Product Details

• Actors: Dustin Adair, Eric Armstrong, Yakov Baytler, Mary Biondo, Sumit Das
• Directors: Eric Armstrong
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Questar
• DVD Release Date: February 28, 2004
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001EQI2Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,025 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "75th Annual Academy Awards Short Films" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Previously screened only at selected theaters across the country, this special collection of OSCAR nominated short films celebrating the 2003 75th Annual ACADEMY AWARDS® is now available to compel and delight the filmmaker and film lover. Best Animated Short Film: The ChubbChubbs! (USA - Columbia - A Sony Pictures Imageworks Production) On a planet in the far reaches of the imagination, clumsy but well-meaning Meeper dreams of entertaining people as an R&B vocalist. But first he must find a way to save the patrons of the Ale-E-Inn nightclub from the vicious and voracious invaders known as the ChubbChubbs. (6 minutes) Other Animated Nominees: Rocks "Das Rad" (Germany - A Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg GmbH Production) Observing the passage of centuries with bewildered fascination, two rock piles comment on the rise and fall of human history. (8 minues) Mike's New Car (USA - Buena Vista - A Pixar Animation Studios Production) One-eyed Mike from Monster's Inc drives himself nuts trying to take his friend Sulley for a spin in his new car. (4 minutes) The Cathedral (Poland - A Platige Image Production) A man enters a forest-like cathedral and discovers that the trees are made of people. (6 minutes) Mt. Head "Atama Yama" (Japan - A Yamamura Animation Production) An obsessed loner encounters a hairy problem: the Cherry tree growing out of his head is attracting crowds. (10 minutes) Best Live Action Short Film: This Charming Man "Der Er En Yndig Mand" (Denmark - An M&M Production for Novellefilm Production) Taking advantage of a mix-up at the unemployment office, Lars Hansen becomes Pakistani immigrant El Hassan. Will his masquerade land him a job and the affection of his politically correct school teacher? (29 minutes) Other Live Action Nominees: I'll Wait for the Next One "J'attendrai Le Suivant" (France - A La Boite Production) A lonely young woman boards the subway and meets a panhandler who's begging for love rather than money. (4 minutes) Gridlock"Fait D'Hiver" (Belgium - An Another Dimension of an Idea Production) Stick in traffic, a harried businessman calls home on his new cell phone - and dials up a nightmare. (7 minutes) Dog "Inja" (Australia - An Australian Film & Radio School Production) In South Africa, a long-brutalized dog comes between a whie landowner and his black farmhand - with fateful results. (17 minutes) Extra Feature: How To Submit Your Short Film to the Academy - Academy Member and Award-winner for his 1997 live action short film Visas & Virtue, Chris Donahue informs filmmakers and fans of the eligibility rules and procedures for submitting a short film to the Academy for OSCAR consideration.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both Entertaining and Thought-Provoking, February 24, 2005

By 

Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 75th Annual Academy Awards Short Films (DVD)

I finally found time to view this collection of delightful films after having bought it nearly a year ago. I enjoyed the entire group, although I found the live-action shorts to be the most entertaining AND thought-provoking.
I don't agree with the choice of the eventual winner of Best Animated Short Film, The ChubbChubbs. It was cute and clever with a twist, but I think several others are better. My favorite is the Polish release, The Cathedral, with its spooky, gothic, Lovecraftian imagery. Second best was the Japanese Atama Yama, about a man described as a miser who has a compulsion to save everything which might later prove useful. His favorite food is the cherry, because they are free. Watch what happens when he eats the cherry pit so as not to waste it! Das Rad, the German entry, provides an imaginative view of humanity as seen from a rock's perspective and Mike's New Car is just merely cute.
It is much harder to choose the best of the Live Action Short Films. After mulling them over, I'll have to stick with the Academy's choice, although all four of them have some claim to the title "best". The winner is a very contemporary story set in Denmark that takes on a LOT of issues in a short time and deals with them in a way that has the viewer nodding in recognition. Though a bureaucratic/Eurocratic mix-up, the unemployed Lars Hansen becomes Pakistani immigrant El Hassan and is commanded by letter that he must take Danish lessons. When he tries to have the mistake corrected, he is given the runaround in a way that nearly everyone who has dealt with bureaucracy can identify with.
The story becomes a comedy of errors in which issues germane to life in Denmark today (as well as in most other First World countries) are dealt with: immigration, political correctness, widespread resentment of the PC culture, the inanities of an obtuse bureaucracy, and to sweeten it up, love. You'll have to see it for the surprise comic ending.
Right on This Charming Man's tail nips Inja, ostensibly the story of a dog, but really a story of relations between the races in South Africa and how a white farmer's method of training his dog to recognize him as its boss comes back to bite him in the arse at a crucial time. Great scenery and the human factor make this one a must-see.
The French entry, I'll Wait For the Next One is brief, clever, and emotionally brutal. The acting is first-rate. The other film, Gridlock, is a Flemish-Belgian entry about a harried businessman caught in traffic who decides to call his wife to let her know he will be home late. What happens next is the stuff of nightmares.
If you enjoy cinema, and particularly if you enjoy the intelligent and the unusual, then consider this DVD to have been compiled just for you. I highly recommend it!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The perfect use for DVDs., April 5, 2005

By 

RMurray847 "afilmcritic.com" (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 75th Annual Academy Awards Short Films (DVD)

What a great idea for a DVD. I've often said that I wished there was a way to see all the Oscar nominated shorts. Well, my prayer was answered, at least for one year. It's a tragedy that a similar disc hasn't been done for every year. These movies, which filmmakers pour so much blood and sweat into, are hardly seen by anyone. Such a disc certainly helps a little. But I enjoyed the one I had to watch.

The animated shorts were overall stronger, I think. CHUBB-CHUBBS (the winner) was delightfully funny. Animation style similar to the Pixar films, but with a delightful main character and some very fanciful animation. Also enjoyed the cameo appearances by the likes of Darth Vadar. Speaking of Pixar, MIKE'S NEW CAR, which has been available on the MONSTER'S INC. DVD was also nominated. It's certainly funny, but adds nothing new to the CGI world. THE ROCKS, from Germany, runs a close second to the CHUBB-CHUBBS. It's more of a stop motion film, about how slowly time creeps by for rocks. We basically see the entire evolution of the world (and into the future) through the eyes of two piles of rocks. Clever stuff. The other two shorts are more "artsy" in nature. THE CATHEDRAL looks like the opening sequence to a fantasy video game, and nothing more...I was underwhelmed. ATOMO YATA, the Japanese entry, was done in an interesting, calligraphic style, but the story left me scratching my head.

In the live short category, THIS CHARMING MAN was the winner. In a way, I thought that was unfair, because it's about 30 minutes long and the others are much, much shorter. But on its own, it's a funny story about immigration in Denmark. The lead actors are both very charming and the entire movie is light-hearted, and a great entry in the "geeky guy gets a nice girl" genre that comes out of Europe so often.

I'LL WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE is super short, and feels more like a clever commercial with a nasty / sad twist at the end. I really enjoyed GRIDLOCK (the only film that isn't for minors), with a great twist ending. It's not deep, but it's a terrific example of the form. Take a story that I can easily see someone stretching out into a 30 minute TV episode (and diluting its impact), and keep it short. Just get across exactly what you need to get across and nothing more. I liked it, and think most viewers will. Finally, there was the interesting film from Australia, DOG, which is set in South Africa. It is making a point about the shift in power in South Africa from the eras during and after apartheid. It's a good film, but I gotta tell ya, the last five seconds left me baffled. What the heck happened? I don't think of myself as a slow-learner, but I have no idea how the story ended.

Overall, this collection has some great ups and some minor downs. It is certainly worth watching...everyone will like at least some of it. And if there's something you don't care too much for, it'll be over soon.

5.0 out of 5 stars Love the ChubbChubbs, November 2, 2010

By 

Terrence Walsh (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 75th Annual Academy Awards Short Films (DVD)

My kids loved the ChubbChubbs when we saw this short animation in a theater in 2003. I was delighted to finally discover this DVD so we could refresh that memory. Sure, the ChubbChubbs are too cute, but there is nothing wrong with a "feel good" film. The other selections are fun. They vary hugely. We found they improved on second viewing. Being the fuzzy little Cuisinarts they are, the ChubbChubbs won us over on the first try.