Oscar-Eligible Animated Films Announced

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the list of films eligible for the Best Animated Feature Oscar today.  Since there are 18 films, there will be 5 nominees (if less than 16 films are eligible in a category, there are only 3 nominees).  It's always more fun when there's a wider field.  The possible nominees are:

-The Adventures of Tintin
-Alois Nebel
-Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
-Arthur Christmas
-Cars 2
-A Cat in Paris
-Chico & Rita
-Gnomeo and Juliet
-Happy Feet Two
-Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
-Kung Fu Panda 2
-Mars Needs Moms
-Puss in Boots
-Rango
-Rio
-The Smurfs
-Winnie the Pooh
-Wrinkles


It's the weakest year in animation we've seen in a while, but there are a few truly deserving films on the list (or at least presumably deserving).  A few years back, Happy Feet beat Cars for the award, representing a rare Pixar loss in the category, and considering the lukewarm reception the Mater-centric sequel received, it's doubtful Cars 2 will be able to pull a victory, though Iit could still be nominated, because, hey, it's Pixar.  I wasn't a fan of Happy Feet, and as reviews aren't in for the sequel yet, I can't really say if it has any prospects for a nomination.  My gut tells me no, because I feel like Two might be more of a money-grab rather than an environmental jukebox musical.  (If you haven't seen Happy Feet, yes, it's as ill-conceived and lame as it sounds.)

The front-runner, in my estimation, is The Adventures of Tintin.  It has pedigree in spades, with Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, and Edgar Wright all involved, and it's already raking in great reviews and big bucks overseas.  It looks like it could be an event movie, if only people can get past the niche subject matter.

Other strong contenders are Rango, which was the first super-warmly received wide release of the year, thanks to its homage to the western genre and wonderful sense of quirk, Winnie the Pooh, a charming throwback that could be hurt by its lackluster box office, and Kung Fu Panda 2, which somehow managed to improve on its impressive predecessor in every way, and is consequently my favorite animated film of the year thus far.

This category often has room for a foreign or indie contender (Persepolis, The Secret of Kells, The Illusionist), so it's likely one of those strange titles in the list will make it in, as well.  Ballparking it after watching the trailers on Youtube, I'd probably bet on Chico & Rita.

This is a tough category to predict this year, just so many of the more familiar titles either flopped or were met with thoroughly mixed reviews.  As it stands, I'd predict the line-up to be

-The Adventures of Tintin
-Chico & Rita
-Kung Fu Panda 2
-Rango
-Winnie the Pooh


with Cars 2 as the spoiler and The Adventures of Tintin as the winner.  But, as with all things Oscar, only time will tell.