Awesome Short Films

A charming animated short about the Wishgranter, a being who grants the wishes of people who drop a coin in his fountain. His day becomes unexpectedly hectic when two people wishing for love unintentionally jam his wish-processing machine.

Not to be confused with the insane 1970s film about living with lions (which you also must watch), Stuart Langfield & Dylan Rekert’s short film is a contemplative take on the superhero genre, and a rare look at where superpowers lead heroes in their dying days.

(PG-13) Viceland animated a story by stand-up comedian Sean Patton about a wild night from when he was just starting out. Or not. It’s as real as any good short film, which is to say we had fun watching it and that’s all that matters.

Emily Carmichael’s short film is set in the future, and is about Stryka, a reptilian alien thief. She wants to go big time, but her old friend and partner in crime Callen is a bumbling buffoon. She reluctantly agrees to do a heist with a savvy crook without telling Callen.

“Some of my most intimate thoughts and questions were shared, were so common. The Google could anticipate it.” In filmmaker Sol Friedman’s short documentary we meet Razie, a 90-year-old woman who had a change of faith soon after she started using the Internet.

Meet Coleman Sweeney, a natural born douchebag. He went through life being rude to everyone, except for the guys who make tasteless bumper stickers. But even he wasn’t evil enough to keep his body to himself. Thomas Jane stars in this strange PSA for Donate Life.

(Gore) Pascal Floerks’ graduation project is this short film about his grandfather, who served in the German armed forces in World War II. Pascal chose to depict his opa as a bear, an allusion to both the lovable and grim aspects of the old man’s life. Turn captions on.

The former sidekicks square off in Super Power Beat Down’s latest episode. You can skip to 4:45 for the fight, but you’ll miss out on a sweet Legion cosplay and the young Suicide Squad. Plus you won’t be able to brace yourself for the cringey acting and dialogue.

At Singapore’s Chinatown market and food center you’ll find one of the city-state’s most popular food stalls – Chan Hon Meng’s Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle. In July 2016, it became the world’s first Michelin-starred food stall.

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a woman who’s just been left by her boyfriend. As an act of desperation, she proposes to him in public, making their night more interesting. Jason Perini’s short plays out a bit disappointingly, but it’s still fun to watch and imagine.

A firefighter begins to admit that her passion for her work lies in her attraction to the very thing she’s supposed to stop. This animated short by Hugues Opter and his fellow Gobelins students feels like a trailer for a cool movie.

In 2003, a failing small town horse track in Japan made a desperate gamble: hype up Haru Urara, a horse with a record of 0-88. The country rallied around her story, “a message about the value of trying hard even when no one’s looking.” Ganbatte kudasai!

Chisel Pixel’s awesome fan film offers up action, drama, and excitement, all without spending the kind of dollars Michael Bay does. Inspired by the ’80s Transformers TV series and created by Lior Molcho and a group of Transformers cosplayers. Be sure to watch the BTS video.

Artist Karim Rejeb loves to make stop-motion animation using Playmobil figures, such as this crazy highlight reel of tiny mountain bikers and BMX riders doing tricks both indoors and outdoors captured from a variety of angles.

In 2008, stop-motion master PES scored one of his biggest YouTube hits with Game Over, which recreated the death scenes of five video games: Centipede, Frogger, Asteroid, Space Invaders and Pac-Man. This 1080p version makes it easier to marvel at PES’ genius.

Dario Imbrogno’s fantastic animated short film embraces, rather than hides the mechanisms that underlie the creation of stop-motion films, exposing the armatures and skeletal joints of its protagonist – and even the almighty puppetmaster behind the scenes.

The Butler Brothers’ animated science fiction short is as enigmatic as it is haunting, as two children explore and learn about the strange and lonely world they face – a place which seems oddly devoid of human life.

(PG-13) Alice Lawson is such a devoted wife that she is horrified at the thought of coming home without an important ingredient. But the hotel she runs to offers more than just shelter. Rose Glass reminds us to love ourselves in her sultry short film set in 1950s England.

Directors Matt and Oz’s hilariously warped SNL digital short from a couple of years back starts out as an uplifting rendition The Five Stairsteps’ 1970 classic, but quickly turns into an episode of The Sopranos.

The universe is under attack by The Red Empire, a race of robots intent on wiping out all organic life. It’s up to the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise to stop them. Jürgen Kaiser’s stop-motion fan film is an incredible achievement and a true labor of love. (In German w/subtitles)

Here’s a short film that’s meant to be viewed online. YouTuber Arthur Meyer dressed up the romantic cycle in the guise of a viral video, complete with a perfectly imperfect view, a mundane setting and an abrupt ending.

The black and white style of artist Mattis Dovier’s animated short film reminds us of the primitive 1-bit shading style of the original Apple Macintosh, but it’s the haunting science fiction story about a man’s disturbing transformation that truly lured us in.

(Gore) “Freddie the Firefly, fried by a fart.” A pair of young possums listen to their dad read their favorite bedtime story: the alphabet of death by humans. Media Design School’s fantastic and morbid short was inspired by Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies.