Oh, how I love the movies! It’s reading, with illustrations that talk. Well, usually. The Artist sort of broke that mold but for the most part, they talk.
A group of friends and I usually have an Oscar Party. We celebrate friendship, and movies, and gluttony, and laugh at the Botox and collagen. We critique every dress and add our own commentary. To add a bit more fun to the evening we compete in an Oscar Pool. I’ve never won. I have no idea how the Academy goes about picking the winners, but it’s clear whoever “they” are, we are not in sync.
My favorite category in the Oscar Pool is Best Animated Short. Every year, I spend more time selecting the winner of this small category than any of the others combined. Don’t ask me why I’ve latched onto this particular category as wholly mine but I have. Maybe it fits a short attention span? Or reminds me of my childhood and Saturday morning cartoons?
When the nominations were announced in 2002, I agonized over my choices for days. I scoured the internet to find snippets of each nominee so I could make an educated decision. In my heart, I loved one in particular. The Chubb Chubbs. I watched it, giggled over it…in short (no pun intended) I thoroughly enjoyed it. But my track record was horrible. I knew no matter what I thought, there was no way the Academy would select the same thing I would. So my strategy? Pick the opposite! I made a selection and turned in my picks, promptly forgetting what I’d written down.
A couple of weeks passed.
The night of the party arrived, and then came the moment they announced the winner for Best Animated Short. We waited.
And the envelope goes to…
I jumped up out of my chair and screamed. “Yes! Yes! I got it! I finally picked it!” I did a happy dance. Literally. My friends stared at me in amused confusion.
One of them checked her chart. “No you didn’t.”
“Yes I did, I knew it would win. I loved it!”
“But you didn’t pick it. Look.” She showed me the chart containing all of our picks. Mike’s New Car glared out at me.
What the…
I slapped my head. Right! I’d tried to outsmart the Academy. And, true to my losing streak, they’d outsmarted my outsmarting. They’d selected the very thing I wanted but refused to put down!
Doh!
This year I began once again to hunt down each nominee for Best Animated Short. The first one on the list was The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Have you seen it? Probably not. I have no idea where they even show these things. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. After I watched this movie, I didn’t even research the others. I wrote the title down on my list and smiled, content with my choice.
This movie spoke to my heart in a way no other animated film ever has. It’s about the power of books, and the power of Story. It shows everything I’ve always felt about reading. I read to escape, to experience another world and another way of being. I read to learn, to grow, to discover myself. To be transported. To be inspired. To be. That’s it. Just…to be.
Books can take you away and allow you to live in ways that transcend life itself. And when it’s time to move on to the next great adventure? Books will remain. They’ll tell the next generation about ours, and about how truly awe inspiring life was, is, and will be. They are our past, our present, and our future. They are us…magnified.
That’s what this movie said to me.
That’s why I picked it.
And this time? This time I got it right!
Please, watch…enjoy…and then go grab a book.
Those are so great! I cried watching the Flying Books short.
Me too!! Every time, no less. It’s just so much…awesomeness!
I love this! You are so cute ~ you picked the winner and tried to outsmart the academy, but they outsmarted you. Too funny.
Love the Oscars. I always watch it and the red carpet beforehand. I’ve never invited friends, but I think I just might ~ and get a pool going. :0
The show is way more fun if you have a party and a pool going. We just add the latest winner’s name to the trophy you see at the top of the post, and that person holds onto it for the year. Then the next year it changes hands…hopefully. Or the same person keeps it. It’s really just an excuse to get together, eat far too much, and have a great time 😀
LOL this sounds like what would happen to me if I tried to pick! My tastes are almost never in line with the critics. I don’t usually watch the Oscars, but your way sounds like fun!
It’s even more fun if you make a drinking game out of it ;-). They spoofed it the other night. It used to be a game that you took a shot every time they said “Scorcese” lol
Melinda, I LOVE THIS! Thank you so much for sharing this movie!!!
You’re welcome 🙂 I love it too, so much! I’d love to give the creators a giant hug.
Melinda, I have a feeling that it takes a lot to outsmart you girl! Actually, you outsmarted yourself! LOL! I love it! And you do know how to enjoy the Oscars. That’s the way to really experience it. To get together with your friends. That’s the best! Thank you for sharing this short. I’ve never seen a short film before now. You are so much fun Melinda! 🙂
I have my friend to thank for that. She always hosts the Oscar Party. I’m a willing participant in the gluttony fest :-D. We always have way too much food, lots of wine, and tons of fun. It’s definitely entertaining that way.
This has to be the longest “short” animated they’ve had in awhile actually, but it’s worth every second of it.
Thanks, Karen!
We were hoping for a photo of your hubbie, Melinda. I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours. 🙂