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1938 Animated Short Oscar Analysis

1938 was a very strong year for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film category at the Oscars and most definitely an improvement over the previous weaker year. The only problem here is the utter lack of diversity as only Paramount got on the board with just one film whereas Disney took the rest of the five spots entirely in what is the first year of five nominees. I either really like or love those Disney nominees, but I still would have liked to have seen some different studios and series on this particular slate.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

5. Hunky and Spunky

Yes, the only Paramount entry unfortunately gets the last spot on my list, but that’s not because I am biased toward Disney. It’s just that it’s obviously the weakest one. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty good film in what is definitely a good nominations slate, just not a great one. The emotion is evident, the film is quite dark in its approach and storyline and it sounds different and unique, but the very weak voice acting and annoying, odd character design definitely impacted the quality of an overall good movie.

4. Good Scouts

This Donald Duck entry is far from the best of the duck’s usually strong outing, but it’s still a pretty amusing, endearing little flick. It was a lot of fun following him with his nephews in a national park and those scenes with the geyser in the end are so well executed in terms of the action. I also found Donald himself terrific here and entertaining per usual. The biggest detractor, however, is the film’s leisurely pace and a lack of stronger humor as it’s played too dramatically and slowly.

3. Brave Little Tailor

Brave Little Tailor is one of the most famous Mickey Mouse entries and it’s obvious why. Mickey himself is as his most heroic here and he truly is a wonderful star. I also really liked the giant and both the score and the animation are very strong as is the film’s storytelling. It’s a very good, but admittedly a bit overrated movie in my opinion as it’s far from perfect. It needed a much longer runtime to tell this particular tale and I found the lack of another giant unfortunate.

2. Mother Goose Goes Hollywood

I am a big fan of 1930s Hollywood and its stars. I am also a huge fan of animation. So obviously the mix of the two appealed to me heavily. Yes, this movie features famous actors from this period lampooned in a hilarious fashion (Greta Garbo’s famous line being ridiculed is the highlight). The character design is amazing, the action is non-stop and the film is originally energetic and crazy in approach. It is the most hilarious Silly Symphonies film out of them all while also being an authentic anomaly that needs to be seen and respected by everyone.

1. Ferdinand the Bull

Yes, the eventual winner turned out to be Ferdinand the Bull and I am more than happy that it won as it’s easily the best of the nominees, though only the second best of the entire year. This Disney masterpiece tells the story of a bull who wouldn’t fight, but would pick and smell flowers instead. Needless to say, it packs an emotional wallop and it’s incredibly relatable and with a fantastic message to this day. Add to that polished, gorgeous animation and that iconic, sweeping final scene and you’ve got one Oscar-winning movie that’s still very much a classic.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

Learn Polikeness – Thanks to many hilarious lines mostly spoken by Popeye, Learn Polikeness is another incredibly funny and entertaining Popeye the Sailor short that was robbed of the Oscar nomination once again. The short is pretty inventive in some of the sequences while also having great action and a particularly impressive use of the multiplane camera in its first act.

Porky in Wackyland – Looney Tunes is another series that was shamelessly snubbed by the Academy in this particular year which was probably the first pretty good year for the series. Porky in Wackyland is a fantastic Wonderland-inspired short which is crazy and psychedelic in its authentic animation, intriguingly plotted and with an unforgettable ending.

I Yam Love Sick – Thanks to a phenomenal premise ripe for a lot of laughs, I Yam Love Sick utilized on it greatly for the most part. It is a great Olive-Popeye romantic vehicle in a series which definitely needed more of those. It’s funny and very entertaining while also being intriguingly slower paced.

Cinderella Meets Fella – This is by far one of the strongest of the early Merry Melodies parodies of famous fairy tales. Yes, its second half dropped the ball a bit, but the first one is amazing and filled with a lot of great gags and a good use of Egghead. I found in particular the modern twist on the famous tale brilliant with drunk Fairy Godmother being the standout comedic moment.

The Daffy Doc – By far the darkest short that I deemed worthy of an Oscar this time around, The Daffy Doc sees Daffy Duck try to cut Porky Pig with a seesaw. That was unexpectedly dark and thus highly memorable. But the entire short is filled with many standout action scenes and a well utilized, phenomenal premise.