We’re looking at each individual category for the Oscars and what our thoughts are going into the final stretch. We’ll adjust our thoughts based on the precursor associated with this category, Annie Awards. Below are our predictions in Best Animated Short Film.

Best Animated Short Film

Winner Predictions

• Beautiful Men
• In the Shadow of the Cypress
• Magic Candies
• Wander to Wonder (WL O) (PP O) (TL P) [New]
• Yuck!

Runner-Up Predictions

• Beautiful Men (PP P) [New]
• Magic Candies (TL P) [New]
• Yuck! (WL P) [New]

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Wesley Lovell: This batch of nominees is a strange group. You have two kid-centric affairs, two clearly adult efforts, and one that has childlike elements but has a very dark core. Currently, I’m predicting that one, Wander to Wonder for a win. It’s such a fascinating and original story that I can see Academy voters glomming onto it. I don’t see the esoteric In the Shadow of the Cypress or the fluffy Magic Candies winning. Beautiful Men is rather dull and Yuck! is somewhat childish but also has a deeper meaning that could resonate with voters. With few of these seeming like slam dunk winners, choosing a winner and runner-up is difficult.
Pete Patrick: Wander to Wonder, a darker variation on Toy Story should take this one easily.  Its closest competition is probably the stop-motion Beautiful Men about 3 bald brothers who travel to Istanbul for hair transplants.  
Thomas La Tourrette: This definitely was an odd mix of films. Yuck! about kids learning about kissing was cute, but not much more. In the Shadow of the Cypress was weightier dealing with PTSD, but the simple animation and convoluted story will probably keep it from winning. Beautiful Men about three brothers going to Istanbul for hair transplants was impressively filmed, but I was not sure what the point of the story was. Magic Candies was the most enjoyable, about a lonely child who buys some magic candies that allow him to speak and hear with other objects. It was a little odd, but sweet. Wander to Wonder was about three small figures from a children’s television show learning to cope after their creator dies. It was strange but done with beautiful stop motion work and is the one that will most stay with me, even if I was not sure what it wanted to be. It recently won the Annie award for best short film, and I could see it repeating at the Oscars.

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