Lost in the hoopla surrounding the Academy Awards nominees are the short-film categories for live action, documentary and animation.

Once again this year, Consolidated Theatres is presenting a program of Oscar-nominated shorts in the live action and animated categories, opening today at the Kahala 8. Promotions and events manager Lindsey Chun-Hori said the theater chain is forgoing the documentary shorts, many of which aired on HBO.

If you’re looking for a good bang for your buck, the separate programs — 98 minutes for the animated shorts and 124 minutes for live action — are about the length of a feature film.

"Typically, short films don’t receive much attention from moviegoers throughout the year," Chun-Hori said via email. In the weeks leading up to the Oscars, however, "it’s always great to see the short films that the academy has honored with nominations."

Chun-Hori counts the animated program as her favorite. "I think it’s mainly due to always seeing them before Disney’s animated movies. This year, I think the most well-known short in this category is probably ‘Paperman,’ which played before ‘Wreck-It Ralph.’ It’s a very cute and romantic short with paper airplanes, which I love!"

The animated short program includes three extras:

» "Abiogenesis," the New Zealand-made sci-fi film that was an audience favorite at the 2012 Maui Film Festival.

» "Dripped," a French noir-esque short about an art thief who does something very unusual with his ill-gotten works.

» "The Gruffalo’s Child," adapted from a popular children’s picture books and narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.

The Oscars are Feb. 24.