How to watch Ninety-Five Senses – is it streaming?

Ninety-Five Senses was just nominated for Best Animated Short at the Academy Awards – here’s details of where it’s streaming, and if the film is on Netflix.

Ninety-Five Senses is a beautiful new animation that’s written by Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, and directed by the Napoleon Dynamite team of Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess.

Tim Blake Nelson voices protagonist Coy, an old man waxing lyrical about the senses – sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. But while the cartoon starts light, Ninety-Five Senses turns decidedly dark midway through proceedings, making for a rollercoaster of emotions.

The 13-minute film has already won a slew of awards, while come March 10, it will be competing for the Best Animated Short Oscar, against Our Uniform, Pachyderm, Letter to Pig, and WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko.

Is Ninety-Five Senses streaming?

Ninety-Five Senses is currently streaming for free on MAST’s website smallscreenings.org.

MAST is a non-profit dedicated to finding and developing up-and-coming animators and filmmakers, and they write underneath the video that it’s a “limited engagement,” with the film only available for a short time.

Is Ninety-Five Senses on Netflix?

No, Ninety-Five Senses isn’t on Netflix. The streamer focusses on more long-form content, but should the short appear, we’ll update this article.

What is Ninety-Five Senses about?

Here’s the official Ninety-Five Senses description, as per the official website: “An ode to the body’s five senses, delivered by a death-row inmate with little time left to enjoy them. Tim Blake Nelson and a diverse team of animators from Latin America and the US bring to life this bittersweet tale of regret and redemption from visionary duo Jerusha and Jared Hess. Animated by six teams of animators, each in its own style, creating a visual tapestry underscoring the fragmentation of Coy’s own thoughts and memories.”

The movie kicks off with Coy discussing the unspeakable beauty of what he has seen with his eyes. Then talking about the size of his nose, and the smell of video stores and the YMCA. But the tone changes when Coy describes how the local saw mill ruined his father’s hearing, which had a knock-on affect on his own, with devastating consequences.

We won’t spoil what happens here, but it’s beautiful, sad, and uplifting in equal measure, resulting in the film winning awards at festivals all over the world, and prompting Pixar founder Ed Catmull to call Ninety-Five Senses a “really a moving and remarkable film,” with the former President of Walt Disney Animation adding: “I love it.” 

The Academy Awards are handed out on March 10, 2024 – you can read more about the Oscars here, or head here for details of all the nominees.