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Ranking 1980s Animated Short Oscar Winners

The eighties actually proved to be one of the better decades when it comes to the category of Best Animated Short Film at the Academy. Certainly some films here are weak, but most were admittedly very good and a couple are phenomenal and very authentic. So here is my ranking of all ten of these 80s shorts.

10. Sundae in New York

This one deserves the dead last spot for sure. Its song is catchy and that is basically all I can say that is positive when it comes to this overly short, overly patriotic and downright pointless and weakly animated love ode to the city of New York.

9. Charade

Charade is better than the aforementioned entry, but not by much. It is again weakly animated and overly short in length. It isn’t bad, but it is another basic and rehashed entry with the game of charade not being fully explored with no humor be to found here whatsoever.

8. A Greek Tragedy

I liked the animation in A Greek Tragedy and the score is also very nice. However, this film is anything but its epic title as the story is non-existent and we just follow these three women who try to hold the stones of the building. The humor is weak and I missed the point of the movie entirely. If there is any…

7. Tin Toy

Tin Toy is a very dated film. Certainly the plot is great and it influenced countless animated features in its wake and the action and humor are solid. But even though the CGI was groundbreaking for its time, it now looks awfully dated and especially in that ugly design of the baby. The lack of score also troubled me leading to an undeserved Oscar winner as there are so many better Pixar shorts out there.

6. Tango

Tango is the first truly good film on this list. Yes, the use of live-action figurines in an animated film bothered me as I do not like that approach at all personally. But there is no denying that it is thematically a deep film which is very authentic in its execution and the exploration of the passage of time.

5. Anna & Bella

This charmer is overly weird and odd in some of its imagery, but I really liked it mostly for the strong sisterhood at the center of it. It is a moving, very endearing film which benefits from a particularly strong structure and wonderful animation.

4. The Man Who Planted Trees

This movie is very long as it lasts for thirty minutes. It is not particularly engaging and the narration is excessively used. But the animation is beyond beautiful and even artistic in quality, the emotion is evident and some scenes are downright magical. It features a great environmental message that anyone could get behind with.

3. Balance

I do get what Balance is all about, but only after I read about it after watching it. That is because the plot is way too vague. But even though it is vague and the sound editing is mediocre, watching these figures try to balance themselves on a platform was a pretty strange and interesting experience. The film is otherworldly in its atmosphere and definitely highly original.

2. The Fly

The Fly is way too short, there is no denying that. But you can also not deny how strong its subdued animation is and how amazing its fittingly hectic cinematography is. It is a short which puts you in the shoes of a house fly with remarkably detailed, realistic and downright authentic and admirable effect.

1. Crac

Crac follows the story of one rocking chair from its conception to its place in the art museum where it eventually winds up. Its watercolor animation is simply beautiful and the film is dreamlike in its effect and not to mention incredibly original and also highly moving. Most of the movies on this list are very authentic in premise and execution, but this is the best of them all thanks to its high emotion, a wonderful score and artistic visuals.