as a child is downright frightening and slightly psychopathic (she’s the source of most of the more difficult to watch moments in the film), if her obsession with death and self-taught taxidermy is anything to go by. For all its strangeness, it’s hard not to root for Beryl, as her endless devotion to her art, no matter how unsuccessful or unmarketable it may be, is honestly pretty inspiring and heartwarming, in its own goofy way. Affairs of the Art paints a picture of an odd, yet bonded and passion-filled family, that has an entertaining, unpredictable, and grotesque story to tell, and is definitely a short that stands out from the standard fare of past nominations.

Boxballet (Russia)

After Robin Robin, this 15-minute long animated short film directed by Anton Dyakov is probably the most accessible and palatable to a general audience. Sure, Boxballet still has a few uncomfortable and slightly dark moments, mostly deriving from a creepy ballet director who abuses his position of power to make unwanted moves on our central ballerina, but the overall tone is somehow hopeful and sweet, due to the innocence of the boxer and ballerina’s on-screen burgeoning relationship.

Boxballet revolves around a delicate ballerina named Olya and a rough around the edges and worn down boxer named Evgeny, who, despite leading very different lives, manage to come together in the face of their difficult jobs and the cruelty of the world they live in. If you aren’t won over by Evgeny being a total simp for Olyla, then you’ll probably at least find yourself charmed by the catchy, funky score, candid drawing style (which doesn’t shy away from portraying both beauty and ugliness with equal fervor), and general off-beat and playful (but still, impactful) vibe. Boxballet is a dark horse nomination worth keeping an eye out for this Oscars!

The Windshield Wiper (Spain)

From an artistic standpoint, The Windshield Wiper stands out amongst all of the nominations as the most visually captivating, thanks to a unique, arresting animation style that feels like an oil painting comes to life. Directed and co-produced by Alberto Mielgo, this 15-minute long short poses the central question, “What is love?”, and proceeds to attempt answering it in a series of vignettes depicting various peoples’ lives from all over the world.

The film’s dialogue is presented in the form of the overheard musings, conversations, and monologues of real people, immediately making each vignette seem personal and real, thereby pulling you into an established dynamic and world that feels natural and slightly voyeuristic. This, compacted with an overall tone ranging from playful (two people using a Tinder-like app, swiping right on each other but then too busy staring at their phones to notice that they’re standing right next to each other and grabbing the same things at the supermarket) to deeply sad and lonely (a schoolgirl jumping off a roof, a homeless man telling a store mannequin that things are different now, so she should come home) makes for a rich and heartfelt viewing experience that certainly does its best to address the nature of love, and of human life and connection, too.

Bestia (Chile)

This one is easily the most disturbing of ’em all, and is most likely to give nightmares, or at least leave you with some intrusive imagery (slightly graphic violence and sexual themes) that may be difficult to rid yourself of for a while after watching it. Without going too into detail, this 16-minute long stop-motion animated directed by Hugo Covarrubias presents haunting, arresting visuals led by a porcelain-looking (which somehow only adds to the creepiness) secret police agent (who was loosely based on and inspired by real-life DINA agent Íngrid Olderöck) in the military dictatorship in Chile.

Bestia presents an eerie look at the agent’s inner-life, which revolves around her body issues, fears and paranoia, and… intimate (a little too intimate, if you catch my drift) relationship with her dog. With no dialogue at all, the film presents an understated but no less impactful look at a country and character’s dark, dirty secrets, leaving an impression that is sure to last. And if you decide to take the plunge and view this affecting piece of art, do NOT watch it with your dog.