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Animated Shorts for the Secondary ELA Classroom 
Compiled by Pamela Bussey

These animated shorts are creative and thoughtful; whether you use them as a brain break, a writing prompt, an intro to narrative analysis, or to start a discussion, these shorts are perfect for the ELA classroom. Students are already comfortable with the medium of film, and as such are more likely to feel a sense of security from film that they may not get from non-visual texts like novels or poetry. When students feel overwhelmed, confused, or anxious about their ability to understand a text - because of its length or content, for example - they may shut down and stay quiet. But with film, students start out relaxed and, with the right guidance and questions, stay engaged. Here are some of our favourite short animations to use in class. The list was created with secondary students in mind, but many of the films are elementary friendly.

Piper (6:06)

Mood: Uplifting, inspirational, humorous  Topics / Ideas: fear, courage, risk-taking, exploration
About the film: A mother bird tries to teach her little one how to find food by herself. In the process, she encounters a traumatic experience that she must overcome in order to survive (from Piper’s IMDB page).
Suggested discussion questions:
  • How does Piper’s characterization help us to understand, and empathize with,  what she’s going through?
  • What role do the hermit crabs play in the film?
  • What does the film say about risk-taking and independence?
Tip: Be sure to watch until the very end for a last shot of happy Piper!

The Maker (5:30)

Mood: Thoughtful, haunting, hopeful Topic / Ideas: Love, circle of life, time, passing down knowledge
About the film: The Maker is a multi-award winning stop motion animated short film about a strange creature that races against time to make the most important and beautiful creation of his life (from The Maker’s website).
Suggested discussion questions:
  • What message do you think the filmmaker is trying to communicate with The Maker?
  • How does the structure of the film affect our understanding of this message?
  • Why does the doll only become alive when her maker plays the violin? What might the filmmaker be saying about life, love, and purpose?
Tip: The quote on the chalkboard at 2:23 is from Buddha: “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow”.

Serial Taxi (2:19)
Mood: humorous, suspenseful, ironic  Topic / Ideas: Media stereotypes, bias, prejudice
About the film: A young business woman takes a chilling ride when she realizes her cab driver could be the notorious Taxi Killer (from Serial Taxi’s IMDB page).
Suggested discussion questions:
  • How does the film set up the audience to make assumptions about the two central characters?
  • How does foreshadowing work in the film? How many instances of foreshadowing can you find?
  • How does the irony of the ending help to communicate the film’s message?
Tip: If you watch the film more than once, pause at 0:48 and have one student read the breaking news bulletin. The filmmakers have snuck in a laugh there, too! Also the film maker's webpage offers bonus material.

The Present (4:19)

Mood: playful, thoughtful, warm  Topic / Ideas: friendship/companionship, empowerment, overcoming adversity
About the film: Jake spends most of his time playing video games indoors until his mother decides to give him a present (from The Present’s IMDB page).
Suggested discussion questions:
  • How are the two central characters juxtaposed in the film? What purpose does this juxtaposition serve?
  • Why do you think the filmmaker chose a dog as the second character (rather than a cat or another person, for example)?
  • What would the film be like without the twist at the end? Would the audience experience the film differently and/or derive a different meaning?
Tip: Since this film went viral in early 2016, it may be best to ask students who have seen the film to resist revealing the twist ending.

The Life of Death (5:00)

Mood: tender, peaceful, sorrowful  Topics / Ideas: death and the afterlife, darkness and light, love
About the film: A story about the day Death fell in love with Life through a beautiful doe (from The Life of Death’s IMDB page).
Suggested discussion questions:
  • Why do you think the filmmaker chose a deer as the second character? What associations might audiences already have with deer characters, from other films?
  • Why is it difficult for Death to touch the deer and let her go?
  • What does the ending tell us about the relationship between love and death?
Tip: Consider giving students a trigger warning as they may be caught off guard by the emotional nature of the film in its handling of death.

Dji. Death Fails (3:56)

Mood: humourous   Themes: death and the afterlife
About the film: Created by the Moldovan studio Simpals, Dji. Death Fails tells the story of Dji, an unusual manifestation of Death, who is not terribly good at his job, and suffers from rather bad luck. In this episode, all he has to do is to take the soul of a dying trucker, but that seems to be easier said than done (from Dji. Death Fails’ FILMS Short page).
Suggested Discussion Questions:
  • Why do you think the filmmaker chose to make Death the main character?
  • How does the mood of the film help to push the film forward and keep viewers engaged? What would the film be like if the mood were different (if it were gloomy or sad, for example)?
  • What do you think the filmmakers are trying to say about death?
Tip: Lead a discussion about the role of music played in the film and consider the way it may have broken the ‘fourth wall’

An Aqueous Solution (1:57)

Mood: gloomy, serious 
Topics/ Ideas: darkness and light, disillusionment, loneliness, loss of innocence
About the film: This short animation is bleak and apparently grim, but it is an assertive statement on self-determination and the fundamental need for both dark and light (from the NFB website).
Suggested Discussion Questions:
  • How are the two central characters juxtaposed in the film?
  • How does this juxtaposition help us to uncover the filmmaker’s message?
  • How is the rain - and everything that happens around the rain - used as a symbol in the film?

Partly Cloudy (5:49)

Mood: humorous, playful, warm   Themes: friendship, dedication, acceptance
About the film: Babies both human and animal are created up in the stratosphere, by the clouds themselves. One cloud specializes in "dangerous" babies, creating a challenge for his loyal stork that has to deliver them (from Partly Cloudy’s IMDB page).
Suggested Discussion Questions:
  • Why do you think think the stork continues to return to the same cloud, even though he’s always in for a scary surprise?
  • How is cloudiness and rain used as symbols to help communicate the message of the film?
  • What do you think the filmmakers are trying to say about the nature of friendship
Tip: Pause the film at 4:10 and ask students to predict what will happen (see if anyone can guess the twist ending)!

Jinxy Jenkins & Lucky Lou (3:51)

About the film: When the chaotically misfortunate Jenkins and the monotonously lucky Lou run into each other one morning, they find a thrilling and fulfilling change of pace as they hurtle down the hills of San Francisco in an ice cream cart.

Home Sweet Home (9:56)

About the film: A house uproots "herself" and goes on an adventure with other kinds of houses.

Oktapodi (2:25)

About the film: Two Octopi fight for their lives with a stubborn restaurant cook in a comical escape through the streets of a small Greek village.

In a Heartbeat (4:05)

About the film: Produced by the Ringling College of Art and Design. A closeted boy runs the risk of being outed by his own heart after it escapes his body to chase after the boy of his dreams.
Do you have any favourite animated films that aren’t on our list? We’d love to hear from you! You can find us on Facebook or contact us through our website.