20 Animated Features Line Up for 2009 Oscar® Race

[Giles]

20 Animated Features Line Up for 2009 Oscar® Race

Beverly Hills, CA (November 11, 2009)

Twenty features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards®.

The 20 submitted features are:

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”
“Astro Boy”
“Battle for Terra”
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”
“Coraline”
“Disney's A Christmas Carol”
“The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”
“Mary and Max”
“The Missing Lynx”
“Monsters vs. Aliens”
“9”
“Planet 51”
“Ponyo”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”
“A Town Called Panic”
“Up”

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” “The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Planet 51,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “The Secret of Kells” and “A Town Called Panic” have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying run. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and meet all of the category’s other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process.

Under the rules for this category, a maximum of 5 features can be nominated in a year in which the field of eligible entries numbers at least 16.

Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category also may qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

[Rypro 525]

if Up or Poyno don't win, i'll boycott

[scott1598]

"Up"... do you think it has a chance to win both Best Animated and Best Pic? quite a story that would be...

[sauce07]

The nominees will be
Coraline
Up
Ponyo
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Princess and the Frog

and wasn't Tinker Bell DTV?

[Groucho]

Originally Posted by scott1598

"Up"... do you think it has a chance to win both Best Animated and Best Pic?

No, not in a million years (Best Pic). It could be nominated through, since the category is apparently open to all comers this year.

[RichC2]

Originally Posted by scott1598

"Up"... do you think it has a chance to win both Best Animated and Best Pic? quite a story that would be...

Naw, the movie had too much of an identity crisis to win Best Pic, imho at least.

Ponyo similarly had a weak sauce finale.

Hopefully The Fantastic Mr. Fox lives up to the early reviews, and hopefully The Princess and the Frog is worthwhile.

[Ash Ketchum]

Shouldn't AVATAR be on that list?

[Drop]

Originally Posted by RichC2

Naw, the movie had too much of an identity crisis to win Best Pic, imho at least.

Not that I agree with your assessment, but do you think that would stop the Academy? They given the award to some uneven films over the years. I think it being animated is what will turn off most voters.

[Drexl]

Originally Posted by scott1598

"Up"... do you think it has a chance to win both Best Animated and Best Pic? quite a story that would be...

No, it doesn't have a chance. It won't get enough nominations period, and it won't get noms in vital categories like directing and editing.

[whoopdido]

Since "Best Animated Film" was introduced, has an eligble Pixar movie ever NOT won?

Nevermind. I decided not to be lazy and did my own research.

2001--Shrek won over Monsters Inc
2005--Happy Feet won over Cars

2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008 were all won by Pixar films. Finding Nemo in 03, The Incredibles in 04, Ratatouille in 07 and WALL-E in 08.

[Drexl]

Originally Posted by whoopdido

Since "Best Animated Film" was introduced, has an eligble Pixar movie ever NOT won?

Yeah, Shrek beat out Monsters Inc. (), and Happy Feet won over Cars.

[Drop]

Originally Posted by Drexl

Yeah, Shrek beat out Monsters Inc. (), and Happy Feet won over Cars.

The Shrek win bothers. Monsters Inc. has only gotten better over the years while Shrek ages poorly. I do think Cars is better than Happy Feet, but neither really deserved best animated that year.

[whoopdido]

Yeah I'll never watch a Shrek movie again. I liked them when they came out. 3 not so much I guess, but the first 2 at least, but now...meh.

I still like all Pixar movies. Some I like less than others, but I still like them all.

I've never been able to make it through Happy Feet.

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by sauce07

The nominees will be
Coraline
Up
Ponyo
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Princess and the Frog

good choices!

[Solid Snake PAC]

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” No
“Astro Boy” No
“Battle for Terra” No
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” No
“Coraline” Never seen it, though it's pretty popular here
“Disney's A Christmas Carol” Won't see it
“The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer”Never heard of it
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” Maybe...looks very cool, can't wait to see it
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”No
“Mary and Max”Never Heard of it
“The Missing Lynx” Never Heard of it
“Monsters vs. Aliens” No
“9”No
“Planet 51”No
“Ponyo”I hear this is great, won't see it now but maybe later
“The Princess and the Frog” Interesting to see Disney go back to 2D...I dunno about this one
“The Secret of Kells” Never heard of it
“Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” You're fucking kidding me?
“A Town Called Panic” Never Heard of it
“Up” Amazing film and would be glad to see it win.

[Brent L]

You guys need to find a way to watch Mary and Max. It was available on Sundance Selects a few weeks ago, but I am not sure if it's still running. It is a fantastic stopmotion claymation picture that came totally out of left field for me. It's directed by Adam Elliot who won the Oscar for Best Animated Short in 2003 for Harvie Krumpet. Check out the reviews on IMDB and Rottentomatoes:

IMDB - 8.3/10

RottenTomatoes - 96%

Trust me, it's worth tracking down. Not only do I think it will be nominated without a doubt, but it wouldn't shock me at all if it actually won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Here is the official site and trailer for it:

http://www.maryandmax.com/



Here are my picks for the nominations:

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Mary and Max
Ponyo
Princess and the Frog
Up

[Daytripper]

Originally Posted by Drop

The Shrek win bothers. Monsters Inc. has only gotten better over the years while Shrek ages poorly. I do think Cars is better than Happy Feet, but neither really deserved best animated that year.

I hated "Shrek" then and I still hate it now. And animation-wise, it doesn't hold a candle to "Monsters Inc."

[awil1026]

Originally Posted by Drop

The Shrek win bothers. Monsters Inc. has only gotten better over the years while Shrek ages poorly. I do think Cars is better than Happy Feet, but neither really deserved best animated that year.

You are so right: Shrek has aged rather poorly. I thought Happy Feet was on the south side of average. Cars was okay; I need to take a gander and see what other animated films were released that year.

[Aegean2007]

Originally Posted by Brent L

You guys need to find a way to watch Mary and Max.

I've seen it and I thought that it was pretty great, it definitely deserves to be nominated. It kind of lost me when

Spoiler:

it followed Mary as an adult, though.

I didn't like it as much as Up or Coraline, but I liked it a little more than Ponyo. I haven't seen Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which is also supposed to be good.

[Brent L]

I loved Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, and Monsters vs. Aliens (and I think Planet 51 looks pretty cute), but none of them are Oscar worthy. Coraline would likely be on my list if one of my other five picks weren't released this year, but it just can't make my list.

All things considered, this has been a pretty great year for animation. Off the top of my head I don't even think I could name 5 feature films for Best Picture, much less 10.

[Hokeyboy]

Unless something FEE-NOMINAL comes out in the next two months, this has been Coraline's year as far as animation.

[Blu Man]

Originally Posted by Ash Ketchum

Shouldn't AVATAR be on that list?

You wanta battle?

Well if Alvin and the Chipmonks can be nominated then AVATAR can.

[Giles]

Originally Posted by Blu Man

You wanta battle?

Well if Alvin and the Chipmonks can be nominated then AVATAR can.

I was thinking the same thing.

[Giles]

Mary and Max - gets shown at next month's DC Jewish Film Festival

A Town Called Panic - was just shown last weekend at the AFI EU Film Festival, the film opens in New York City on December 16.

[jeffkjoe]

Coraline was EXCELLENT.

For its dark humor and ballsy-ness, I would say it was better than UP in my opnion.