Big studios and independent filmmakers. Handcrafted clay and digital creations. They’ve all won Oscars in the Best Animated Short Film category.
This weekend, the five short subjects Butterfly, Forevergreen, The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Retirement Plan, and The Three Sisters will vie for this Oscar, joining an illustrious list.
Continuing a look back that began with articles in 2024, and 2025 in celebration of these shorts, and the Academy Awards this Sunday, here are three Oscar-winning shorts, each one celebrating an anniversary this year.
The Country Cousin (1936) – Disney, 90th Anniversary
This Disney Silly Symphony, directed by Wilfred Jackson, was inspired by Aesop’s Fable, “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse.”
It opens with a telegram to “Cousin Abner Countrymouse,” where “Monty” invites him to the big city, and Abner walks there all the way from “Podunk.”
When he arrives at the cousin’s house, Abner attempts to take cheese out of a mousetrap, but the cousin shows him something better – the dining room table. Abner immediately begins taking big bites of the food, while Monty is more refined.
Abner eats everything quickly, including the mustard, which makes him thirsty, and then gets a drink of champagne. This, in turn, makes him intoxicated, and he begins squeaking like a little toy, to the dismay of Monty.
Abner then gets stuck on a pile of bread, which collapses, and he thinks he sees another mouse when he spots his reflection in Jell-O. A slip in some butter sends Abner and Monty crashing off the table, taking food and silverware with them.
Monty then begs Abner to be quiet, as a cat is nearby, but Abner attempts bravery and kicks the cat in the rear. The cat is infuriated and chases Abner out on the roof, down the drainpipe, and into the city street below. The cacophony of the traffic and pedestrians is all too much and he runs back to Podunk as the short concludes.
The Country Cousin boasts impressive artwork, including beautifully detailed backgrounds, and full, lush, creative animation, including a sequence where the cat’s mouth opens wide like the maw of a monster, as well as dizzying perspective and motion, as Abner scrambles across the city street.
Additionally, legendary animator Art Babbitt crafted masterful personality animation for the sequences in which Abner is intoxicated.
For more on The Country Cousin, check out Jim Korkis’ article from 2021. And for more on Disney’s record album of the story and songs, read Greg Ehrbar’s article from 2018.
A Herb Albert and Tijuana Brass Double Feature (1966) – Faith & John Hubley, 60th Anniversary
Set against a white backdrop, this entire, infectious cartoon short is like a sketchbook come to life with black pen lines meeting what looks like either watercolor or magic marker, as the music of Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass is perfectly timed to underline the action.
The familiar music (Albert’s music was used on TV’s The Dating Game) “Spanish Flea” and “Tijuana Taxi” are used for the “double feature” of the two separate cartoons rolled into one.
In “Spanish Flea,” a flea resides in a lovely flower, bothering no one, but the donkey and chicken who live there, until a bulldozer arrives. The land is cleared for a massive resort hotel, and the animals are pushed off their land.
The resort flourishes until the flea decides to begin biting all the patrons. This causes the entire hotel to relocate to another area, allowing the donkey chicken and flea to return to their field.
In “Tijuana Taxi,” the titular vehicle is overloaded with a group trying to get to the airport. There’s a crazy ride through the streets of Tijuana and through a bullfighting arena. When they reach the airport, the customs officer takes too long, so the taxi driver flies off in his car.
A Herb Albert and Tijuana Brass Double Feature, directed by John Hubley, with a story by John and Faith Hubley, is filled with all the energy of Albert’s music, coupled perfectly with the Hubley’s unique blend of what feels like loose, improvisational animation. It’s also filled with great gags, including a recurring one where the Tijuana taxi continually runs over the same man.
For more on the short, and the other shorts that competed against A Herb Albert and Tijuana Brass Double Feature, check out Jerry Beck’s article from 2017.
Leisure (1976) – Suzanne Baker, 50th Anniversary
“The new challenge for humans is leisure.” So states the narrator (Alexander Archdale), and that’s the basis of this thought-provoking short that traces man’s journey through work and leisure time, from the Stone Age to the modern age.
Made in Australia, and produced by Suzanne Baker, with Bruce Petty directing, Leisure uses a variety of creative visuals from Hubley-like drawings that show the artist’s work, to cut-outs and photographs.
Images, such as the simple, comical line drawings of early man discovering industry, after tussling with a dinosaur, to a whirring collage of photos and artwork to express the Industrial Age, Leisure is an entertaining expression of the still timely search for work-life balance.
There’s a brief anniversary celebration of three animated shorts that were all golden on Oscar night. Cheers and congratulations to this year’s Academy Award Nominees and Winners.
