Head Over Heels

After many years of marriage, Walter and Madge have grown apart: he lives on the floor and she lives on the ceiling. When Walter tries to reignite their old romance, their equilibrium comes crashing down, and the couple that can't agree which way is up must find a way put their marriage back together.

Peter Howell:
Head Over Heels (Timothy Reckart): A British student production that tells the sad story of Walter and Madge, a couple married so long they’ve exceeded the law of gravity: he lives on the floor, she lives on the ceiling. Can anything bring them back together? The emotion is certainly there but production values are a little rough.

Steve Pond:
This student film from the U.K. is the story of a longtime couple who have literally grown apart: Walter lives on the floor, and Madge lives on the ceiling. How can they see eye to eye when gravity keeps them apart?

Made using stop-motion animation, which seems to be the medium of the moment for Oscar voters (it's used in three of the nominated features and two of the shorts), "Head Over Heels" is the most openly emotional of the bunch, which is often the ticket to victory. The one thing that seems to stand in its way is that the technique is rough and the characters a bit unattractive; if not, it could have gone from being a contender to a frontrunner.

Likeliest winners: "Head Over Heels," "Adam and Dog"
If the voters can forget about who made them: "Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare,'" "Paperman"
Delicious, but not nourishing enough: "Fresh Guacamole"