Wes Anderson recently won his first Oscar after 8 nominations over the past decades for his short film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

I watched it, and here are my thoughts. 

The 2023 short film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, and Richard Ayoade, directed by Wes Anderson and based on the book by Roald Dahl was nominated for best live action short film. 

The film is basically narrating the book, with each actor narrating what their character does. The story follows Henry Sugar and his extraordinary journey not only in self improvement, but also in spirituality. He transforms himself from a self- centered man who was born with wealth to someone who can quite literally, see things from different perspectives.

This short film, similar to other Wes Anderson films, has a colorful look that almost makes viewers feel like they’re really there in his technicolor world. Some people may not like the narration, but I thought it added to the film a lot because it’s based on a book. Every detail counts towards telling the story, though it may not seem clear at first, especially with the very fast pacing.

My personal rating for this short film is a 3.8/5. Overall, I think it’s worth a watch.