1. Tears of Steel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZCsUbRydBU There are many ways to include emotions in a story about robots. Tears of Steel approaches this question in a new and fascinating way. Coming from the people who worked on Big Buck Bunny (absolutely lovely CGI), this short is perhaps the most complete and coherent on this list. While leaving plenty of questions open, it also rounds out the whole story in a wonderful way. The narrative revolves around a captured robot (there are huge chunks of metal in this outing) connected to a mainframe that is kept up and running by a ragtag bunch. This is the first short that has actually made humans interesting. All of them seem to have a backstory floating about, and even though most fit in one or another stereotype, they look like people that we could actually be invested in. Even though SF is usually all about tech and wondrous discovery, it doesn't mean the characters should have dire personalities. After all, we're all human and seeing how other realistically-modelled members of our species react in these situations is always fun. If CGI is worth mentioning in any entry in this article, then this is the one. Marvelous holographic displays float about in vast quantities, weapons actually look pretty rad, and the robots most certainly do not leave the impression that they have any real AI. This is good because it breaks the mold. Why would they have to be humanoid to be intelligent? Tears of Steel also sports a rather befittingly emotional storyline that I will not spoil for you. It may be short, but it's also pretty great: a definitive recommendation for everyone to watch. Like this article? Let us know in the comments section below.