This week: 1984

The nominees were:

DOCTOR DESOTO Michael Sporn (Weston Woods) [View]

PARADISE Ishu Patel (National Film Board of Canada) [View]

And the Oscar went to:

CHARADE Jon Minnis. [View]

Once again, the Oscar went to ‘the funny film’. And Charade is indeed a very funny film. The other two nominees were also strong, worthy contenders. Michael Sporn’s gently humorous and heartfelt adaptation of a William Steig book is the very model of how to adapt such book to another medium. Ishu Patel’s gorgeous Paradise flaunts its visual virtues, its craft and high style. But ‘funny’ has a way of being long-remembered by Academy voters

On March 25th, 1985, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Jeff Bridges and Ann Reinking presented the Oscar for Short Film (Animated) to Jon Minnis for Charade. Here’s the video, below:

And so we continue our ongoing research into what other cartoons were submitted to the Academy for Oscar consideration but failed to make the cut. In 1984, there were 39 entries. Submitted, screened, but NOT nominated were:

* Those marked below with an asterisk are films we could not find online video for (All others are embed below):

BRUSH STROKES – Sylvie Fefer

CARICATURES BY ARON KINCAID – Robert Dulad*

CURIOUS GEORGE – John Matthews

FISH AND CHIPS – Susanne and Johan Hagelback

FOOTLIGHTS AND FLATFEET – Tom Whelan and Mark Jiett*

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM – Tina Jorgensen (Kraty)

J.C. OSCAR AND THE YOLK*

JUMPING – Osamu Tezuka

LIFE IS FLASHING BEFORE YOUR EYES –

NOUVEAU RICHES – Wendy Siep and Schlomo Friedman*

QUEEN VICTORIA AND THE INDIANS*

SILAS MARNER – Nicole Gouve*

THE WHITE GAZELLE – Anthony Laudati

ACTING OUT – Al Sens*

AINIJAM – Marv Newland

AUGUSTA MAKES HERSELF BEAUTIFUL – Csaba Varga

A BLACK AND WHITE FILM – Stanislav Sokolov

BOOMTOWN – Valeria Vasileuski

BOOP-BEEP – Howard Beckerman*

THE BREATH OF SETH – Melinda Littlejohn

CAMELEON – Stefan Anastusin

CONNY – Ivan J. Rado*

HELLO – Faith Hubley

HIGH FIDELITY – Robert Abel

THE MAGIC EGG – Eddie Garrick

MARXIANS – Zoran Zovanovic*

MASQUERADE – Gaston Sarault*

MY LITTLE PONY – Tom Griffen and Joe Bacall

PIES – Caroline Leaf

REAL INSIDE – John Weldon and David Vierrail

RECTANGLE & RECTANGLES – Robert Forger

ROBOTS – Cathy Karol

THE ROMANCE OF BETTY BOOP – Bill Melendez

SPOTTING A COW – Paul Driessen

TAKING A LINE FOR A WALK: A HOMAGE TO THE WORK OF PAUL KLEE – Liesliey Keen

YOU CAN’T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS – June Foray

Here’s the documentation :

With these posts we ask that you put yourself in the place of the nominating committee – which of the films submitted would you have nominated? Which cartoon should have won? For your edification and viewing pleasure, we have found embeds (below) for 25 of the qualified submissions that the Academy screened, but didn’t make the cut.

Enjoy the show!

BRUSH STROKES – Sylvie Fefer

CURIOUS GEORGE – John Clark Matthews

Mathhews was an incredible stop motion animator – and incredibly successful. Later works included The Mouse On The Motorcycle and Runaway Ralph.

FISH AND CHIPS – Susanne and Johan Hagelback

I see what they are doing here – and you will too…

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM – Tina Jorgensen (Kraty)

JUMPING – Osamu Tezuka

One of my favorite Tezuka shorts; an incredible feat of animation.

LIFE IS FLASHING BEFORE YOUR EYES – Vince Collins

I love psychedelic animation – and I like this picture – but it feels like something that should have been made 15 years earlier. That’s probably what the Academy thought too…

THE WHITE GAZELLE – Anthony Laudati

A tribute to Willis O’Brien and Ray Harryhausen…

AINIJAM – Marv Newland

A classic as far as I’m concerned… Mark Kausler, Osamu Tezuka, Guido Manuli, Sally Cruikshank, Paul Vester, Kathy Rose… and a dozen others.

AUGUSTA MAKES HERSELF BEAUTIFUL – Csaba Varga

Clay animation. I remember this being very popular back in the day… haven’t thought of it since until it popped up here.

A BLACK AND WHITE FILM – Stanislav Sokolov

The official synopsis: “The cartoon character is an adult. On the day of his jubilee, he unexpectedly finds children’s photographs. Old pictures come alive and this gives the hero the opportunity to relive the episodes of his childhood.”

BOOMTOWN – Bill Plympton

Lest you think Bill Plympton’s first film was Your Face – the first animation he submitted to the Academy Awards for a possible nomination was Boomtown, which was in fact his first animated film.

THE BREATH OF SETH – Melinda Littlejohn

Bill Littlejohn and Barrie Nelson help Melinda make this film…

CAMELEON – Stefan Anastusin

HELLO – Faith Hubley

Goodbye – Oscar…

HIGH FIDELITY – Robert Abel

An early CG test film.

THE MAGIC EGG – Eddie Garrick

More early computer graphics. Trippy.

MY LITTLE PONY – Tom Griffen and Joe Bacall

Apparently producers Griffen and Bacall submitted the pilot for My Little Pony to the Academy. (cue uncontrollable laughter).

PIES – Sheldon Cohen

From the NFB.

REAL INSIDE – John Weldon and David Vierrail

This is a classic… Sort of a precursor to Roger Rabbit.

RECTANGLE & RECTANGLES – Robert Forger

Seizure Warning!

ROBOTS – Cathy Karol

THE ROMANCE OF BETTY BOOP – Bill Melendez

The Academy shorts branch had to sit through this. That ought to teach ’em for never awarding anything to Max Fleischer.

SPOTTING A COW – Paul Driessen

TAKING A LINE FOR A WALK: A HOMAGE TO THE WORK OF PAUL KLEE – Leslie Keen

Love the images in this film – but the soundtrack is horribly annoying.

YOU CAN’T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS – Barrie Nelson and June Foray

June Foray produced, wrote and narrated this R-rated (NSFW) cartoon, animated and directed by Barrie Nelson. I can’t explain how this short came to be – but I’ll bet June just wanted to try her hand at actually making a cartoon herself for once – something to bring to Annecy perhaps. God bless her.

The earlier posts in this series: 1948, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1983.

(Once again, super-heroic special thanks to Chris Sobieniak)