Last weekend I had an opportunity to see all of the Academy Award-nominated short animated features (I missed out on the screening of the live shorts, and also didn't get to the Archives to see all the documentary nominees, despite my best intentions a week ago).

A quick review on each of the contenders, for those of you desperately seeking an edge in your Oscar pool:

Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
The only 3D computer animated short in the bunch, a comedic look at a priest trying to sell an old man a way into heaven. A light tone, which was a significant contrast with the rest. The animation was good, a few laughs to be had, including a punch-line of an ending. Probably the best at doing what it aimed to, and the most fun of them all, but it also didn't have the extra emotional weight of some of the other shorts.

Moya lyubov (My Love)
The most unique animation style - done in the style of an impressionist painting. This was actually distracting, because every time a character moved, the brush strokes of the background around them moved as well, giving it the feel of a badly-compressed, pixelated digital file. A Russian entry, this may have lost something in translation. However, the dual love stories around a 16-year-old boy, both of which end badly, weren't particularly compelling and the climatic feverish dream came out of nowhere.

Madame Tutli-Putli
A Canadian entry following a woman's eventful train journey. The promo notes call it a "exhilarating existential journey." The stop-motion animation was amazing, but the story may have been too existential for just one viewing.

I met the Walrus
A five-minute clip of audio of a 14-year-old boy interviewing John Lennon. The animation is, as one review put it, just something interesting to look at while listening to Lennon. It is interesting, though.

Peter and the Wolf
My pick for the Oscar. The animation was impressive, the story was well done (although also done often) and unlike the others it didn't leave me thinking about the flaws. Just an overall strong contender.