‘2020 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts’ review: Balancing pathos and exuberance

“Pictures are for entertainment — messages should be delivered by Western Union.” The line has been variously attributed to half a dozen old-school Hollywood producers, from Samuel Goldwyn to Frank Capra, but the sentiment captures how classic studio types endeavored to separate political statements from popular cinema.

It's time to finish up your Oscars ballots and dust off your awards season bingo cards, because the most glamorous night in movies is almost here. The 92nd Academy Awards broadcast is this weekend, which means it's time for film buffs to have some fun as we dissect the films, stars, and behind-the-scenes talent nominated to compete for this year's trophies.

No 2020 Oscar category can boast a higher level of quality — or diversity, for that matter — than the animated shorts, and though the five nominees are among the least-seen (especially this year, when ShortsTV’s theatrical program released just nine days before Oscar night), film buffs would do well to track them down all the same.

Director Daria Kashcheev’s Oscar-nominated animated short “Daughter” examines the relationship between a daughter and her father. It’s a story that forced Kascheev to look at her own relationship with her parents while she was writing the story.

Despite including a predictably high percentage of studio product (two out of five), this year's batch of films competing for the Animated Short Oscar are more adventurous than usual in terms of technique and style, appearing to employ yarn, clay and papier-mache in addition to the usual pixels and ink.

These five Oscar-nominated documentary short films have made it to the summit of the nonfiction craft. Topics are international in scope: immigration, refugees, the personal cost of political activism, government malfeasance and girls in war-torn Kabul skateboarding for kicks.

By Matt Grobar

Monday morning’s Oscar nominations rebooted the #OscarsSoWhite conversation, reigniting discussion about representation after women were shut out of the directing category and only one person of color — Cynthia Erivo — was nominated in the acting categories.

Cynthia Erivo was 30,000 feet above the Pacific when she found out that she was nominated for two Academy Awards on Monday (Jan. 13), but she may as well have been on the moon."I’m literally in my seat going, 'I can’t say anything! I can’t scream, I can’t jump up and down, I can’t do anything, but I know this is happening!'" she tells Billboard hours after receiving the news of her nominations.

Now that we've all had a beat to come to terms with the many gasp-worthy snubs of the 2020 Oscar nominations list — even if we're still not over the most egregious oversight in a certain category — it might be time to try and figure out what all the fuss is about when it comes to those films, stars, and behind-the-lens talent which did make the cut for the 92nd Academy Awards.

While some can't sleep in anticipation of a big day, Florence Pugh apparently can.

Once you're done steaming about how the Powers That Be in Hollywood seem unable to recognize women directors (as if Little Women, Booksmart, The Farewell, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, and again Hustlers just sprung into theaters fully formed), here are the nine Best Picture Nominees and how you can watch them before the big day. They're not all bad, promise!

The 2020 Academy Award nominations are out today, and amongst all the movie news was one surprising snub in the music categories. Beyoncé was nowhere to be found on the list with her fan-favorite track, “Spirit,” from The Lion King.

So many women were snubbed by the Academy when the were announced on Monday morning, you could slot their names into a parody of Mambo No. 5 and still have room to cast several reboots of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.Seriously, this year's nominations take to a whole new level.

Actors, songwriters, directors and more took to social media on Monday morning (Jan. 13) to react to their nominations for the 2020 Academy Awards."We are deeply grateful to @TheAcademy for our nomination this morning," Frozen 2 songwriter Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who scored a nod for best original song with her husband Robert Lopez for "Into the Unknown," tweeted before shouting out her collaborators on the smash Disney sequel.

Joker led the nominations for the 92nd annual Academy Awards with a total 11 nods.

Cynthia Erivo is one step closer to becoming an EGOT winner.The actress and singer is nominated for best actress for her portrayal as Harriet Tubman in Harriet and best original song for co-writing and performing the film's number "Stand Up," at the 92nd Annual Academy Awards.If Erivo wins one of the categories, she would become the 16thperson to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award.