Awesome Short Films

For his CalArts graduation project, animator Lorenzo Fresta created this charming and expressive short film about a lonely toad who rides his bike through the desert in search of water. But his successful quest results in unexpected consequences.

Motion designer Tomin decided to play around with some digital animation techniques, taking CG models of conventional objects like water bottles, cars, and iPhones and placing them into unexpected situations. We want a pair of those car shoes now.

If Garfield the lasagna-loving cat starred in a survival horror on the Game Boy Advance, it might look something like this bit of insanity. This pixel art short film by animator Lumpy Touch is some serious nightmare fuel, so you might not want to watch it right before bedtime.

Animator and illustrator Josh Shaffner’s freaking amazing short film is a dark, yet vivid look at the world of a struggling waiter in Los Angeles, and the cold, harsh realities of trying to make it in the big city. Did we say “freaking amazing?”

Animator and illustrator vewn’s not-so-happy little film tells the story of an angst-filled teen and his guidance counselor, a man with his own challenges and issues with self-loathing, and who probably shouldn’t be doling out advice.

An astronaut wanders around breathtaking and vast landscapes. But these are not scenes from a science fiction film; these were all photographed at actual sites in America’s Southwest. Andrew Studer’s short film is a tribute to these public lands and the people who protect them.

Gervais Merryweather describes his animated short as a “love letter to the 1980s,” and we think he nailed it. From the kids in the video arcade, to the giant hairdos, and TV store window displays. What pushes it over the edge is the synthwave soundtrack by Mitch Murder.

Daihei Shibata’s short film is brilliant in its simplicity. It features two images – a line graph and an actual object. The graph then updates to reflect the state of the real world item. The accompaniment by Fukushima Yasuharu and the EX NOVO Chamber Choir is the icing on the cake.

Despite its lighthearted style, animator Nata Metlukh’s short film covers some serious territory, as an immigrant comes to a first-world country only to find the nation’s arcane and crippling rules make him feel completely unwelcome in their supposed land of opportunity.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page was once bequeathed a 1959 Fender Telecaster guitar. With a little help from Page himself, the animators at Nexus Studios share the mystical story of this illustrious and iconic instrument. Fender sells a replica of the psychedelic dragon guitar here.

Trevor Gordon found an abandoned tiny fishing boat in a field, and reconstructed it in the hopes of using it to find surfing spots. Ian Durkin and his crew chronicled the rebirth of the Camel in an endearing short film that is a sweet tribute to both making and surfing.

Surrealist animator Cyriak Harris presents his latest triptastic short film, featuring a plethora of strange and creepy critters which dwell inside a digestive system, and the chaos which ensues when it gets a bit of a tummy ache.

Filmmaker Peter Davies, along with cinematographer Nuri Moseinco present a beautifully-shot short film, captured as they traveled across Morocco, offering a brief look at the lives of the people who call the vibrant North African country their home.

For those of you who haven’t been there, Coke is a very powerful drug. No no no, not that coke, the other one – with the caffeine. Enjoy this cautionary tale in the four minutes of ardent animation and fluid (and true) storytelling from Dress Code.

Brian Donahue packs boxes at UPS. But he’s also been an NFL player, a WWF pro wrestler, a Disney theme park actor, and for decades now a stuntman and an actor. His body is broken, but he’s still in the mix, hoping to catch that big break in Hollywood.

(PG-13: Language) Dishwashers are the unsung heroes of restaurants. CBC Docs’ documentary gives us a peek into the life of three dishwashers. Instead of focusing on their work, the short film humanizes them by showing us their struggles and experiences.

Five logs find themselves lost on a cold, dark night, freezing to death, when they realize the only source of warmth is lighting their own kind on fire. A darkly comic animated short from Nils Hedinger. It’s sort of like the wooden equivalent of the movie Alive.

Written and directed by Andy Goralczyk this beautifully animated CGI short film is about a girl and her dog who encounter mysterious spirits as they trek through a forest. Blender Animation Studio is offering up the production assets for animators to learn from.

Remi Devouassoud’s visually stunning CG animated short presents us with an image which plays with our minds. Are we looking at another universe, or an up-close image of a human eye? Or is it both?

“I could tell he was a real space man… because he had these funny little boots on.” Dan Britt’s animated short for Adult Swim’s SMALLS tells a story of an ordinary man abducted by an alien who needs a little help. But that’s not all…

A street corner party erupts in the strangest possible way as a group of visually-distorted computer-generated characters get their rave on. Enjoy more of director Nikita Diakur’s wonderfully creative madness over on the website for his short film Ugly.

The Atlantic shares Edwin Lee’s beautiful documentary, Wasabia Japonica. It’s about Shigeo Iida, a 75-year-old who’s an eighth generation wasabi farmer. Most “wasabi” is actually dyed horseradish. Iida’s crop is the real deal, and fetches up to $250/kg.

A man enjoys his quiet and calm world every day until something loud and distracting enters his universe to shake things up. Animator Dan Castro’s short film proves that less is often sometimes more, and how sound can be just as important in telling a story as imagery.