Animating Oscar by MATTHEW HAYS Despite all the alleged Canadian shut-outs (think Jim Carrey, Christopher Plummer, Norman Jewison and Atom Egoyan), it seems we Canucks rule when it comes to cartoons. This year's animated short category is dominated--in (count 'em!) four out of the five nominees--by films with a Montreal connection. Thank our national treasure the NFB, which has made our fair burg into a Mecca of sorts for the drawing kind. Needless to say, come this Sunday night, there will be a great many Montrealers enraptured by their TV sets, waiting, fingers crossed, to see who brings home the trophy. Here's my critical run-down of the four Montreal-connected nominees: When the Day Breaks, an NFB production, is the odds-on fave to take home the gold this weekend. Filmmakers Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis have crafted a real gem, a short that creates a dream-like sensation through its constant movement. The film's light, frothy tone and the fact that it won the Genie in this category and an award at Cannes definitely works in its favour. The other NFB entry, My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts, is also a delight. Norwegian-Canadian animator Torrill Kove delivers a forgivably sentimental tale about her grandmother, who used to iron shirts for the King of Norway. The film takes an unexpected turn when the Nazis invade and occupy Norway, and Kove's grandmother manages to invent her own nifty brand of resistance. Note to Kove: I loved this movie! The mighty Paul Driessen, famous for such entries as The End of the World in Four Seasons and Cat's Cradle, again illustrates his knack for the bizarre with Three Misses, a British-French-Dutch co-production which spins the tale of three damsels in distress, ultimately failed by their potential knights in shining armour. It's typically quirky Driessen stuff, a treat for fans and an accessible entry point for the uninitiated. Last but by no means least is The Old Man and the Sea, the pride and joy of local production house Pascal Blais. One of the first animated Imax offerings, the film took over four years to make, in large part because the new technology needed to create animated Imax had not yet been developed. Alexander Petrov, who has already been nominated twice for previous animated shorts, painstakingly painted each frame of this sumptuous Ernest Hemingway adaptation. The Old Man and the Sea is also a strong contender; Academy members may well have been overwhelmed by seven tall storeys of animation. In related Oscar news, Concordia University will be proudly screening two of the above-mentioned films, My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts and When the Day Breaks, this Friday, March 24 at 1:15 p.m. at the DeSève Cinema (1400 de Maisonneuve W.). The screening celebrates these two nominees that both have Concordia connections. Wow, it really is real education for the real world. COMMENTS: matt_hays@babylon.montreal.qc.ca