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With both title and central buddy dynamic tipping hat to “Superbad,” among other raunchy teen comedies, “Supercool” is not the kind of movie that wins prizes for originality. Nor is Finnish director Teppo Airaksinen’s first U.S.-shot, English-language project as outrageous as it thinks it is. Nonetheless, this energetic spin through high school antics redolent of everything since “Ferris Bueller” is colorful and amusing enough to entertain viewers looking for a familiar mix of bad-taste gags in a squeaky-clean suburban setting. Vertical Entertainment is releasing it to 20 U.S. theater screens as well as on-demand platforms Feb. 11.

Things commence with an over-the-top action sequence in which Neil (Jake Short) rescues classmate Summer (Madison Davenport) from the clutches of a masked maniac after she’s abducted from their school bus. But this turns out to be one more fantasy from Neil’s vivid imagination, which he channels into the...

Using his self-taught artistic style of animation, Alberto Mielgo documents personal memories in an attempt to figure out the societal meaning of love in The Windshield Wiper. He asked friends and family what ‘love’ means to them, and their vastly different responses prompted him to ponder the question himself.

This animated short begins with a philosopher smoking at a table by himself in a bustling café, and asks the question of “What is love?” A series of vignettes, based on personal imagery from Mielgo’s life, follows in an attempt to define ‘love’ in current times.

The Windshield Wiper is on the Oscar shortlist for Best Animated Short Film. It will debut online on January 19th for a limited time on Short of the Week.

Deadline: How did you come up with the idea for The Windshield Wiper?

Alberto Mielgo: Well, love kind of changed drastically over the last few generations.