If you’re looking for a brief escape, animated short films offer imaginative worlds and inventive stories that fully immerse viewers. Though many fantastic shorts exist, some of the most underappreciated gems can be found on Reveel. This list has a collection of 10 criminally-underrated animated short films that deserve more recognition. So next time you want a fast, enjoyable break, queue up these underrated shorts for a dose of creativity and fun. This list is in no particular order.
10. The Backwater Gospel
The Backwater Gospel is an award-winning animation that tells about a town that is cursed by regular visits from The Undertaker (death), leading to one day when the town decides to help death along.
Watch The Backwater Gospel on Reveel
9. The Blissful Accidental Death
The Blissful Accidental Death is about a drawing found in an antique shop that makes a young man start an unusual journey to find the truth about it. The film is a tribute to Romanian art in the 20th century and the beautiful life of painter Medi Wechsler Dinu.
Watch The Blissful Accidental Death on Reveel
8. Something Scary
Sapphire Sandalo animates and narrates her favorite scary stories.
Watch Something Scary on Reveel
7. Wolf’s Child
A father sacrifices himself to save his 9 month old son from a wolf attack, only for another wolf to take the orphan child as his own.
Watch Wolf’s Child on Reveel
6. The Wizard in the Woods
When a Wizard sets out on a grand adventure – he is forced to wait in a forest where he meets a sentient tree that changes everything.
Watch The Wizard in the Woods on Reveel
5. Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus
Martin is on the run because he tried to fight the system. Sara is a conceptual artist. Together they join a revolutionary commune in the countryside, with the police on their trail.
Watch Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus on Reveel
4. Laniakea
Laniakea is about a futuristic space explorer who can travel at superluminal speeds and has hopes to find extraterrestrial life, but as of yet, has not succeeded in finding anything.
Watch Laniakea on Reveel
3. The Messengers
Follow a small band of early Christian believers as they boldly proclaim Christ and His message in the face of great opposition, an act that results in the growth of the church and the unexpected conversion of its most zealous enemy.
Watch The Messengers on Reveel
2. Roots
This story follows a kind tree spirit forced to leave his home forest due to people cutting down his trees.
Watch Roots on Reveel
1. Aždaja / The Dragon
This award-winning short film has some of the most beautiful animations that you’ll come across. The story is based on the legend of the serpent-like dragon creature dwelling in remote Bosnian mountains. It’s an abstract film that has many interpretations.
Watch Aždaja / The Dragon on Reveel