With 2009 now behind us, it's time to look at the great shorts and animations that have inspired us throughout the year.

10. Fallen

A little meteor learns the biggest lesson of life on it's way down to earth. Realized by Wolfram Kampffmeyer and myself. Music and Sound by David Christiansen. Compositing Sebastian Nozon.

Fallen features the most unlikely of main characters: a falling asteroid. The short follows his quick descent down to earth as he deals with the concept of life and death. The ending is executed perfectly, and more than nails home the point: Live your life to the fullest, regardless of the end.

9. French Roast

Official website : http://www.frenchroast.fr/

Winner of several major film festivals, French Roast focuses on a quiet restaurant patron who wants nothing more than to enjoy his coffee and read his paper. It's a fun little short with a great ending, that manages to fit a complicated story into almost only one camera shot.

8. Ataque de Pánico!

Giant robots invades Montevideo! A 5min short movie directed and animated by Fede Alvarez. Get the 3d Robot Model: http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/panic-robot!-3d-max/593836 How we did it?: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=154&t=822329&highlight=big+robots My YouTube Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLb0U3LWEDo Check out the music video!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8F9Qvror6g Panic Attack! was inspired by this amazing short from HouseOfSecrets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEKHe8HVP_Q http://www.aparato.tv/ http://www.murdoc.tv/ Robots gigantes invaden Montevideo!

Ataque de Pánico! plays like a 10 year old boys wet dream: Giant robots blowin' up a city. But whilst it wins no points for it's story, it more than makes up for it with it's impressive special effects. The variety of locations and quick cuts means the viewer doesn't get a chance to get bored. The amount of work that went into rotoscoping and filming all this is worth the watch on it's own. But what blows my mind is that all this was shot on $300 budget, and yet it still manages to pack the punch of a major hollywood blockbuster.

7. Spec Ops: The Line Trailer

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This beautifully crafted trailer paints the scene of a deserted Dubai after cataclysmic sandstorms have blown in, scaring away the once thriving population. The amazing visuals combined with haunting soundtrack of Bjork build an eery tension that leave you wanting more.

6. Blood Trails

Animated Horror Short to promote Matt Cochran's screenplay of the same name. Produced & Directed by Nathan Love for Perspective Studios

(Viewer Discretion is Advised - Extremely Violent)

Blood Trails, is definately the most disturbing animation I've ever seen in my life, but it's also one of the best. The trailer was produced and directed by Nathan Love who was asked by Perspective Studios to create an engaging trailer for a feature length script to help sell the concept to investors. Whether or not this will one day be made into a film is beyond me, but the sheer excitement and terror contained in this trailer makes me think it probably will. For more info on this short, check out this interview with Nathan Love.

5. Please Say Something

A troubled relationship between a Cat and Mouse set in the distant Future. Written, Directed & Produced by David OReilly, Sound design & Voice synthesis by David Kamp, Sound design & Music by Bram Meindersma. Distributed by Future Shorts. Awards: Golden Bear for best short film - Berlinale (2009) Grand Prize – Kurzfilmtage Winterthur (2009) Special Jury Commendation – Encounters (2009) Special Mention – Animated Dreams Tallinn (2009) Silver Dove – DOK Leipzig (2009) Deutscher Kurzfilmpreis (2009) Best Narrative Film – Ottawa (2009) First Prize for Best Short Film – Animadrid (2009) The Cartoon D’or (2009) High Risk Award – Fantoche (2009) Special Distinction – Annecy (2009) Best German Film – Oberhausen (2009) Best Animation – Darklight film festival Special Mention – Prix Ars Electronica

This isn't your typical short, and it's not for everyone either. Please Say Something, follows the story of a troubled relationship between a cat and a mouse. The fast paced abrupt editing can at first be hard to follow, but by the end you'll be completely drawn in. The character building is absolutely fantastic and the old school stylized video game look is the icing on the cake.

4. Yankee Gal

Yankee Gal is a short movie directed by Celine DESRUMAUX, gary LEVESQUE, Antoine PEREZ & Francois PONS. It was made in Supinfocom in 2008. You can visit the website : www.yankeegal.com Selections & Awards : Eh bien, les festivals ont commencé pour YankeeGal... voici un petit résumé de l'état actuel : sélection Rencontres écoles 2008 — Paris ACM SIGGRAPH sélection Festival court devant 2008 (PARIS) selection CICDAF 2008 (CHINE) et obtention du "special jury award" student category sélection Artfuturo 2008 (ESPAGNE) et obtention "mention du festival" sélection ViewFest 2008 (ITALIE) sélection Festival de villeurbanne 2008 ( FRANCE) sélection Art Court Video 2008 (Arles, FRANCE) sélection E-magiciens 2008 (Valenciennes, FRANCE) et obtention du "Prix du Public Emagiciens 2008" sélection festival Anilogue 2008 (Budapest, HONGRIE) sélection festival Future Film (Torino, ITALIE) sélection Pune International Film Festival (INDE) sélection IMAGINA 2009 (Monaco, France) sélection ANIFEST 2009 (Pragues, République Tchèque) sélection "Le cinéma festival" à Begles ( France) sélection Cortoons festival 2009 (ITALIE, Rome) et obtention du "Best School Film" sélection festival d'Annecy 2009 ( France) MUNDOS DIGITALES - Festival de Animacion (ESPAGNE) selection Artimotion Florence (ITALIE) RANIMATIE 2009 (Netherlands) sélection Anima Mundi (BRESIL) sélection festival MIAF (Melbourne) et AIAF (AUSTRALIA) selection SIGGRAPH (USA) selection SIGGRAPH (Paris) sélection au Festival du 1er court de Pontault Combault sélection au KaleidoShorts IV, 2009 (London, UK) sélection Animatu, 2009 (Portugal) obtention du grand Prix du festival sélection Cinanima, 2009 (Portugal) sélection au London International Animation Festival (LIAF), 2009 (London, UK) selection FCAN 2009 (Bruxelles) International Festival of Animated Film BANJA LUKA 2009 Festival 2010 Moscow

Set in World War II, Yankee Gal shows a pilot's dream-like moments between life and death. The amazing visuals combined with the superb audio effects, make for an amazing short that stays in your mind long after it's finished.

3. Alma

[ Full Screen recommended ] Written and Directed by: Rodrigo Blaas Produced by: Cecile Hokes Music: Mastretta Art Director: Alfonso Blaas Lighting Supervisor: Jonatan Catalán Character Technical Supervisor: Jaime Maestro Character Design: Bolhem Bouchiba, Carlos Grangel, Sergio Pablos, Santi Agustí Animation: Daniel Peixe, ManueBover, Remi Hueso Sound Design: Tom Myers and David Hughes Post Production Coordinator: David Heras Special Thanks: Keytoon, Next Limit, UserT38 Full credits: almashortfilm.com

Certainly a late comer to the party, Alma was released less than 2 weeks ago in time for Christmas. This amazing short was created in 2 years by an enomously talented team of artists. The ending was predictable, but with the creepy sounds, brilliant colors, and steady pacing, it didn't matter: my eyes were peeled to the screen from start to finish.

2. Partly Cloudy

Everyone knows that the stork delivers babies, but where do the storks get the babies from? The answer lies up in the stratosphere, where cloud people sculpt babies from clouds and bring them to life.

Partly Cloudy Movie Animated Trailer HD by hasagsdahg

It shouldn't surprise you that Pixar's Partly Cloudy got a mention here. It's comical enough to entertain children, yet wholesome enough to give the adults the warm and fuzzies. This charming tale about personal responsibility is told without a single line of dialogue, but thanks to Pixar's knack for story telling we know exactly what's happening.

1. Steel Life

My Master Thesis graduation film. Music by Mathieu Alvado, interpreted by the Star Pop Orchestra at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. Contractor : Christophe Eliot. Editing and mixing by Thibaut Maillart, Etienne Graindorge. Sound recording by Etienne Oury, Benoit Navarret, Thibaut Maillart, Etienne Graindorge. More details on : www.mathieugerard.com/steellife www.mathieualvado.com www.myspace.com/starpoporchestra

Steel Life is a visually stunning masterpiece that takes the viewer on a journey of life's deepest emotions. It's not the sort of movie you'd put on to entertain your friends, this particular short is best viewed by yourself, in a dark room, with the volume up. Steel Life is a truly engaging experience, and in my opinion is the best animation of 2009.

Honourable mentions:

So there you have it, the cream of the crop top 10 animations of 2009. If you think I missed one, please point it out in the comment section!

If you liked this post you might also like my list of 6 more Amazing Animated Shorts.

The Top 10 Animations of 2009