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Bacall to Arms
(1946) 7 minutes
Wolf goes ballistic from steamy Bogart-Bacall scenes in movie,
"To Have ...To Have...To Have..."
Directed by Friz Freleng.
Bambi Meets Godzilla
(1969) 2 minutes
Marv Newland's speculative short
about how the deer and monster
would get along. Great gag, with
a lengthy credit sequence.
Batty
Baseball
(1944) 7 minutes
Tex Avery's gagfest, arguably
the best of the baseball spoofs.
Betty in Blunderland
(1934) 7½
minutes
Betty Boop dreams of going
through the looking glass and
having bizarre encounters.
Bimbo's Initiation
(1931) 6
minutes
Surreal antics as Betty Boop
tries
to get her friend Bimbo to join
the "Mystic Order of the Boom Boom a Latcha!"
Carrotblanca
(1995) 8
minutes
Casablanca spoof in which cafe
owner Bugs Bunny "sticks his
tail out for nobody."
The Chicken
from Outer Space
(1995) 8½
minutes
Courage the Cowardly Dog tries to prevent alien chicken from
taking over the world. First of
John Dilworth's Courage cartoons.
Creature Comforts
(British, 1990) 5
minutes
Series of interviews with animals
in an English zoo. Nick Park's
"plasticine" short won an Oscar.
A
Dream Walking
(1934) 7
minutes
Popeye and Bluto battle to save a sleepwalking Olive Oyl. Leisurely paced, thoroughly enjoyable.
Duck Amuck
(1953) 7
minutes
Duck's battle with unseen animator
turns just about every cartoon convention on its (and Daffy's) head.
Directed by Chuck Jones.
Duck Dodgers
in the 24½th
Century
(1953) 7 minutes
Daffy and Porky aim to defend the
universe's only remaining source
of the shaving cream atom. It's
Buck Rogers, Chuck Jones-style.
Gas Planet
(1992) 4
minutes
Three aliens bounce around distant
planet in quest for nourishment.
Computer-animated short by Eric
Darnell (co-director of Antz).
A Grand Day Out
(British, 1992) 23
minutes
Wallace and Gromit visit the moon
to get more cheese. Inventive short
won Nick Park another Oscar.
The Great
Piggy Bank Robbery
(1946) 8
minutes
Daffy dreams up a Duck Twacy
caper in one of the wilder Looney
Tunes, directed by Bob Clampett.
How the Grinch
Stole Christmas!
(1966) 26
minutes
Made-for-television classic about
grumpy Grinch's holiday plot vs.
Whoville. The cartoon faithfully
recreates characters from the
Dr. Seuss tale, and Boris Karloff's narration strikes just the right tone.
Directed by Chuck Jones.
Luxo Jr.
(1986) 2
minutes
Oscar-nominated tale about
two lamps and a ball. This is the
computer-generated cartoon that
put Pixar Studios on the map.
Directed by John Lasseter.
Minnie the Moocher
(1932) 8
minutes
The first of three Betty Boop
cartoons with Cab Calloway on
the soundtrack. Betty and Bimbo
run away, but are frightened by
a chorus of singing ghosts.
Northwest Hounded
Police
(1946) 7
minutes
Criminal wolf cannot shake the trail
of his dogged pursuer, Droopy.
Tex Avery screwball animation
at its best. Similar to an MGM
cartoon from three years earlier.
Porky in Wackyland
(1938) 7
minutes
Porky Pig goes to Africa but gets
sidetracked in Bob Clampett's
screwy tour-de-force.
Rabbit of Seville
(1950) 7
minutes
Bugs Bunny flees from Elmer Fudd
onto the stage of a Rossini opera.
Featuring inventive hair styling by
Bugs. Directed by Chuck Jones.
The Skeleton Dance
(1929) 6
minutes
Four skeletons celebrate graveyard
shift. Animation by Ub Iwerks and
music by Carl Stalling. The first of
Disney's Silly
Symphonies.
Snow-White
(1933) 7
minutes
Fleischer Brothers' jazzy retelling
of fairy tale, with Betty Boop in
title role. Cab Calloway sings
"St. James Infirmary Blues."
Thumb Wars:
The Phantom Cuticle
(1999) 29
minutes
Extended director's cut of the first
"all-thumb" space epic, inspired by
Star Wars. Steve Oedekerk's
handiwork is hilarious. Preview
available on website.
Tripping the Rift:
Love and Darph
(1998) 6
minutes
What do you get when you bring
together a three-eyed alien, an
uninhibited temptress, and a nasty,
bloodthirsty clown? A guilty
pleasure. Edgy, computer-animated
episode has sex, violence and humor. It led to
TV series.
A Unicorn in the
Garden
(1953) 7
minutes
Bill Hurtz's charming adapatation of the James Thurber fable, with
characters and settings faithfully
reproduced.
Wat's
Pig
(1996) 11
minutes
Comic tale of two medieval twins -- separated at birth -- whose destinies bring them together in surprising fashion. Shot in split screen, with little need for dialogue.
What's Opera, Doc?
(1957) 7
minutes
Arguably the best cartoon of all
time. Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd
square off in parody of Wagner's
"Rings" cycle. Directed by (who
else?) Chuck Jones.
The Wrong Trousers
(British, 1993) 30
minutes
Entertaining homage to 1940s
thrillers, with "techno-trousers"
catching the shifty eye of Wallace
and Gromit's mysterious boarder.
Oscar winner from Nick Park.
You
Ought to Be in Pictures
(1940) 9
minutes
Daffy Duck tries to convince Porky Pig to leave cartoons for feature
films. Great mix of animation and
live action, supervised by Friz
Freleng (and featuring Warner Bros.
producer Leon Schlesinger).
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100 Years at the Movies
(1994) 9 minutes
Chuck Workman's captivating
montage of clips and music scores,
commemorating the centennial of
American film. Superbly edited.
Accident
(1997) 10 minutes
Film about an accident involving
a little boy, with a very disturbing
twist. Directed by Peter Besson.
Cops
(1922) 18 minutes
Buster Keaton tries to impress
young woman and ends up being chased on foot by entire police
force. Terrific two-reeler shows off
Keaton's physical comedy skills
and stone-faced grace under fire.
Dating:
Do's and Don'ts
(1949) 13 minutes
Instructional film that has become
a camp classic, as nerdy Woody plans to take Ann to the Hi-Teen Carnival.
Narrator stops action
for critical lessons. An example:
"How Do You Say Goodnight?"
The Dove (De Duva)
(1968) 15 minutes
Hilarious parody of Ingmar Bergman films. English subtitles
"translate" the dialogue --
Swedish-accented drivel with most nouns ending in "ska." Screen debut for
Madeline Kahn.
The Fifteen Minute Hamlet
(1995) 22 minutes
Here's what happens when director
filming "Hamlet" has to make cuts
to meet studio requirements. Based
on Tom Stoppard play. The cast
includes Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll
(N. Irish, 1997) 12
minutes
Rebellious rocker tries to save the world in this spoof of 1950s-era
American B-movies.
Frankenweenie
(1984) 29 minutes
Boy meets dog ... boy loses dog ...
boy rebuilds dog. Entrancing short
by Tim Burton. The cast includes
Daniel Stern and Shelly Duvall.
Gents
Without Cents
(1944) 19 minutes
Niagara Falls! Slowly I turned ... step by step ... inch by inch
...
Three Stooges meet three acrobatic dancers and put on a show. And it's the Niagara Falls sketch that's the show-stopper.
George Lucas in Love
(1999) 8 minutes
A Shakespeare in Love for the
science fiction crowd. Witty film
examines the real inspiration for the
Star Wars characters.
The Great Train Robbery
(1903) 12 minutes
Edwin S. Porter's early Western
established many conventions
of the genre. Also credited with
introduction of title cards and the
first use of a script. Best known
for finale: a bandit aims his pistol
at the audience and then fires.
Hardware Wars
(1977) 13 minutes
The first and (arguably) best of the
Star Wars parodies. Low-budget and proud of it. Presented as
coming attractions for a space epic.
"May the Farce be with you!"
La Jetee
(French, 1962) 28
minutes
Vivid memories of a childhood
experience enable a man to journey
back and forth in time. Chris
Marker's riveting story, primarily
told through stills and voice-over
narration, was the inspiration for
12 Monkeys.
Men in Black
(1934) 19 minutes
Oscar-nominated short in which
Doctors Howard, Fine, and Howard
run amok in a hospital "for duty
and humanity." Safe to watch
without a prescription, but could
become habit-forming.
The Music Box
(1932) 29 minutes
Academy Award winner about
Laurel and Hardy's efforts to lug
a piano up a flight of stairs.
An Occurrence
at Owl Creek Bridge
(La Riviere du hibou)
(French, 1962) 24
minutes
Haunting story about Confederate
spy's last moments on gallows.
Adapted from the Ambrose Bierce
tale. Oscar-winning film later was
re-edited for The Twilight Zone.
One
Week
(1920) 27 minutes
Buster Keaton's directorial debut. The premise -- newlyweds running into
problems with their portable house -- leads to great sight gags
in this
silent-era gem.
Race
(1997) 20 minutes
An aging runner finds peace
after surviving the Holocaust.
The
Rink
(1916) 30 minutes
Laughs are on the menu as Charlie Chaplin shows off his balletic grace in
story about roller-skating waiter.
The Secret Cinema
(1969) 30 minutes
Original version of Paul Bartel's
dark comedy about a woman's paranoid nightmare -- she thinks
her life is being filmed by hidden cameras for secret screenings.
The
Tell-Tale Heart
(1941) 20 minutes
Gripping adaption of the Edgar Allan Poe tale about the aftermath of a
murder. Joseph Schildkraut stars as the man haunted by a steady sound.
Directed by Jules Dassin.
A Trip to the Moon
(Le Voyage dans la Lune)
(French, 1902) 14
minutes
The cinema's first science fiction
movie, crafted by George Melies.
Most memorable image: a rocket
smacking into the right eye of the
Man in the Moon.
Troops
(1998) 10 minutes
Kevin Rubio's well-executed
Star Wars spoof, done Cops-style.
Available for download.
You Nazty Spy!
(1940) 18 minutes
The Three Stooges are placed in
charge of Moronica, with Moe
Hailstone a dead ringer for Hitler.
More than just mindless eyepokes,
this was the first film to ridicule
the German dictator.
| Here
are the best short films that I can remember seeing. The
live-action list is particularly difficult to compile because there are
fewer venues to see such films. It is likely that the animated
list always will have more titles.
--
Ron Chait |
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