Animated Shorts - all nominees

Animated Short - Alison Snowden and David Fine

Animals struggling with their inner demons in a support group in this adorable and hilarious animated short.  When a large ape with anger issues joins, the dog therapist must find a way for him to share his big ape feelings without destroying the office and killing the other members of the group.

Animated Short - Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb

It is hard to let your child grow up and move out of the house.  Sometimes, you need to make a little Chinese dumpling baby with whom you can make new memories, share activities, and relive what it was like to raise a child.  But when even the dumpling grows up and wants his own life, sometimes you have to eat the ones you love to keep them with you.  This was the only one of the animated shorts that I had seen before, and it was so cute that I remembered it these many months later.

Animated Short - Louise Bagnall and Nuria González Blanco

Dementia is such a cruel disease.  This beautiful little short follows a woman into her memories before she struggled to know the people around her.  The touching moments when she remembers her adult daughter make all the difference in her life.

Animated Short - Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas

My favorite of the Animated shorts, One Small Step follows a little girl's dream to go to the moon, and her father's unyielding support.  Together, they dreamed, they flew, the imagined.  When her dream to join the space program is rejected, her father never loses hope.  And when he sadly passes away, she works harder than ever to make their dream her reality.  Girl power!

Animated Short - Trevor Jimenez

It's hard to be the child of divorced parents.  When going back and forth from mom's house to dad's and back again, the child must adjust as his parents move on with their lives, find new partners and paths, and he must find his place in each of the spaces.  Of the five, I found this film the least engaging.