A nominee for the 2005 Oscar for best animated short, Gopher Broke features a top-notch story, a beguiling lead character, impeccable comic timing and plenty of laughs. © 2004 Blur Studio Inc. All rights reserved.

Gopher Broke (USA, 2004, 4 min., color, 35mm) Director: Jeff Fowler

In hilarious this Oscar-nominated short, a hungry gopher discovers that there is no free lunch. When produce trucks traversing the dirt road between fields, spill some of their load when they hit a pothole, the gopher patiently lays in wait for his next meal, but he’s not the only one looking who’s hungry. And fresh beef is definitely not on his menu. With a top-notch story, a beguiling lead character and impeccable comic timing, this one will make you laugh every time.

In the lighthearted style of a Pixar film, director Jeff Fowler and the talented artists of Blur Studios, create colorful, technically sophisticated computer animation and compliment the visuals with a classic comedic score. The film was exec produced by Blur Studios creative director/co-founder, Tim Miller.

Los ABCs: ¡Qué vivan los muertos! features a colorful group of animated Mariachis who bring a new twist on traditional ABCs — this time the song tells satirical stories laced with social commentary. © John Jota Leo&ntild

Los ABCs: ¡Qué vivan los muertos! (USA, 2005, 5min., color, Sony HD Cam) Director: John Jota Leaños

A colorful group of animated Mariachis invite the viewer to sing-along with a new twist on traditional ABCs — this time the song tells satirical stories laced with social commentary. This Xicano docu-animation alphabetically catalogues the real-life testimony of skeletons that have returned to tell their life and death war stories. These lively social documentarians take you on a guided tour of a warped history, “that will make you laugh, cry and wonder why.”

Director John Jota Leaños believes laughter is the best way to expose people to serious issues. In additional to humor, he uses music and 2D animation to engage his audience in political, personal and social discourse. Based on news events or generalities from the news, the film was three months in the making and is intended to be the first act of a four-act Internet opera. Leaños painted into Flash and then animated. Color is an important element in his digitally created work. He draws from his cultural roots, believing that “the ancestors are here with us every day.”

Leaños is a multi-disciplinary artist, digital cultural worker and assistant professor in the department of Xicana/o Studies at Arizona State University. Originally from Pomona, California he identifies as part of the mainly hybrid tribe of Mexitaliano Xicangringo Güeros called “Los Mixtupos” (mixt-up-oz).

At the Quinte Hotel was created with handmade and computer-assisted techniques. Included were more than 2,000 paintings and drawings and stop motion on real elements © 2005 Bruce Alcock.

At the Quinte Hotel (Canada, 2005, 4 min., color, 35mm) Director: Bruce Alcock

In a visually beautiful, organic and playful interpretation of one of Al Purdy’s best-known verses, a poet wins a bar fight and then waxes on about beer and flowers to the captive audience at the small-town tavern.

In 1992, director Bruce Alcock got a grant and, after receiving permission from the poet, he did about a quarter of the work on the film. This included a frame-by-frame map of the CBC recording, designs for the paintings and some pencil animation. Then the project was put on hold due to other commitments. It was picked up last fall, when a team of six fit it in between other commercial assignments. It was finally finished 13 years, three animation companies and 300 flower blossoms later.

The film was created with handmade and computer-assisted techniques. Alcock used mixed media with both traditional and experimental animation. Included were more than 2,000 paintings and drawings — oil paint on paper, charcoal drawings on paper and cut paper. Also used were stop motion on real elements — bottle caps, flowers, a neon sign an electric kettle. Almost all of the animation was done in camera. Alcock shot with a Nikon D1X SLR camera and composited and edited in After Effects, then filmed out to 35 mm from 2K digital files.