Animated short nominees get surreal, gentle, meta and very, very personal

The five nominees for the 2023 Oscar for animated short film, from left: “An Ostrich Told Me the World Was Fake and I Think I Believe It,” “Ice Merchants,; “My Year of Dicks,” “The Flying Sailor” and “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.” A near-death ballet. “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” based on co-director Charlie Mackesy’s children’s book, conveys a gentle message of self-acceptance and the virtues of vulnerability. It’s about loss and family connections.” Producer Bruno Caetano says, “João imagines the situation or place, then as he works on the music, things start falling into place. “Also, I really can’t compliment my therapist enough.” The surreal, stop-motion “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It” is so meta, you may actually be a character in another animated short watching it and reading this.