- Title: Five distinctly different films vie for the best animated short Oscar
- Date: 5th March 2026
- Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 10, 2026) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR, FLORENCE MIAILHE, SAYING: "I don't prepare paintings in advance to photograph them. There's one painting that I work on directly under the camera. And with each change in the drawing, I take a picture. So, in fact, there aren't a huge number of paintings because they disap
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Animated Shorts Butterfly Forevergreen Oscars Retirement Plan The Girl Who Cried Pearls The Three Sisters
- Location: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- City: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- Country: US
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA00E141105032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Animations with very different artistic techniques and narratives are up for the Oscar for best animated short at the Academy Awards on Sunday March 15.
"I think of all the categories, short animation is probably the most unpredictable," said Andrew Freedman who produced the 2-D animation "Retirement Plan". "There's such a variety there that I guess people will vote with what they feel catches their eye the most."
"Retirement Plan" follows a man in his midlife who starts fantasizing about all the things he wants to do in his retirement.
Receiving an Oscar nomination has meant everything to the film's writer and director John Kelly.
"My previous high watermark is I won a Ronald McDonald toothbrush set when I was seven years old, and that has meant the world to me until today. This is the new high watermark for me," Kelly told Reuters.
French short film "Papillon" or "Butterfly" is a painted animation by director Florence Miailhe and follows a man swimming in the sea, recounting memories of his former life.
Miailhe explained the process of her painted animation.
"I don't prepare paintings in advance to photograph them. There's one painting that I work on directly under the camera. And with each change in the drawing, I take a picture. So, in fact, there aren't a huge number of paintings because they disappear as the work progresses," she said.
"Forevergreen" is an animation from Jeremy Spears and Nathan Engelhardt, who both worked on major Walt Disney animations.
The film follows the relationship between a bear cub and an evergreen tree in the wilderness.
Engelhardt said the film "was born out of a desire to tell a story about unconditional love and undeserved grace."
Using simple animation, "The Three Sisters" from Russia's Konstantin Bronzit follows the titular sisters as their lives on a remote island are turned upside down by the arrival of a man, and comedy ensues.
"I know almost all films of Charlie Chaplin by heart. Yes, absolutely. I am his student, so to say. Yeah. And this why, probably I start from the very beginning thinking this way," Bronzit said.
The final animated shot of the selection is "The Girl Who Cried Pearls," about a young boy who discovers a girl whose tears are pearls and tries to profit from the situation.
"The idea was born maybe almost 20 years ago with just a basic notion and a sketch of a girl who cries pearls. And I think much like a pearl, it was like a little irritation that grew and grew, and 20 years later, we have a movie," co-writer and co-director Chris Lavis, said.
The production uses stop-motion animation and modeled sets to create its unique style.
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