With the Oscars being hosted February 22, 2015 there will be many updates about contenders and top nominees for best animated short. The best animated short has been around since the 5th Academy Awards covering the year 1931 to 1932. The title was originally best “short subjects, cartoons” from 1932 till 1970. Rules of the animated short category consist of “no more than 40 minutes, including all credits”. Awards also have to be presented to “the individual person most directly responsible for the concept and the creative execution of the film.” Walt Disney’s famous, Silly Symphonies and MGM’s The Dam Keeper (Dir. Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, USA)Tom and Jerry have had the most praise of the animated series, both winning 7 Oscars. Last year the nominees for best animated short included, Feral ( Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden), Get a Horse ( Walt Disney Animation Studious; Lauren Macmullen and Dorothy Mckim), Possessions ( Sunrise; Shuhei Morita), Room on the Broom ( Magic Light Pictures; Max Land and Jan Lachauer and the winner of the category, Mr. Hublot ( Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares). This year marks the 87th Academy Awards with strong contenders with new studios and artists.

My top 6 contenders are listed below. The other films are listed below with links.

1. Baths (Dir. Tomek Ducki, Poland)

2. The Bigger Picture (Dir. Daisy Jacobs, UK)

3. Duet (Dir. Glen Keane, USA)

4. Lava ( Dir. James Ford Murphy, USA)

5. ME + Her (Dir. Joseph Oxford, USA)

6. Padre (Dir. Santiago ‘Bou’ Grasso, France/Argentina)

Through the Hawthorn (Dir. Anna Benner, Pia Borg and Gemma Burditt, UK)
Bus Stories (Dir. Tali, Canada)
Coda (Dir. Alan Holly, Ireland)
The Dam Keeper (Dir. Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, USA)
The Feast (Dir.Patrick Osborne, USA)
Futon (Dir. Yoriko Mizushiri, Japan)
Hair (Dir. Delphine Hermans, Belgium) 
Guilt (Dir. Reda Bartkute, Lithuania) 
Hasta Santiago (Dir. Mauro Carraro, Swiss/France)
Love Games (Dir. Yumi Joung, South Korea)
Mademoiselle Kiki Et Les Montparnos (Dir. Amelie Harrault, France)
Man on the Chair (Dir. Dahee Jeong, France/Korea)
Me and My Moulton (Dir. Torill Kove, Canada/Norway)
No Fish Where To Go (Dir. Nicola Lemay and Janice Nadeau, Canada)
The Obvious Child (Dir. Stephen Irwin, UK)
Rabbit and Deer (Dir. Peter Vacz, Hungary)
Sleeping With The Fishes (Dir. Yousif Al-Khalifa UK)
Symphony Number 42 (Dir. Reka Bucsi, Hungary)
Yearbook (Dir. Bernardo Britto, USA)
Patch (Dir. Gerd Gockell, Germany/Switzerland)
Footprints (Dir. Bill Plympton, USA)
Absent Minded (Dir. Roberto Catani, Italy)
Hiopoptamy (Dir. Priot Dumala, Poland) 
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos (Dir. Konstantin Bronzit, Russia)