In Contention

Tag: A Town Called Panic

  • THE LONG SHOT: Cartoon network

    Mary and MaxAs the year winds down, and critics and entertainment journalists search for neat blanket tags with which to label the year that was, “the year of animation” is a phrase that is getting increasingly bandied about – some going so far as to declare 2009 the greatest year of all time for animated product. (Certainly, TIME magazine has fed that narrative, by naming a trio of ‘toons the year’s three greatest films.)

    It’s up for debate whether such talk is a result of extraordinary across-the-board quality, or sheer numbers. Make no mistake, this year has turned up more visible animated titles, in a broader range of artistic formats, than any in recent memory.

    Confirmation of this deluge comes in the Academy’s official listing of 20 titles in the hunt for the Best Animated Feature Oscar – the largest number since the category’s inception in 2001, and one that ensures the first five-strong slate of nominees since 2002.

    Of course, 2002, despite the higher-than-usual proportion of contenders, was hardly a banner year for the medium: “Spirited Away” may have taken a well-deserved Oscar, but the amount of filler it had to beat in the process – including such already forgotten snoozes as “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” and “Treasure Planet” – was proof positive that quantity doesn’t equal quality in this particular race.

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  • Animated feature contenders pushing 18 now

    The Secret of KellsOne of the titles we mentioned a couple of weeks ago that could slide in and help rescue the animated feature category (as in, push the field of qualifying contenders closer to 16, which would yield the potential for five, rather than three nominees) was something called “The Secret of Kells.”

    Since then, “The Missing Lynx: Paws on the Run” has come to the category’s aid, as has the stop-motion “A Town Called Panic,” so we’ve got 17 contenders before this news, but 19 gives a nice cushion.

    Peter Debruge reports at Variety:

    GKIDS picked up U.S. rights to “The Secret of Kells” just three days before the Oscar submission deadline and plans to open the 2D toon for a one-week qualifying run on Dec. 4 at the AMC Burbank 8 in Los Angeles, followed by a wider release in March 2010.

    The story of a ninth-century boy who rebels against his guardian’s orders and helps to illuminate a famous Irish manuscript, pic garnered numerous accolades abroad, including an audience award at the Annecy toon fest and a nomination for the European Film Awards’ animated feature prize.

    Also worth noting: the film won the audience award at the Edinburgh Film Festival in June.

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Oscar hosts, Bridges arrives, animated five

    Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart• Oscar season ramped up this week, with the popular selection of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as this year’s Oscar emcees.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column surveyed the runners and riders for Best Actor …

    • … only to be immediately outdated as Jeff Bridges and “Crazy Heart” arrived to turn that race on its head.

    • Big news in the Best Animated Feature race, as last-minute entry “A Town Called Panic” ensured we’ll have five nominees.

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  • The animated feature race doesn’t have to ‘Panic’ now

    A Town Called PanicWe’ve been hot on the animated feature trail as of late, keeping a keen eye on the number of films that have qualified, plan to qualify, or have opted out of qualifying, the magic number of 16 titles (which would warrant a five-nominee slate rather than three) being the key throughout.

    Earlier this week Raul Garcia’s “The Missing Lynx: Paws on the Run” was submitted for Academy consideration and is in the midst of its required Los Angeles qualifying run in Encino.  Now, Steve Pond reports that another film has joined the party, one that was, for a time, considered out: “A Town Called Panic.”

    Screen International’s Allan Hunter called the film a “blast of freewheeling inventiveness,” while Variety’s Leslie Felperin noted that the stop-motion effort “proves you don’t need fancy CGI techniques, 3-D, or stunt voice casting to make a sparkly little gem.”  The film was reviewed extensively out of Fantastic Fest last month and plays AFI Fest later this week.

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  • Animated feature looking like five all over again

    The Missing Lynx: Paws on the RunTwo 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.

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  • We can officially add ‘A Christmas Carol’ to the animated list

    Gary Oldman in A Christmas CarolYesterday we covered the animated feature film race and the potential for the category to have five nominees this year, largely dependent on Robert Zemeckis’s “A Christmas Carol” being submitted as animation (a decision completely in his hands).  As it turns out, the film will indeed be submitted for consideration.

    That, along with “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” brings the tally up to 16 titles.  Some are expressing doubts that “Tinker Bell” can qualify, but I’m told the film “looks great, is made professionally, and will receive a theatrical run in LA, so those are the criteria.”  Still, being right on the edge, this thing could go either way.

    I’m still waiting on confirmation that the French film “A Town Called Panic” had a qualifying run or will have one (mass confusion), and ditto Summit’s “Astro Boy,” but that would be 17 and the absolute ceiling (by my calculation) on the number of submitted titles.

    Assuming five nominees, here’s what I’m thinking…

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  • How the animated category could go to five

    Tinker Bell and the Lost TreasurePete Hammond has gone ahead and written the column I was going to write today, but you snooze you lose.

    Recently there was some discussion about the animated feature film category in our comments section.  The number of potential submissions is right on the edge.  By my count in the Contenders section, there are 16 films listed, which is the magic number that would yield a five-nominee slate.

    The field was widened recently with a planned qualifying run from Disney for “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” at the El Capitan prior to DVD release.  To me, that smells like a studio trying to inflate the number of qualifying titles in order to get a wider field of contenders, because “Tinker Bell?”  Really?  One would expect it to just hit shelves as an afterthought.

    Anyway, there is one other title that could possibly be submitted: Zeitgeist Films’ “A Town Called Panic.” I called Zeitgeist yesterday to find out whether the company had run the film or would attempt to do so to qualify it, and the gist I got was that they just weren’t interested.  I expect a phone call if things change on that front, but for now, it’s unlikely.

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