How ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ Filmmakers Jared and Jerusha Hess Got the Oscars’ Attention by Pivoting to Animation

Husband-and-wife filmmakers Jared and Jerusha Hess have a working relationship so blessedly intertwined, they even share the same Wikipedia page. So the infectious spirit with which the “Napoleon Dynamite” collaborators received the news of their first-ever Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film — for their elegiac 13-minute “Ninety-Five Senses” — feels right on brand for the Salt Lake City-based team.

The short chronicles the recollections of a death-row inmate named Coy (voiced by Tim Blake Nelson), who recounts his tale in vignettes illustrating the five senses and how they evaporate from the body after one’s passing. Each sense is animated by a completely different team to give the feeling of timelessness, with the styles running the gamut from hand-drawn to CG-enhanced.