Pixar's 'Partly' in Oscar animated shorts race

[Sampat_Shetty]

Pixar's 'Partly' in Oscar animated shorts race

List of 37 has been whittled to 10 contenders

By Gregg Kilday
[www.hollywoodreporter.com]

More awards coverage Pixar's "Partly Cloudy" is the most high-profile title among the 10 animated shorts that are advancing in the 2009 Oscar race.

Directed by Peter Sohn, "Cloudy," which playfully combined clouds, storks and the making of babies, played in theaters as a curtain-raiser to Pixar's feature hit "Up."

Thirty-seven pictures qualified for consideration in the animated short category.

The 10 films that have been short-listed, from which five nominees will be chosen, are:

"The Cat Piano," Eddie White and Ari Gibson, directors (The People's Republic of Animation)

"French Roast," Fabrice O. Joubert, director (Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films)

"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty," Nicky Phelan, director, and Darragh O'Connell, producer (Brown Bag Films)

"The Kinematograph," Tomek Baginski, director-producer (Platige Image)

"The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)," Javier Recio Gracia, director (Kandor Graphics and Green Moon)

"Logorama," Nicolas Schmerkin, producer (Autour de Minuit)

"A Matter of Loaf and Death," Nick Park, director (Aardman Animations Ltd.)

"Partly Cloudy," Sohn, director (Pixar Animation Studios)

"Runaway," Cordell Barker, director (National Film Board of Canada)

"Variete," Roelof van den Bergh, director (il Luster Productions)

Nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be announced on Feb. 2.