This short was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short. There will be spoilers ahead:Granny O'Grimm is wound a little tightly and has some serious problems, to say the least. Her granddaughter is in bed on a stormy night, starting at noise and wide awake. This is unfortunate, because Granny comes in to tell her a bedtime story. The kid, no doubt having experienced this "charming" event before, pretends to be asleep, but Granny doesn't buy it and the poor kid has to listen to her take on Sleeping Beauty.The animation for the fairy tale itself is different from the animation for the framing device. Granny obviously has trouble separating her own personal frustrations and disappointments from the fairy tale. The fairy tale is largely recognizable as the familiar story, but Granny takes the opportunity to vent her frustrations through the fairy tale she's assaulting her granddaughter with, to the child's growing anxiety. Granny needs to take a chill pill, as she grows more hysterical and aggravated. Just as her anger reaches a crescendo, she realizes where she is and breaks off the story at a most inopportune point for the little girl, who may never fall asleep again.This short is available for viewing and download at iTunes and is well worth watching. Most recommended.

This 6-minute short film from Irish director Nicky Phelan was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010, but lost out to Logorama. All in all it's decent one, solid in every area, but not really a standout in regards to anything. It starts with a little kid with a massive 'fro in bed obviously scared in the dark. But no worries, her beloved Grandma (with an even more impressive haircut) is ready to save the day and enters the room to chase away all the kid's fears. Or is she?The animation is all in all fine. It features two different styles, which both didn't exactly blow me away, but I thought the little kid was nicely designed and I also loved the reaction when Granny asks her whether she wants to hear a nighttime-story. The story is okay and mostly interesting, because it's different than the usual, while the ending came a bit as a surprise, although it probably shouldn't looking at the tone of the film from early on. It's an okay little movie, sometimes struggling to find the right balance between comedy and horror, but if spooky animation films like Coraline are your preferred choice, this one deserves a watch.

Very briefly...it's a gorgeous work of CGI and 2D animation, but the story is so blisteringly boring that it doesn't work. The grandmother just yells at the kid listening to the story, and that is supposed to be funny. Things like, "do you think the fairy did this?" to a headshaked no, "YOU BETTER BELIEVE SHE DID THIS!!!" It's a lot of yelling in the place of comedy, and there is nothing redeeming about her version of the story. It's flat, uncharming, and unfunny. Nothing happens in this version that we don't already know, and despite the apparent fact that Grandma is trying to do nothing but scare her storytell-ee, it fails to give us any reason to listen. Easily the weakest of the nominees this year, I believe Partly Cloudy was far more deserving of the coveted nomination. This is no waste of time by any means, but it is not a deserving Oscar nominee.

Ever wonder what might happen to your beloved childhood bedtime stories if they were told to you by your bitter, disgruntled grandmother? Wonder no more because director Nicky Phelan has brought the world the experience with her animated version of writer Kathleen O'Rourke's character in Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty. There is nothing like a theatrical old woman telling a story, doing her best to draw out strong emotions while her own get the better of her. The short film's granddaughter just wants to go to bed with her stuffed animal, but Granny will have none of it, plopping down to tell one of her famous bedtime tales—starting sweet and normal, yet soon devolving into vengeful diatribe.You don't really know what to expect at the start, somewhat disoriented by the fear you see on the young girl's face once Grandma enters the room. This is not the first time she's stopped by for the nightly ritual, that's for sure. The name 'Grimm' itself should prepare you for the fact that the fantasy won't be a Disney-fied version, but I can't say I anticipated the direction it finally ends up going. Granny definitely has some pent-up rage hidden beneath her sweet, bifocal wearing exterior, ready to be unleashed on all those frowning upon her disintegrating, walker-dependent body. All those pretty little bimbos walking around oblivious to their future of gravity will have their comeuppance, even if it's only within the constraints of a fairy tale romance—funnily devoid of that one trait the actual Sleeping Beauty is known for.Rather then watch as Sleeping Beauty grows up and becomes enchanted in slumber until a handsome Prince can rescue her, Granny tells of an elderly fairy not invited to the young one's party. In her anger she crashes the scene and makes her displeasure known, cursing those in attendance and cackling profusely. The granddaughter desperately tries to shield herself from the scary visage sitting at the side of her bed, hoping for the chance of a happy ending to maybe let her wide eyes find solace in even a wink of sleep that night.The true success really lies in the performance of O'Rourke in portraying Granny O'Grimm as the two-faced Irish woman. People have thrown fairy tales on their heads before, using them for fright rather than hope, so nothing in that regard is new and original. No, the over-the-top theatrics trump the piece's artistry and story due to its sheer hilarity as the woman goes from soft dulcet tones to loud anger-laced screams—even doing her own foreboding echo to add a little pizazz. Not to say the animation is bad; it's actually really good. The use of both computer-generated 3D work for the 'real world' and 2D perspective for the fantasy is handled successfully. I also loved the blurred reflection of our two leads in the mirror across the room from the bed. It is a beautiful rendering of depth in the room and a nice detail.Perhaps the series will expand with more tales we know and love, altered to cause Granny's little girl to grow up jaded and paranoid—especially if the poster is to be believed, talking about 26 x 11 minute episodes. Will they work now that the premise is revealed? I'm not so sure. That surprise of tonal shift really did it for me. I don't quite know if the freshness can continue to be sustained on subsequent entries.