The time that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have until they announce the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards is getting closer. So it’s no surprise that Variety reports the newest shortlist that’s come out from them on the Best Animated Short Films. Of course the assumed front runner in our minds is the Pixar short Partly Cloudy. Here’s the rest of the almost-nominees below:

• “The Cat Piano,” Eddie White and Ari Gibson, directors (The People’s Republic of Animation)
• “French Roast,” Fabrice O. Joubert, director (Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films)
• “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty,” Nicky Phelan, director, and Darragh O’Connell, producer (Brown Bag Films)
• “The Kinematograph,” Tomek Baginski, director-producer (Platige Image)
• “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte),” Javier Recio Gracia, director (Kandor Graphics and Green Moon)
• “Logorama,” Nicolas Schmerkin, producer (Autour de Minuit)
• “A Matter of Loaf and Death,” Nick Park, director (Aardman Animations Ltd.)
• “Partly Cloudy,” Peter Sohn, director (Pixar Animation Studios)
• “Runaway,” Cordell Barker, director (National Film Board of Canada)
• “Variete,” Roelof van den Bergh, director (il Luster Productions)

The nominees for each of the Oscar categories will be announced February 2nd, 2010.

Tags: A Matter of Loaf and Death, French Roast, Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty, Logorama, Oscars, Partly Cloudy, Runaway, The Cat Piano, The Kinematograph, The Lady and the Reaper, Variete