DEAR BASKETBALL - GLEN KEANE (2017)

Directed by Glen Keane, and written by Kobe Bryant (who stars in and narrates the film), Dear Basketball won the Best Animated Short Film Academy Award in 2018. Bryant's untimely death in January 2020 makes it feel more poignant but one suspects that it would not have won the Oscar if they were not held in the United States, where basketball is so popular and such overt mawkishness is more acceptable than in Europe. It probably did not hurt that most Academy members live in LA, and Bryant played for the LA Lakers. The title is pretty self-explanatory: it is a valedictory love-letter from Kobe Bryant to basketball, the sport that made him a superstar. The animation has a Disney quality to it, which is not surprising considering that Glen Keane has worked for Disney since the 1970s, being involved in features such as Tarzan and Pocahontas, and shorts such as the Oscar-winning Paperman. If you like Dear Basketball by Glen Keane, be sure to rate it and share it.