The animated feature field unfortunately fell one film short of the required 16 eligible contenders to expand the category to five nominees this year. As a result of this bewildering and arbitrary “rule,” some great work was left off the list in this, a pretty decent year for animation in general.
Nevertheless, the animators proved once again that they value the craft and artistry above all else, as a delectable, modest yarn beat out some stiff commercial competition to join two heavyweights that already seemed destined for inclusion. The resulting trio, despite being limited in number, is therefore a vibrant snapshot of the year in animation and one of a few categories that is absolutely stacked this season.
The nominees are:
“How to Train Your Dragon” (Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois)
“The Illusionist” (Sylvain Chomet)
“Toy Story 3” (Lee Unkrich)