It’s hard to believe, but sometimes things don’t go Disney’s way. Take last year, when Luxembourg and France’s upstart Mr. Hublot took the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, over Disney’s miraculous Mickey Mouse comeback cartoon Get a Horse!, one of the most dazzling examples of 3D showmanship in memory.
人們很難相信，迪士尼有時(shí)候也會(huì)有失算的時(shí)候。比如去年，盧森堡與法國(guó)兩國(guó)共同創(chuàng)造的暴發(fā)戶哈布洛先生（《哈布洛先生》）摘得了奧斯卡最佳動(dòng)畫(huà)短片的桂冠，擊敗了迪士尼出品的米老鼠復(fù)出之作《馬兒快跑》，盡管這部作品精彩絕倫，堪稱(chēng)3D動(dòng)畫(huà)技術(shù)史上最令人嘖嘖稱(chēng)贊的典范之一。

This year, it will be another injustice if Disney’s Feast (paired on movie screens last fall with Big Hero 6) doesn’t win the Oscar. It’s the clear standout in a field that includes other shorts of merit, but nothing as delightful and crowd-pleasing. Conceptually, it’s just about perfect: the story of a stray dog, the bachelor who adopts him, and the man’s rocky romance, all told from the point of view of that irresistible canine and focused nearly exclusively on the food said canine eagerly devours.
今年， 如果迪士尼的《盛宴》（和《超能陸戰(zhàn)隊(duì)》一樣是在去年秋天上映）不能贏得奧斯卡獎(jiǎng)，那將是第二次對(duì)迪士尼的不公。它在同類(lèi)的動(dòng)畫(huà)短片中脫穎而出，雖然其他的動(dòng)畫(huà)短片也很精彩，卻不及它這樣令人歡欣，受觀眾青睞。從概念上說(shuō)，它可說(shuō)近乎完美：這個(gè)故事是關(guān)于一只流浪狗、一位收養(yǎng)了它的屠夫，以及屠夫一波三折的愛(ài)情故事，故事是從那只惹人憐愛(ài)的小狗的角度來(lái)講述的，幾乎完全集中在小狗饕餮美餐的鏡頭上。

In a brisk six minutes, Feast tells a funny and relatable story with masterful economy, and all within the restrictions noted above. Debuting director Patrick Osborne, who was head of animation on Disney’s Oscar-winning (and equally romantic) Paperman, captures the behavior and movements of a dog with an observant deftness that will charm any canine lover, with just a soup?on of anthropomorphism. This instant classic is yet another sign that Disney Animation under John Lasseter’s leadership has reached the same level of excellence as the fabled Pixar.
在這段節(jié)奏緊湊的六分鐘視頻里，《盛宴》用大師級(jí)的剪裁技巧講述了一個(gè)風(fēng)趣幽默又與每個(gè)人息息相關(guān)的故事，而且篇幅嚴(yán)格限制在上述的時(shí)間限制之內(nèi)。該片的導(dǎo)演、新銳導(dǎo)演帕特里克·奧斯本是迪士尼出品的奧斯卡獲獎(jiǎng)動(dòng)畫(huà)片《紙人》制作團(tuán)隊(duì)中的主要角色，他細(xì)致而熟練的捕捉了小狗行為動(dòng)作的嬌憨之態(tài)，讓所有愛(ài)犬人士為之傾倒，甚至傳達(dá)出幾分自然萬(wàn)物同形同性的味道。這部已然躋身經(jīng)典的作品再次證明了，在約翰·雷斯特的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下，迪士尼的動(dòng)畫(huà)團(tuán)隊(duì)的杰出程度已然可以媲美著名的皮克斯動(dòng)畫(huà)公司。

Feast’s closest competition in the Oscar race is the very inventive The Bigger Picture from Britain. Director Daisy Jacobs mixes media and techniques in a way I haven’t seen before, with two-dimensional characters painted onto flat surfaces interacting with real miniature sets and props. The story itself centers on a very adult dilemma, as two brothers bicker over the care of their elderly, dying mother. The decision to have the faces and torsos of the siblings immobilized on various walls was perhaps intended to underline how wearying such situations can be on a family. Surreal touches like a vacuum cleaner sucking up all the people and objects in a room help enliven this morose but creatively intriguing short.
在這次奧斯卡獎(jiǎng)的角逐中，《盛宴》最強(qiáng)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手是英國(guó)出品的別出心裁之作《更大的圖片》。該片導(dǎo)演黛西·雅各布斯在影片中把平面上的二維人物形象與寫(xiě)實(shí)的迷你布景和道具相互關(guān)聯(lián)，這種將不同媒介雜糅，將不同的動(dòng)畫(huà)技法并用的創(chuàng)作手法我從未見(jiàn)過(guò)。故事本身是圍繞著一個(gè)頗為成人化的悖謬主題展開(kāi)的，兩個(gè)兄弟為了誰(shuí)應(yīng)該去照顧他們年邁瀕死的母親而爭(zhēng)執(zhí)不休。導(dǎo)演決意讓兩兄弟的面部和四肢都固定在若干個(gè)平面上，這也許是為了突出這種家庭境況會(huì)讓家庭成員如何倦怠不堪。超現(xiàn)實(shí)的氛圍像吸塵器一樣攫取了影片中所有的人和事物，讓這部格調(diào)陰郁卻獨(dú)出機(jī)杼，引人入勝的作品更加富有靈氣。

Other nominated Animated Short Films:
其他提名影片為如下幾個(gè)：

“A Single Life” (Netherlands, 2 min., directed by Marieke Blaauw, Joris Oprins and Job Roggeveen): Upon discovering a mysterious old 45 rpm single record, Pia plays it and finds herself able to travel back and forth through her life, depending on where she drops the needle. This hilariously black comedy says it all — in two minutes!
《獨(dú)身生活》（制片國(guó)家/地區(qū): 尼德蘭；時(shí)長(zhǎng)：2分鐘；導(dǎo)演：Marieke Blaauw, Joris Oprins , Job Roggeveen)皮婭發(fā)現(xiàn)了一卷神秘的老式唱片，單面、每分鐘轉(zhuǎn)數(shù)45轉(zhuǎn)，皮婭播放了這張唱片，發(fā)現(xiàn)她把唱針擺放在什么地方，就會(huì)穿越到某個(gè)時(shí)間段，由此可以在她的過(guò)去和未來(lái)之間不停穿梭。這個(gè)搞笑的黑色幽默故事將所有劇情張力囊括其中——時(shí)長(zhǎng)僅為兩分鐘時(shí)間！

“The Dam Keeper” (USA, 18 min., Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi): Pity the poor piggy — charged with keeping up the old windmill that keeps up the old dam that protects the old town from disaster. And enduring the scorn and torment of his fellow animals at school, until a foxy new classmate shows up.
《守壩員》（制片國(guó)家/地區(qū): 美國(guó)；時(shí)長(zhǎng)：18分鐘；導(dǎo)演：Robert Kondo，Dice Tsutsumi)可憐的小豬Pity擔(dān)負(fù)著保護(hù)古老風(fēng)車(chē)的責(zé)任，這部風(fēng)車(chē)支持著古老的水壩，而正是這座水壩讓這個(gè)古老的小鎮(zhèn)免受自然災(zāi)害。在學(xué)校里，小豬受到其他小動(dòng)物同學(xué)的嘲諷和虐待，直到一個(gè)新同學(xué)、一只小狐貍出現(xiàn)了。

“Me and My Moulton” (Canada, 14 min., Torill Kove): A Scandinavian girl asks her parents if she and her sisters can have a bicycle while struggling with the fact that they are embarrassingly out of sync with “Norway normal.”
《我和我的莫頓自行車(chē)》（制片國(guó)家/地區(qū): 加拿大；時(shí)長(zhǎng)：14分鐘；導(dǎo)演：Torill Kove)：一個(gè)斯堪的納維亞血統(tǒng)的小女孩問(wèn)她的父母，她和姐姐們能不能有一輛自行車(chē)。一家人為此為難，因?yàn)檫@與“挪威的習(xí)俗”非常不符。

In all, not a vintage year for the Academy’s chosen animated shorts. Anyway, congratulations to Feast!
總體來(lái)說(shuō)，從奧斯卡提名的這些動(dòng)畫(huà)作品來(lái)看，今年不算是一個(gè)豐收之年。不管怎么說(shuō)，恭喜《盛宴》！