If a hungarian animator with a 5-min. movie about a cuckoo clock ascends to the stage on Oscar night, you may be tempted to take that post-Jennifer Hudson, pre-Helen Mirren bathroom break. But if you do, you will miss something besides an ecstatic shout-out to Budapest—you'll miss seeing a real Hollywood comeback story, the return of the short film. Thanks to downloadable video and an embrace of the form by some Hollywood heavyweights, something very old-fashioned is happening: people are watching short movies. On cell phones, computers, TVs and—this is really retro—in theaters, new audiences are discovering or rediscovering the satisfaction of the cinematic quickie. Shorts, for decades Hollywood's farm team for animators and directors, are returning to the major leagues of entertainment.
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