I picked up the latest issue of 3D World and found out about "Fun Down Unda", a 2 minute, 21 second, animated short about a man who tries to pursue his dream of riding in a kangaroo (the man is based on a real person who really wanted to do that). The short was independently made by Jason R. Holt with a number of 3D software.

Warning: the ending may be hit or miss, depending on viewer.

It's a 50 meg file, but those of you with faster connections (or able to idle your computer on dial-up for a few hours) should be all right. Take a look at "Fun Down Unda" here.

Here's one from an older issue of 3D World. It's a 42 meg file and lasts 2 minutes, 14 seconds.

Les Pingouins Volent-ils? (Do Penguins Fly?)

Another animated short from 3D World. This 24 meg, 2 minute and 22 second short reveals even witches have problems with breaking in newer things.

Daphne's New Broom

Here's one that's less of a comedy and more of a music video. 25.6 megs and 3 minutes and 56 seconds.

Tale of Rock

In trying to bring the energy of classic 2D animation into a 3D world, a French team of animators bring a short tale about an alien shutterbug learning one should be careful that the locals don't go ape on you. A 16.5 meg, 1 minute, 48 second short.

Burning Safari

It's fly versus samurai in this animated short inspired by Asian philosophy. It's 16.3 megs and 2 minutes 44 seconds.

The Fly

Even airplane pilots like to drag race. This 84.3 meg, 2 minute, 24 second commercial for the X-box is an impressive bit of CG. Except for the people and closeups of the interior of one of the cockpits, it's just about entirely CG.

For those of you still stuck with dial-up like I am, I would recommend using a download manager of some sort so you can pause and continue downloading at a later time. Personally, I use the free Orbit Downloader.

Racing Beats

Here's a fake commercial combining advertising with elements of WWI (not WWII as mentioned in the linked page's blurb). (Note: Kaiser Wilhelm II (pronounced VIL-helm) ruled the German Empire from 1888 to the end of WWI. The Luftwaffe is the German air force.)

Luftwaffles

See the opening sequence from 2008's International Trickfilm Festival in which a singer has a frog in her throat. This animated short is 18.7 meg, 1 minute and 17 seconds.

Frog in the Throat

What if the Nazis developed a giant robot during World War II and sent it to the US? Watch as the Nazi mech dukes it out with American fighter planes and a C.O.D.E. Guardian. This all CG mini-movie is 157 meg and 13 minutes, 34 seconds.

There are instances of strong language in this short movie. I would rate this movie PG-13 for occasional strong language and fantasy violence. If you don't use IE as a browser, you may have trouble properly displaying the page (AOL seems to work fine).

Warning #1: If you live in Germany or other country that outlaws displays of the Nazi swastika, downloading this animation is probably illegal.

Warning #2: Because of the size of this file (157 megabytes), you will need a download manager such as Orbit, especially if you are stuck on dial-up (it took me over 12 hours to download it; worse, I had to restart Orbit roughly every 2 hours due to problems connecting to the site; I think it was worth it, however). Best of luck.

As a bonus, also available are an animated short with what appears to be a partly robotic dinosaur ("The Hunt") and a propagandistic commercial for the Empire in the Star Wars universe ("Join the Empire").

Download "C.O.D.E. Guardian" here.

A cranky, overly-cosmeticized witch moves into a tree house, unaware that her efforts to weed her lawn are being thwarted by a snail-backed wizard. A 39.4 meg, 6 minute, 26 second short.

Tree For Two

M.C. Escher's never-ending staircase can pop up in unusual places, as a drunken victim of the rat race finds out. This allegorical animated short is 27 megs and 3 minutes, 44 seconds long.

Hallucii

How can I post about 3D animated shorts without including at least one made by the Blender Team using the free 3D graphics program Blender? You're probably going to need Orbit for this one, especially you guys with the slower connections. You also may need to experiment with different links before you get a cooperative one.

A rabbit finds his peaceful appreciation of beautiful butterflies wrecked by a trio of bullying rodents -- a flying squirrel, a tree squirrel, and a chinchilla. Our lapine hero gets his revenge in true Warner Brothers fashion. This short comes in several different sizes and 9 minutes, 56 seconds.

Big Buck Bunny

Just what can be done with 3D animation? Try a realistic puppet show. Follow a puppet as he risks indulging his curiosity about his strange little world. This short is 29.9 megs and 6 minutes, 15 seconds long.

The Fool Looks At The Finger That Points To The Sky

While this next one is a short, it's actually not animated except for four characters, which means it barely qualifies to fit in this thread. I decided to include it here because, one -- I like it, and two -- it illustrates something some 3D artists try to do -- add some fantastical element to a real film so that it looks like that fantastical element had been filmed in real life instead of created and animated in a 3D program. You might call it photo manipulation in three dimensions.

A lawn-obsessed suburbanite meets a rather strange critter. I like this one not just because of the good job the filmographer/animator did, but also because the critter resembles (probably by coincidence) a Macrauchenia. This short is 91 megs (so you will probably want to use a download manager) and is 5 minutes, 10 seconds long.

Suburban Plight

You know it's a twisted world when war is good for something -- making candy. This short is 15.4 megs and 2 minutes, 45 seconds long.

Warning: This short has graphic scenes of dead candy gore (it takes place in the aftermath of a battle, after all) as well as implied sennibalism.

Goobees

Watch a short dance number about a couple of clock cogs as they cavort and celebrate their freedom from the machinery that defines their lives. This animated short is 21.7 megs and 3 minutes, 56 seconds.

The Cags

Some relationships are literally two-dimensional. This short is 94.4 megs and 4 minutes, 5 seconds long (be sure to break out your download manager).

Parisian Romance

Deep in the Indian Ocean, tree-born Parana birds sing sweet songs, until Otto the octopus gets hungry. This short is 68.9 megs and 4 minutes, 28 seconds.

Warning: Though this short is surrealistic, there is one scene in which a Parana is pulled apart. Though the "gore" consists of little more than lots of blood and a couple of cartoony bones, the younger set might still find it disturbing.

The Tale of How

In the future, robots called NORAs serve humanity. Those NORAs that develop independent thought are sent out to investigate alien worlds for possible colonization. However, as one NORA learns, the truth is not what she expected. This short is 104 megs and 8 minutes, 47 seconds long. Better get out your download manager.

NORA

Saggy economy getting you down? Money troubles putting a frown on your face? Then smile and watch an animated short based on the silent black-and-white comedies of yesteryear. Its subject? How the Great Depression really started...(or not). This short comes in three sizes and is 2 minutes, 23 seconds long.

No Quarter

Space, the final frontier...

They may not be 3D, but they're still animated shorts. Watch all five Steps of a Korean-made series of Flash animations.

There She Is!!

(Hint: In Step 2, click on the flying fish over the Moon during the stampede scene to see the original comic starring Doki and Nabi.)

(Another hint: In Step 3, click on the cloud in the top right of the loading screen to see an alternate opening from Doki's point of view.)