People are voting emotionally.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I bet I'm one of the few to ever watch this hilariously mean-spirited short animation who actually felt slightly sorry for Granny 'O Grimm, because to me you've gotta think that she was only acting that way because she couldn't get something that she wanted, and she was missing out. Still, it was very mean and downright cruel of her to sound-off on her innocent little granddaughter and vent her frustrations via her own 'special' versions of classic fairy tales in a ritual that was clearly so scary and traumatic to the poor thing that it could even be considered by the more conscientious to be borderline abuse! This was such a funny gem, I loved when she had her fleeting moments of lucidity mid-rant and almost comes to her senses and realises that she just might possibly be behaving a wee bit irrationally..but then she flies right back off the handle once again! The voicing by the actress was excellent. She was just insane! I liked the way her hair looked a bit like the Bride of Frankenstein's. At the end when she's about to leave the room she just can't resist giving the child one last scare! I thought that both the animation styles were very well done, and I just enjoyed how much wit was put into it. It was humorous but I also found something poignant in it, because of how sometimes old people can sadly grow very bitter and angry out of loneliness and all the things they can't do anymore. My own granma got a bit like that now and then, a little childish and petty, but she was a good person, never hurt anyone in her life. We should try to make time for the elderly and be patient with them, because they're only what we're all gonna be like someday down the road, if we're 'lucky' enough to live that long.. So try to appreciate your granny and her stubborn ways, 'cause you'll miss them when she's gone. It's true, oldsters aren't just being colourful when they say that! Anyway to me it's a lovely little winner of a short, and I like it a lot, thank you. To Mabel.

This 6-minute short film from Irish director Nicky Phelan was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010, but lost out to Logorama. All in all it's decent one, solid in every area, but not really a standout in regards to anything. It starts with a little kid with a massive 'fro in bed obviously scared in the dark. But no worries, her beloved Grandma (with an even more impressive haircut) is ready to save the day and enters the room to chase away all the kid's fears. Or is she?The animation is all in all fine. It features two different styles, which both didn't exactly blow me away, but I thought the little kid was nicely designed and I also loved the reaction when Granny asks her whether she wants to hear a nighttime-story. The story is okay and mostly interesting, because it's different than the usual, while the ending came a bit as a surprise, although it probably shouldn't looking at the tone of the film from early on. It's an okay little movie, sometimes struggling to find the right balance between comedy and horror, but if spooky animation films like Coraline are your preferred choice, this one deserves a watch.

Very briefly...it's a gorgeous work of CGI and 2D animation, but the story is so blisteringly boring that it doesn't work. The grandmother just yells at the kid listening to the story, and that is supposed to be funny. Things like, "do you think the fairy did this?" to a headshaked no, "YOU BETTER BELIEVE SHE DID THIS!!!" It's a lot of yelling in the place of comedy, and there is nothing redeeming about her version of the story. It's flat, uncharming, and unfunny. Nothing happens in this version that we don't already know, and despite the apparent fact that Grandma is trying to do nothing but scare her storytell-ee, it fails to give us any reason to listen. Easily the weakest of the nominees this year, I believe Partly Cloudy was far more deserving of the coveted nomination. This is no waste of time by any means, but it is not a deserving Oscar nominee.

Tonight I went to the annual showing of the Oscar-nominated animated shorts at a local theater. They have been doing this for several years in the weeks before the Oscar winner is named. While I really, really enjoyed this film, however, I think it's probably not going to win the Oscar--partly because two other films are clearly better (LOGORAMA and THE OLD LADY AND THE REAPER) and partly because I am sure some will not like the way the film ended--though I adored it.The film begins in computer generated animation though parts of it are done in what appears to be a simple traditional style of animation. The grandmother and her grandchild are in CGI, the story she tells is traditional animation.The grandmother tells a very scared looking child HER version of Sleeping Beauty. Instead of the very traditional way, she paints the bad witch as the victim and ends the story with a horrible and violent ending--so much so that the child is probably traumatized for life. Because it ends so abruptly and strangely, I am sure it will put off some, but I found myself laughing out loud.The quality of the film is generally very, very good. The CGI is great though I must say the traditional animation was only fair. Still, it all worked very well and I can't wait to see more from the clever folks who made this.