THE BEST Short Films

Ringling College of Art and Design students Sagar Arun and Rachel Kral’s lighthearted animated short pokes fun at the sometimes vast differences between a superhero’s comic book origins and their modern-day versions, in this obvious jab at a certain DC Comics hero.

A hilariously weird, darkly comic short film about two soccer moms living in a surreal world where superficiality and nonchalance lead to some very strange outcomes indeed. From the warped minds of Upright Citizens Brigade alums Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe.

Wo Guo Jie collects polystyrene foam boxes in Shanghai and resells them to other markets. What little money she earns sometimes go to the cops if they catch her. She’s one of the hundreds of millions of rural workers in China who have migrated to the cities.

Dreamworks TV presents a charming animated short about a funny looking blue creature trying to survive on his own in the deadly Australian outback, when he meets up with an adorable and puffy bird who he ends up having to protect from just about everything in sight.

Max Mörtl & Robert Löbel’s short film takes us to a strange island when unusual creatures dwell. The stop-motion and 2D animated clip charmed us with its endearing character design, and David Kamp’s clever sound design brought it all together.

A delivery man and his two helpers arrive at an old man’s house to deliver a spa. When they get there, the old man refuses to take the tub. The three buddies find out the reason behind the old man’s behavior and have a decision to make.

All in Pixel’s fantastic 16-bit style animated short shows off the capabilities of a high-speed delivery service in a Blade Runner-esque Japanofuturistic society. It starts out looking all intense and serious, but there’s actually a great punchline in the end.

In Jared Lee’s intriguing short film, the job of grim reaper is held by everyday Joes. As one of these soul collectors gets used to his gig, he starts having strange dreams which may provide clues to the demise of his clients. The post-credits scene clarifies the twist in case you missed it.

(PG-13) “I do get asked every now and then, “How did this happen?”” A family in Mumbai have a pet chicken. They all wish they didn’t. Rishi Chandna’s documentary is surprisingly fascinating for its star and the ping ponging reactions of its masters.

Animator Jan Elsner’s short film ÖBST envisions how nature’s sweet treats might move around if they were more like animals. The CG animation was achieved without keyframing, and instead relied on physics simulations and procedural noise functions.

(PG-13: Language) Jake & Sandy Honig’s short film takes us inside of a little-known secret division of the United States Postal Service designed to make sure parcels get delivered to their recipients even if they’ve been sitting around for decades.

Artist Oscar López Rocha aka LOROCROM created this amazing short film which combines live-action backgrounds with CGI elements. The way the virtual light bulbs and tubes illuminate the natural surroundings is amazing. The track is Serotonin Diode by BLÆRG.

To promote the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, São Paulo’s Zombie Studio created this devastating animated short for about four animals facing extinction at the hands of humans, set to the heartwrenching I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables.

“I help anytime, friend.” Animator Ardy [SFM] made this short but impactful machinima about the Giant Blacksmith in Dark Souls. He spends his time toiling away, but in this story he does so in exchange for companionship.

Victor Garrido’s graduation film from the Savannah College of Art and Design tells the story of a hungry predator stalking its prey, but all is not what it seems in this fun and twisted bit of animation.

A knit toy dinosaur sees the love of its life in danger, and will do whatever it takes to save his one and only, regardless of the consequences. Andrew Goldsmith and Bradley Slabe’s stop-motion short is an emotional ride as good as anything from Pixar. Behind the scenes here.

Tanello Production presents a clever and well-executed short film which places two objects next to each other which happen to share some visual similarities, yet are completely different things. We can’t decide if ice cream/light bulb or popcorn/sheep is our favorite.

Chris Cousins‘ animated short film uses imagery of endlessly churned-out drugs as an analogy for the addictive – and potentially harmful nature of social media. Seriously, how did something that delivers cat videos become a vehicle for manipulating global politics and distributing hate?

A man decides to make a big change in his life and buy a field filled with corn, but he finds himself distracted as he contemplates the impact his newfound purchase will have on the world. Cory and Brendan’s short film is the perfect blend of hilarious and weird.

Alessandro Novelli created this animation about a source of light born into the world with the endless possibilities, and how expectation forces it to conform, gradually losing what made it unique – a metaphor for certain aspects of our lives that many of us can relate to.

A young boy gets hopes to get first taste of space exploration from a storefront ride, but when it doesn’t live up to his expectations, he spends a lifetime making his dream a reality. Nicholas Arioli’s animated short is a sweet and charming 5-minute story.

Don Hertzfeldt’s hilariously weird Rejected was nominated for the 2001 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It was remastered for a Blu-Ray release in 2015, and the artist recently re-released the clip on his YouTube channel. It’s a must watch for lovers of the absurd.

Alex Sherwood, Ben Harper and Sean Mullen of Giant Animation Studios’ amazing short film proves that animation is definitely not just kid stuff, with their tragic tale of a shipwrecked and injured fisherman as he searches for signs of life on the island where he was stranded.

(Gore/Nudity) After 4 years, animator Tal Peleg shares the continuation of his fan film based on the action game Dante’s Inferno. In it we see Dante losing his loved one and going after monsters. We can’t wait for the second part of the film.