Two weeks ago we told you about the animated feature film category’s state of flux and how a little film no one has heard of called “The Missing Lynx: Paws on the Run” could be its saving grace.
With “Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone” and “A Town Called Panic” currently off the qualification list, and Disney trying hard to pad the field of eligible titles by submitting Robert Zemeckis’s “A Christmas Carol” (when Zemeckis has gone on the record as saying such a thing is a “disservice to the great animators”) and even squeezing in the formerly-straight-to-DVD “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure,” the magic number of 16 has been too close to call.
Well, today at 5:00pm is the official deadline for submissions, and prints of qualifying titles are due by November 13. It’s now or never, and things will start to take shape soon. But getting back to “The Missing Lynx,” Steve Pond is reporting that the film was officially submitted and gets some great quotes form director Raul Garcia about the situation.
Writes Pond:
Garcia says that he didn’t receive any pressure or encouragement from the major studios to qualify his film – in fact, he did so on his own, precisely because he thinks the category should have room for more than just studio productions.
“I am the first one interested [in] having a wide selection of films for Oscar consideration because I [think it] is good for the industry and for the filmmakers to have five nominees this year,” he said in an email. “The more the better to have more room for independent films or films with different sensibilities than big studio, big budget fare.”
Additionally, Pond notes that “A Town Called Panic,” which only screened in New York and must screen in Los Angeles to qualify, could end up with a last-minute run on these shores, pumping the list up to 17. And you can make it 18 if “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” gets a shove from Fox (which has a vested interest in seeing “Fantastic Mr. Fox” in the mix), Pond says.
Regardless, with “The Missing Lynx” officially in, it looks like a five-nominee slate is going to happen for the first time since 2002.
Comments
16 responses to “Animated feature looking like five all over again”
So the question is, which 2 films will you add to your sidebar predictions?
I currently have
Coraline
Mary and Max
Ponyo On The Cliff
The Princess and the Frog
Up
Fantastic Mr. Fox is sitting pretty with a 91% on RT.
I need to think on it. I had Mary and Max and Meatballs in once upon a time. Maybe I’ll go back to that. Or go with Ponyo again. Tough call.
Just because there are the appropriate number of nominees to qualify for five nominations, doesn’t mean that the Academy has to expand to five (nor should they).
And I’m tired of producers talking about the Academy Awards in terms of needing to pay service to the diverse and wide variety of films. The Award is supposed to honor the best films. If the five best films of the year are all about lonely women who reconnect with their daughters, then those should be the five films nominated. Because, to be honest, there is no difference between “Transformers” and “Julia” They both work on the same lack of imagination.
Jester: Regarding your first paragraph, given the decent year in animated features, I think there will be plenty of films that make the grade and fill out the five, as Pond notes as well.
Although it seems the woefully out-of-date poll is suddenly relevant again.
cloudy with
fantastic fox
up
princess and the frog
coraline
looks good to me
Does Alvin and the Chipmunks qualify with its mix with live-action? Having trouble thinking of something similar that did…
Fox submitted the first “Chipmunks” and Sony submitted “Stuart Little 2” and they both were accepted.
“Looney Toons: Back in Action” and “Osmosis Jones” were also eligible.
Thank you, both.
Yeah, it’s something about the percentage of animation that is included in the film. I forget the exact number.
75% animated and you have to have a significant number of animated characters.
Kris…do you really think Where the Wild Things Are gets completely shut out??
That movie was just so well made in so many different aspects, that I can’t see it not nabbing a nomination here and there.
Jilda, “Back in Action” would have been eligible, sure, but there wasn’t an animation category back then. Random to bring that one up.
It will be good for animation to have five nominees this year, true, but those who seem to think it should automatically have five nominees every year are crazy. They can barely nominate two movies worthy each year.
gah! sorry Jilda. I was thinking of “Space Jam”. Quite tellingly, I had forgotten than “Back in Action” even existed (Brendan Fraser, natch).
I am thrilled it’s back to 5, barring another unforeseen disaster. (Remember how it was guaranteed to be 5 in 2006, until “Arthur and the Incredibles” was buttraped?) This year actually might warrant 8 worthy nominees, so having 5 is fantastic news.
Up
Coraline
The Princess and the Frog
Ponyo
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
——–
Mary and Max (want to see it first)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (a great possibility)
The Missing Lynx (it looks appealing to me)
9
A Christmas Carol
I’m eager to see which way it’ll go.