There are millions of hour long movies that are created both to entertain and inspire the viewer to think, but not all movies have to be long to achieve this goal. Here are some short films that are both visually appealing and thought provoking for those with little free time.

Sweet Dreams by Kirsten Lepore is a stop-motion film that is about ten minutes long. The story tells of the adventure of a vanilla cupcake from a land of sweets that dreams of exploring what is beyond his sugary home. As a result of his desire, he one day takes a group of sugar cubes from his work to craft himself a boat which he uses to sail off, but once the boat begins to leak, he becomes stranded on a land of vegetables. Although both lands have different features, the people of the vegetable island willingly allow the cupcake into their society, and once he adapts to the new society he begins to create a new life on the island. However, the cupcake eventually decides to leave for his home, and says goodbye to the vegetable people that helped him survive. Following his return home, life is much more difficult for him to adapt to because his fellow sweets now see him as an outcast due to his new knowledge, but once a flood threatens their livelihood he uses his new knowledge to save them all.

Kill Your Maker by Guldies is a three minute long stop-motion film about a robot which lives its short life as part of a larger repeating chain. In the film the robots are doomed to repeat the chain of being activated, and finding a box of different face masks on the ground along with an axe and a few drops of blood. Then, the robots put on the different masks as they perform the task of attacking their creators hand by severing their thumb. Next, the robot must place all the masks back into the box and lower them to the next robot in the line along with dropping the axe now covered in blood to the next platform. Finally, the robot must hit the button to activate the next robot in the cycle and deactivate itself.

Descendants is a short fourteen minute animation that follows the lives of two flowers, a red flower and a white flower, who live in the forest. In the film, the white flower longs for a purpose, while the red flower believes that life is purposeless without any good in it. When a deer walks up to the field the white flower sees its opportunity to become part of something bigger, but the red flower convinces her that the dear is evil. However despite the red flowers impression of the deer, she decides to help the white flower if the white flower attracts the insects that are killing the red flower to herself. Despite their agreement, the red flower decides to kill the deer before the white flower can achieve her goal.

The Invention of Love by Andrey Shushkov is a short animation about a young women, and an inventor who fall in love. In the short film, the women is originally amused and amazed by the man’s invention and his world, but as time progresses her amusement turns to horror once he replaces everything with mechanical replicas. Eventually, the woman passes away as a result of the machines, and even her death could not stop the man’s obsession with machines.

On the Same Page by Carla Lutz and Alli Norman is an animated short about two different people who live in a newspaper world, a man who writes the local news and a woman who works on comics. In the short, the man loses his work after it flies out of the window, and because of this event must leave his place of work for the first time in his life. With the help of the women they catch the papers one by one, and explore the different aspects of their world. Through their adventure, they become friends, and learn how to live their lives to fullest every day.

Kara by Quantic Dream is a short film that was created by the company as a test demo to examine their game software which lasts for the duration of six and a half minutes. The film details the creation of a human-like robot, Kara, who is to be shipped out for sale. In the film, her creator assembles her one piece at a time, and then tests her various features and programs that will be useful in her everyday life. After passing all the tests, she prepares to be shipped out, but mistakenly reveals her ability to form independent thought which makes her a defective unit. Once her creator realizes she is defective, he begins to disassemble her which causes her to panic, and Just before her complete destructions, her maker stops disassembling her one she states “I’m scared.” This quote prompts her crafter to take note that she not only could think freely, but also feel emotion which causes him to decide to allow her to leave with the rest of the androids as long as she does not cause any trouble once she has left the factory.

Plastic by Sandy Widyanata is a live-action short film that acts as a commentary on plastic surgery and beauty standards. In the film, a women, Anna, begins preparing for a date when she realizes she now has the ability to mold her body like clay. At first, she is confused by the new discovery, and plays around with her various facial features to test what she can do. However once she gets the hang of sculpting her appearance, she designs her dream look for herself. However in the end she decides to revert back to her original appearance after realizing she was beautiful before the multiple changes she had made.

Zero by Christopher Kezelos is an odd animation about a society that ranks people based on the number they are born with on their stomach. The higher the number they are born with the better treatment the people receive in society, and the more opportunities they will be given in life. In the film, the viewer watches the life of a boy who is born with the number zero on his stomach who is constantly put down by the world, but one day falls in love with a girl who was also born a zero. Despite the law forbidding zero’s from reproducing, the couple quickly decide to start a family, but are later separated when the boy is imprisoned. The boy remains in the prison until the child is born. When the baby is born it has the highest the society had ever seen number infinity and is praised by the community.

Waltz Duet by team Valse a Quatre Mains is a short animation about a pair of conjoined sisters who hide themselves from the world. In the short, the young violinist hears the music the two twins play with their piano as he walks by their home. As a result of the music, he begins to play his violin adding onto their tune, which causes them to allow him to view them as they really are.

Identity by Kalhil KJ is a short live action film about a girl who is an outcast that attends a high school where every student wears a mask over their face. The film follows her school day as she observes her fellow classmates activities, and struggles with fitting in with others. By the end of the film, her mask cracks and she learns to accept her real self. The film is a commentary on how people often change who they really are in order to fit in and be accepted within a certain group.

There are many forms of art and entertainment within this world, and I hope this list help you to appreciate the smaller things in life, and even art when you’re short on time.