Awesome Short Films

Inspired by an ancient Chinese myth about creation, Taiko Studios‘ animated short film tells the story of a god who has the ability to conjure worlds from nothing. When he realizes the one thing missing is a child, he makes a son in his own image. But will independent thought drive them apart, or bring them closer together?

Like Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote, and Elmer Fudd, Groompy the rabbit perpetually plays the foil in his cartoons. But when he heads home, the monotony and frustration of his life lead him to a dark place. Luis Usón and Andrés Aguilar’s animated short film is brilliantly executed, but incredibly somber.

The guys from Toronto creative studio reactiv like to play with their food. In this lighthearted animated short, they imagine that edibles were actually used for playing various sports, and making quite the mess in the process.

Charlie Stewart’s beautifully minimal animated short film takes us on a journey to a far-off planet, where two scientists have been left to explore, and two AI-powered digital assistants who strike up a conversation as they wonder where their human masters have gone.

As Charlotte peers out into space from her observatory, she sees what can only be described as a literal black hole. As it approaches the Earth, she dives in and experiences a new perspective on her home planet. A wonderfully imaginative short film by animator Marlies van der Wel with music by Pieter de Graaf.

Joseph Lee Anderson wrote, directed, and starred in this short film about a man who starts his day on a very positive note, but things take a tragic turn after he heads out for his morning jog. It’s a powerful story about racism and prejudice, boiled down to five powerful minutes.

(PG-13) Corridor follows up its goofy short film about ridiculously small weapons with an action-packed sequel. Their enemies come off as stereotypical as the ones in Team America: World Police, but the battle scenes are certainly entertaining.

Prince Michael the cat makes a new friend, and heads off on an epic road trip in this silly short film from AaronsAnimals. It’s basically Planes, Trains, and Automobiles with a cat playing the Steve Martin role, and a dog playing John Candy’s part.

From living rooms on wheels, to 3D printed humans, to transporter beams, to robotic construction workers, Animator Loek Vugs’ short film muses on some of the likely and unlikely technologies which lie ahead for future of humanity.

We only recently came across this ESMA animated film from 2016, but it’s too good not to share. The award-winning CGI short follows the story of the guardians of a sand castle, as they make their last stand against a terrifying enemy.

Artist Thomas Blanchard follows up his stunning short film The Other Side with a more singular effort, filling our screens with colorful planetary bodies and galaxies. Like his other works, there’s no CGI here – the images you see are made entirely from paint, oil, inks, and soap.

“I planted more trees in the city of Baltimore than anybody in the history of the city…” Filmmakers Jonathan Bregel & Steve Hoover of Friendzone introduce us to a truly unique man – the retired Principal City Planner of Baltimore who, after years of working for the city, decided to cover himself head-to-toe with a blue tattoo.

Motion designer Harrison Vincent’s short film features eye-popping close-up imagery inspired by macrophotography, but was created entirely with computer graphics. The breakdown video is just as fascinating. He also provided the Cinema4D source files for download.

Video artist Theo Tagholm’s (aka “mustardcuffins”) experimental short film envisions an alternative version of the world, where the iconic rock structures of America’s Southwest stretch endlessly into the sky. It’s a strangely unsettling, but engrossing visual. We love how the clouds cast shadows onto the totems.

(PG-13: Language) Directors Josh and Benny Safdie have won big praise for their work with Adam Sandler in their film Uncut Gems. The trio also worked together on a bit of guerilla filmmaking, as Adam and Benny donned facepaint to shoot this short film about two warring street performers in the heart of Times Square.

A robot takes part in a heist that goes wrong, and ends up in possession of a prize that makes it feel alive. But once it gets a taste for this sensation, it does whatever is necessary to hold onto that precious lifeforce. This graduation film by students of Rubika Valenciennes is simply fantastic on every level.

(PG-13: Language) Written and directed by Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse), this previously unreleased short film is as tense and chilling as anything we’ve seen in recent memory. It tells the story of two brothers raised by their abusive grandmother, and the precarious balance that exists in their relationship.

In this entertaining short film from students of Gobelins animation school, two siblings face potential sacrifice after angering the almighty eye. But what really awaits them is a very different fate in this cautionary tale about worshipping false idols. We were particularly impressed with the excellent sound design.

Photographer and animator Ynon Lan captured over a thousand still images around New York City and compiled them into this cool short film, which evokes the true essence of the big city through its textures.

Director Hiroshi Kondo’s short film has a simple premise – watching the flow of traffic on the streets of Taiwan, where an endless stream of mopeds carry riders every day. But through the use of editing, time-lapse, and other techniques, he created a true visual masterpiece.

(PG-13: Language) “Do you have any work gloves or anything? This is like a huge job.” A loan shark’s hitman takes a debtor out to the middle of nowhere, and demands that he dig his own grave. But fulfilling this TV and movie trope isn’t as easy as it sounds in Kirk Larsen’s darkly comedic short film.

This silly little video clip from filmmakers Zita and Rafael of Crictor may be short, but it’s immensely satisfying. Watch as a single kernel of popcorn is dropped into a blow torch, and somehow ends up floating perfectly atop the wind made by a hairdryer. We wonder just how many takes it took them to get this just right.

Consistently awesome animator and illustrator Steve Cutts offers up a topsy-turvy take on the destruction of our environment and climate change, envisioning a world in which animals are destroying the place, and humans have to deal with the fallout of their actions. The Track is The Turning Point by Wantaways.