2025 Oscar Nominated Shorts

It's one of my favorite times of the year! Since 2019 I've made it a mission to watch and review all of the Oscar nominated shorts (find my previous posts here) It wouldn't be possible without the awesome reddit community r/oscarsdeathrace. Thankfully, this year brought us zero trash. I've ranked each short from best to worst per category, so you know who my Oscar favorites are. 

Best Animated Short

Or just how much stop motion dong can we fit in one Oscar season?

Magic Candies - A lonely young boy finds magic candies that allow him to talk to inanimate objects. One could say this is a story about a kid who tries edibles OR you could look at it as a charming story about a boy who learns to come out of his shell. I loved this. It's so goofy and sweet. A

In the Shadow of the Cypress - Whoa, this is heavy. A father suffering from war time PTSD lives remotely with his daughter, who endures his violent episodes. The animation is beautiful and that makes this relentlessly sad short easier to get through. Stunning, really. B+

Wander to Wonder - Think Toy Story meets Mr. Rogers but what if it was ~depressing~ This is actually wildly creative even though I muttered "wtf" to myself several times in its 11 minute span. It's actually quite impressive. B+

Beautiful Men - This short follows 3 brothers getting a hair transplant. It's definitely a creative idea, but it doesn't fully explore the themes it lays out, so that brings it down for me. C+

Yuck! - Meh. This is a pretty middle of the road short about kids who think kissing is gross only maybe it isn't actually? On it's own it's fine, compared to the other shorts in this category it looks worse. C

Best Live-Action Short

I’m Not a Robot: This short is about a woman who begins to question if she's a robot after failing multiple CAPTCHAs. Absolutely brilliant short. I laughed multiple times, the lead actress was phenomenal, and that song choice? I want to get up and applaud this. A+

The Last Ranger - This is a film about Rhino poaching that is somewhat didactic but it still hit me right in the feels. I had some issues with the lighting in the indoor scenes. Maybe those lucky enough to not watch this on a laptop didn't experience this, but I felt like I needed to be in a black hole in order to see what was on my screen. B

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent - This follows passengers on a train from Serbia to Montenegro who are stopped at a small station where men are targeting Muslims. The title of the film is not about the man you think it is when you start watching. It's very straightforward in its message, and it feels like it hits very close to home in the current political climate. This doesn't seem too far off from being our future. B

A Lien: This short is thin on story but big on feelings. ICE summoning people to green card interviews only to deport them is despicable. B-

Anuja - I find myself very frustrated with this film, about a brilliant child given the opportunity to take an exam to get into boarding school, or to remain working with her sister in a sweat shop. It starts out so good then gives us absolutely no resolution. Will she/won't she is not working here. C

Best Documentary Short

Or Death and Music

Death by Numbers - This packed a serious punch in its 20 minute runtime. Sam Fuentes, a survivor of the Parkland shooting in 2018 takes center stage here as she testifies at her shooter's sentencing hearing. Sam felt like someone I would've related too in high school, and I liked the filmmaker's choice of blocking out the shooter's face when he was on screen. There's a moment in the doc where Sam ponders if she'll ever forget the shooter's face. I hope she meets 10,000 more interesting people so she does. A+

Incident - The Academy has apparently long gotten over their problems with archival footage in documentaries. This one is entirely made up of body cam and security cam footage. It's exceptionally well edited. I wish Harith Augustus was still alive, and that his murder didn't have to serve as a teachable moment, but here we are. I hope a lot of people see this film. B

Instruments of a Beating Heart - Baby Whiplash. Seriously, this doc follows a 1st grader in Japan who is ridiculed by her music teacher into being a better percussionist. Did I learn anything new in this documentary? No. Did I cry? Absolutely. B-

The Only Girl in the Orchestra - Some stories are meant to be heard, but they don't always fill up a documentary. Even a short one. Orin O’Brien is a Leonard Bernstein protégé and the first woman in the New York Philarmonic orchestra. I'm glad I know her name, and how she's absolutely killing it in her 80's still, but there was not a ton of substance here. It's made by her niece, which is nice. If my aunt was this cool, I'd make a documentary about her too. B-

I Am Ready, Warden - You know what? This felt exploitative. This follows an inmate on death row in Texas in the days leading up to his execution. I do not support the death penalty, it's something I did one at one point, but as I've grown I've come to see more problems with it. This short doesn't really attempt to ask any hard questions about it. It tries to be an observer only. It also heavily implies religion is the only way this man found remorse. At one point, a woman advocating for his sentence to be changed to life in prison, she says he can use his time to "spread the word of Jesus." Why can't he spend his time helping other inmates? If he's truly remorseful, would he not be more useful to society by helping other prisoners rehabilitate? That's the case they should've been making. I'm not anti-religion. I believe in God myself, I just don't think I would've made that such a focal point. C-