The 2018 Oscar nominations are in and we're taking a closer look at the nominated animation shorts in the upcoming awards!

First up, we have Dear Basketball directed by Glen Keane and written by Kobe Bryant. The short is based on a letter Bryant penned in the Players' Tribune announcing his retirement from basketball at the end of that season. The short is the visualization of that letter, narrated by Bryant, scored by John Williams and animated by Glen Keane.

The short, sporting Glen Keane's recognisable brand of lyrical and fluid animation style, feels appropriate to the film's theme.

On the eve of his retirement from basketball, NBA legend Kobe Bryant describes his love for the game, which began when he was a young child. From his youthful dreams of glory to his 20-year career, Bryant describes how he and basketball have given each other all they have.

Next we have, Garden Party, a graduation short directed by Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon, Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Théophile Dufresne and Lucas Navarro of MOPA Computer Graphics Animation School.

The CG short boasts some hyper realistic and sumptuous visuals.

A luxurious villa and its grounds have become home to amorous, hungry and accident-prone frogs and toads. While they enjoy the bounties on offer, including caviar and macaroons, the amphibians uncover the whereabouts of the villa's owner.

You can also check out the Making Of here:

Next up is Pixar's latest short, Lou, written and directed by Dave Mullins and produced by Dana Murray.

A vibrant, funny and poignant story of a playground bully getting a lesson from Lou, a collection of lost and found items connected together.

Lou, the guardian of the lost and found box at an elementary school, tries to teach young bully J.J. that giving to the other kids will make him feel better than stealing from them.

Next we have Negative Space, co-directed by Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata, which is an adaptation of the poem by Ron Koertge.

The stop-motion animation has already won a slew of awards since it's premiere at Annecy after playing in over 80 festivals.

Even though Sam's father is hardly ever home because he is often away on business trips, he is able to connect with his son by teaching him how to pack a suitcase.

And lastly, we have Revolting Rhymes, directed by Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer, based on the much-loved rhymes written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake.

The Wolf from the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” reveals the true and twisted story of his adventures and those of other characters in his world, including Snow White, Cinderella and Jack, the climber of beanstalks.

So there, you have it! Which one's got your vote?