Shorts HD and Magnolia Pictures are bringing the Oscar-nominated animated short films to theaters for the ninth straight year, starting Jan. 31.
The animated shorts will be released as one presentation, with the nominated live-action shorts and documentary shorts each released separately. The programs are due to open in more than 250 theaters across the United States, Canada and Europe, growing to more than 400 theaters through its run.
The Animated Shorts, in a special treat for audiences, will be hosted by one of the high-diving giraffes of YouTube fame and his ostrich buddy in this special commission by Paris-based Cube Creative and Nicolas Deveaux.
“The audience for premium-quality, short form storytelling is exploding with the growth of ‘Constant Content’,” said Carter Pilcher, CEO at ShortsHD. “Shorts films are in the ‘zone’ for today’s fast-paced movie fans, and audiences this year are in for a treat — the Oscar Shorts this year contain some of the best films they’ll see all year.”
In 2013, the release of the nominated shorts was one of the most successful independent film releases in the country grossing $2.2 million — up 28 percent year-on-year, and more than 800 percent since the release started.
Here’s how the distributor described the nominated animated short films:
- Feral (Directors Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden). Synopsis: A wild boy who has grown up in the woods is found by a hunter and returned to civilization.
- Get a Horse! (Directors: Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim). Synopsis: Mickey Mouse and his friends are enjoying a wagon ride until Peg-Leg Pete shows up with plans to ruin their day.
- Mr. Hublot (Directors: Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares). Synopsis: The eccentric, isolated Mr. Hublot finds his carefully ordered world disrupted by the arrival of Robot Pet.
- Possessions (Director: Shuhei Morita). Synopsis: A man seeking shelter from a storm in a dilapidated shrine encounters a series of household objects inhabited by goblin spirits.
- Room on the Broom (Directors: Max Lang and Jan Lachauer). Synopsis: A genial witch and her cat are joined on their broom by several friends as they set off on an adventure.
Nominations for the 86th Academy Awards were announced Jan. 16. The winners will be announced March 2. For more information, visit theoscarshorts.shorts.tv.
