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)
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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:
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The Maker (5:30)
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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:
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Serial Taxi (2:19)
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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:
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The Present (4:19)
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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:
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The Life of Death (5:00)
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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:
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Dji. Death Fails (3:56)
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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:
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An Aqueous Solution (1:57)
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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:
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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:
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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.
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Home Sweet Home (9:56)
About the film: A house uproots "herself" and goes on an adventure with other kinds of houses.
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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.
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