This year’s Oscar-nominated animated shorts bring together an extraordinary range of styles and stories from historical memory and emotional fantasy to quirky family dynamics and big life dreams. Whether it’s a poignant look at survival in Butterfly or a tender tale of nature and love in Forevergreen, these five films prove that the shortest cinematic experiences can be among the most powerful. Come see why the Academy singled them out and decide for yourself which deserves the gold

Butterfly: A powerful and poetic animated journey following Olympic swimmer Alfred Nakache as he swims through memories of his life from triumph to the horrors of Auschwitz blending athletic grace with heartbreaking historical reflection.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls: A haunting fable of sorrow, love, and greed, this film follows a young girl overwhelmed by her emotions and the consequences that follow in a story both eerie and poetic.

Retirement Plan: A whimsical and reflective look at one man’s dreams of freedom after the daily grind. A humorous yet tender portrait of imagining life beyond work.

The Three Sisters: Set on a lonely island, three siblings live quiet, rotated lives until a surprising change forces them to rethink home and face the world beyond their isolated routines.

Forevergreen: An imaginative and emotional fantasy about a young bear cub and the tree that becomes his unlikely guardian. As the cub is tempted toward danger, only love and sacrifice can guide him back.