10 Important Short Films You Can Watch on YouTube

Short film is completely ignored as an art form in today’s mediascape. The closet thing we have to a short film industry is YouTube, whose videos either come from vloggers, film critics, or popular clips from talk shows. Actual short films (like the ones nominated every year for Academy Awards) are often unseen, unappreciated, sometimes censored, and not distributed well. The most popular short filmmaker is probably Don Hertzfeldt, most likely because he released It’s Such a Beautiful Day, which is a feature length film. There are many kinds of shorts that are important historically, artistically, and technologically, but here is simply a light look at short film to get the ball rolling, and hopefully interest you in this art form:

1. More (1998) dir. Mark Osbourne

This is a seriously trippy and honest Claymation film that tackles an important yet constantly oversimplified concept: people finding happiness in living life rather than escapism. This concept has been in the forefront of public mentality since the publication of Brave New World, yet it has not been exemplified in such a tight message like this emotionally wrought short.

2. Feast (2014) dir. Patrick Osborne

It’s Pixar for goodness sakes, so of course it’s going to be amazing! Winner of Best Original Short at the Oscars that year, Feast is everything right with short filmmaking: It tells the story all in visual cues, it’s simplified to the best effect, and it’s cute, which is always a plus. Funny and sweet, this is definitely one of Pixar’s best shorts to date.

3. Ilha das Flores (1989) dir. Jorge Furtado

This short documentary is interesting both for its informative views on the business of where food comes from, and it’s both visually grotesque and colorful. The film tracks one single tomato throughout its entire life, with a voiceover aimed to explain everything that happens during the journey, in a clinically simplified manner that intrigues and is slightly humorous.

4. Vincent (1982) dir. Tim Burton

Who doesn’t love this now classic short from the legendary director Tim Burton? Completely done in stop motion and featuring a voice over from Vincent Price himself, this was an early indicator of work to come, including The Corpse Bride and Edward Scissorhands.

5. A Trip to the Moon (1902) dir. George Melies

I would of course be remiss if I did not include the most influential and historically important short film of all time: Le Voyage dans le Lune. Directed by former magician Melies, the short details a futuristic trip by a bunch of wizards to the moon, and all the hijinks and hilarity that takes place there. This film would influence fantasy and action films for years to come, and its production has been covered in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.

6. Powers of Ten (1977) dir. Charles and Ray Eames

Everyone has probably seen this film at some point in their academic studies, whether in a class on astronomy, film production, or biology. Very simple in premise, the execution and narration are really quite astounding by current and past standards. Looking at the world, with us in it, can sometimes make you feel trivial, but this film shows you are even more minutely insignificant than you already think. Good luck sleeping after watching this.

7. Mothlight (1963) dir. Stan Brakhage

Extremely experimental for its time, this remains one of the best known works of artist and filmmaker Stan Brakhage. This film was created without the use of a camera, and features images of moth wings, leaves, and other natural elements to create a dysphoric and unnerving collage. The film shines a light on man’s inability to connect with nature and our need to place natural elements in our more civilized world.

8. Rooty Toot Toot (1951) dir. John Hubley

Columbia Pictures UPA never gets the same acclaim as Disney or Warner Bros, yet many of their cartoons (including Gerald Boing Boing and Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom) were revolutionary. This is one of my favorite UPA cartoons, because it has everything to make it especially great: the song “Frankie and Johnny” is the basis of the cartoon and plays throughout, the backgrounds and character designs are awe inspiring, and the short runtime lends to a swift and humorous ending. This film was nominated for Best Animated Short at the Oscars in 1952, and is often on Best Cartoons of All-Time lists.

9. Bambi Meets Godzilla (1974) dir. Marv Newman

Very simple, and altogether short, this quick and ridiculous cartoon was originally released alongside Lenny Bruce’s Thank You Masked Man and was archived by the Academy Film Archive in 2009. It stands as a majorly popular and emblematic film of the seventies and the soon-to-be named New Hollywood.

10. The Tell-Tale Heart (1953) dir. Ted Parmelee

This is another UPA classic that I cannot recommend enough. This is one of the creepiest iterations of Edgar Allan Poe’s original short story that I have ever heard or seen. The film benefits greatly from the narration from James Mason, a stalwart weirdo if I’ve ever seen one. The backgrounds and visual storytelling make for an immensely unsettling and thrilling experience. Don’t watch right before bed.

There are of course other great shorts, but these are probably the easiest to watch, and they’re on the shorter side. I of course recommend early Griffith, Edwin S. Porter, and Charlie Chaplin silent shorts to get a grasp of early filmmaking. There were many cartoons that I wanted to add, especially from the Looney Toons, and the early years of Disney, but those have been seen by most people. I also strongly recommend Maya Deren, who was an immensely important avant-garde filmmaker, once you’ve tackled the Brakhage. I may possibly assemble another list soon, because short films are increasingly important and are often the jumping off point for current innovative directors of the past five years.