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1935 Animated Short Oscar Analysis

1935 was a somewhat weak year when it comes to the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Only one nominated film is great with the other two being much weaker. The nominees come once again from Disney as two of the three nominees are Silly Symphonies whereas the third slot was reserved for Happy Harmonies this time around. Although none of these nominees are bad films, this particular film had so many better shorts to choose from so I’m not that happy with their choices.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

3. Three Orphan Kittens

Three Orphan Kittens is one of those films which are nostalgic to me as I remember watching it so many times as a kid and simply being in love with it. However, as an adult I am not that enamored with it which is unfortunate. The cartoon is solid and quite irresistible in its cats who are so cute and endearing and most certainly the film is immensely charming. However, it is slight in its non-existent story and lacking in strong gags as well. Thus the Academy chose to honor the weakest of the three nominees.

2. The Calico Dragon

This Happy Harmony is the only nominee not coming from Disney in 1935 and it’s a good one, though far from great. I definitely found its Disney-like fairy tale story familiar and the first half is not as involving, but the second one with the dragon is very good and the characters are endearing. The major reason to see this film lies in its animation which is so strong that the nomination was guaranteed because of it. They inventively utilized on its cloth imagery with cloth-like designs of the backgrounds as well as the castle. Quite authentic.

1. Who Killed Cock Robin?

And of course Who Killed Cock Robin? gets the top spot on this list. This overwhelmingly weird movie definitely isn’t for everyone, but it worked for me as it’s a different kind of Silly Symphony, the one that is more mature and acting as an amusing celebrity parody. Whereas the Merry Melodies series made fun of her the most, this is the quintessential parody of Mae West. Full of funny singing and sexual innuendos, this animated short aged like fine wine and is consistently hilarious from beginning to end. A comedy classic that should have won here.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

For Better of Worser – This is one of the ultimate Popeye the Sailor films! Yes, For Better or Worser is simply a hilarious film which perfectly mocked Olive’s appearance through that hysterical ending. The entire storyline is very interesting and mature while Popeye shines here in one of his most memorable, most comedic roles. It was shamefully snubbed for an Oscar.

The “Hyp-Nut-Tist” – This is another very funny Popeye short which features Bluto at probably his most competent as the villain. Here he not only humiliated Olive, but also fought and beat Popeye so many times. Its premise is great, the characters all get their moments to shine and the short features some of the best action ever for the series.

Beware of Barnacle Bill – “There goes the navy. Here comes the army!” Yes, that line from Olive just might be the funniest ever coming from her character as it tells us a lot about her. The series is frequently at its finest when focusing on the relationship between Olive and Popeye which is here made fun of so well with a bunch of amusing sequences.

Be Kind to “Aminals” – And yet another slot is reserved for Popeye as 1935 was arguably his best ever year and thus the Academy’s refusal to nominate none of these just goes to show their ignorance toward this series. Again Bluto is a great villain who gets what he deserves in a brutal ending and the entire story about animal rights was just wonderful to me.

A Cartoonist’s Nightmare – Although Beans was eventually a throwaway character for the series, this Looney Tunes entry still used him so well and is one of the rare Warner Bros. shorts from this period which are truly great. It is an authentically plotted and even clever film with its atmospheric animation being particularly commendable.