Award archives...

[Sunday]

Oh dear.

Ben, that summation of yours just destroyed the last iota of good will I had towards the Academy...

[Adam]

Actually, I think the scenario with Shrek was the result of what early precursors were suggesting: that while Shrek was still a critical favorite, awards bodies in general were not listing it as anything but "Best Animated Feature."

It's common for FYC ads to change tactics when the early groups are not buying in to what the original ads are aiming for. When Shrek failed to win the Golden Globe Comedy/Musical trophy, it was obvious it wasn't getting anywhere near the final five. Also, Dreamworks wanted to appeal to the animation branch, and remind them that though Monster's Inc. had a higher nomination tally, it was Shrek that had practically swept the precursor awards.

I don't see any confusion happening with Wall-E. You have to remember that Best Animated Feature is a special category and the Academy at large does NOT vote for it. Only members of the animation branch who have seen all the nominees are allowed to vote. If anything, the animation branch would be ecstatic that one of their own made the top category. If Wall-E is a Best Picture nominee, it would look ludicrous to award another film as Best Animated Feature. If anything the Best Picture nomination would seal the deal. Not to mention the fact that the animation branch is so pro-Pixar in general. This year's race is a no brainer. Wall-E is not losing Best Animated Feature unless the animation branch is completely crazy.

It's important to remember that Shrek was released in a much more competitive Best Picture year. There was at least another seven live-action movies that DID NOT make the Best Picture line-up, but were still being considered. At this point in time, there are really only six or seven movies in contention for this year's race and Wall-E is one of them. Based on what Academy screenings have been leaning to and what precursors have shown, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Milk all look good to go. (These days, Milk not making the Golden Globe line-up is not that huge a detriment.) Second tier would be The Dark Night and Frost/Nixon. Other than that, Wall-E is the most honored film. Reveloutionary Road, The Reader, and Doubt have pretty much ostracized voters. Reviews aren't exactly gushing. I just feel like this year is going to be monumental, whatever happens.

[Ben]

While WALL-E for BAF is almost a certainty (unless, as I said, the love goes to Kung Fu Panda, which had more Annie noms), I just can't see it winning Best Picture, even if it is nominated.

And if it it nominated for Best Picture, wouldn't it then be fair to award the BAF to something else? The Academy loves to share the wealth, and conversely you would think that the film with three nominated Best Songs automatically has the better songs in it, though most often those films end up losing out to another film with a single nomination.

Pixar may be in for a backlash too: KFP got more noms by the animation body whose members make up much of the Academy voting sector. And Monsters Inc didn't win over Shrek. It could just be that promoting WALL-E for a Best Picture nod could be seen as a "break" from <I>wanting</I> to be part of the crowd and trying to grasp the bigger glory, thus the question still stands: is it more important to get a Best Picture nomination, or a Best Animated Feature win?

[James]

I think you're putting too much stock in DW's Annie nominations. KFP got more nominations because they got multiple nominees in several categories. WALL-E and Bolt got ZERO multiple nominations in ANY category. That's either a big coincidence or, more likely, Disney/Pixar only put up one person in each category so they weren't competing against people they worked with.

[Ben]

Well I'm going to through my hat in the ring and say that I hope WALL-E gets nominated for Best Picture and wins Best Animated Feature, even if either are unlikely in that scenario. If WALL-E is not Picture nominated, then a BAF win is pretty much a certainty.

But...my initial point of question (actually unrelated to any individual films or whoever wins and loses this year) remains: is it better to have a Best Picture nomination as opposed to a Best Animated Feature win, and if so, where does that leave feature animation at the Oscars and the Best Animated Feature category?

It's an interesting debate that seems to be failing to spark...

[James]

I guess I don't understand why they have to be exclusive. Several films have been nominated for Best Foreign Film and Best Picture. There was talk recently of a documentary getting a Best Pic nod as well as the Best Doc nomination. In both cases no one seemed to have an issue with that. Why animation?

[Adam]

Yeah, I'm with James on this one.

I don't understand how a Best Picture nomination and Best Animated Feature win are exclusive. In my mind, Wall-E is winning Best Animated Feature regardless of how it fares in other categories, so a Best Picture nomination would just be a bonus. It's hard for me to comment on your question, Ben, because if an animated film gets a Best Picture nomination, it's going to win Best Animated Feature. I don't see it any other way. The Academy doesn't like to spread the wealth too much. If that were the case, we wouldn't have sweeps. I

Ultimately, though, animation finds itself in the same boat as genre movies. Many are often critically acclaimed and make an impact on the culture at large, but they are never given "Best of" honors when it comes to Oscars. So a nomination for an animated feature would be a step in the right direction in terms of getting the Academy to honor quality films regardless of genre or medium. The Animated Feature category was created to ensure that amazing animation would be guaranteed at least one trophy a year, because previously, if an animated film didn't have an original song to compete in the musical category, then chances are it wouldn't be nominated. Case in point: Chicken Run in 2000, the year before the Animated Feature category was created. The year before that: 1999's Princess Mononoke. The Animated Feature category acknowledges the impact animation has on the industry as a whole and brings awareness to these great films, but I, like any animation lover, would love to see a feature in the main ring for once.

[James]

Animated Feature: Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, WALL-E

Animated Short: La Maison de Petits Cubes, Lavatory - Lovestory, Oktapodi, Presto, This Way Up

Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Iron Man

Foreign Language Film: The Baader Meinhof Complex, The Class, Departures, Revanche, Waltz with Bashir

Original Screenplay: Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges, Milk, WALL-E

Score: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Defiance, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E

Song: WALL-E "Down to Earth", Slumdog Millionaire "Jai Ho", Slumdog Millionaire "O Saya"

Sound Mixing: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, Wanted

Sound Editing: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, Wanted

[Dacey]

Only three nominations for Best Original Song? That sucks!

[James]

Here's an interesting little fact: When I was counting up which animated films in history had the most nominations I wasn't surprised to find that Beauty and the Beast and WALL-E were tied for first (with 6) with Ratatouille in second (with 5). I was surprised to learn that tied for second with Ratatouille is Aladdin! Don't get me wrong, I love that film! But I would've guessed Finding Nemo, or Toy Story, or the Incredibles, or The Lion King, or Monsters Inc before Aladdin! But all those films just got 4.

[Josh]

I'm sad to see WALL-E and The Dark Knight left out of the Best Picture category. Both of those films, in my opinion, should have been nominated. The Reader has only a 60% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with the Top Critics providing a "rotten" 52%. How it beat WALL-E and The Dark Knight for Best Picture, I'm not sure.

I'm also disappointed that there are only three Best Song nominations. I think The Wrestler's title song and Bolt's "I Thought I Lost You" should have been nominated. Still, it's likely a safe bet that WALL-E will now win in that category, which makes me happy.

[PatrickvD]

The Reader's BP nod is rediculous. It has won almost nothing among critics choice awards. And why the heck do they nominate Kate Winslet for the wrong movie? At this rate she'll have 50 nods before she wins anything.

The three animated films are perfect. Have yet to see Bolt, since it's not out here yet, but I loved WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda.

[Bill1978]

The Reader's success in the nominations comes down to two words - The Holocaust. The OSCARS just loves a movie that deals with that topic. I was surprised to see Kate nominatred for Reader instead of Revolutionary. I was confident that she was going to finally get her Oscar but now I'm not too sure. I just hope that Ricky Gervais' bit of tongue in cheek advice to Kate on The Extras proves prophetic for Kate.

I am happy with the Animated Features noms. Those 3 are the ones that I would have picked. I knew Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda were shoe ins, I was a bit worried that Bolt would be left out. I'll pick Wall-E as the win as I personally feel it is the best movie of the year and was secretly hoping for it get a Best Pic nom.

Can't believe only 3 songs got nominated this year. All blame is placed on the ridiculous voting system that they bought in the year of the last time 3 songs were nominated (2002??? - the year of Crash). Don't quote me on it, but my understanding is that a song needs to score something like an average of 7.8 out of 9 from the songwriting community section of the Academy to be automatically considered for nomination. From that the top 5 songs are chosen. But the stupid rule says that if a song doesn't get that magical average it can't be nominated. This means The Wrestler may have got an average of 7.7 so therefore was not eligible. And I may be in the minority but I thought the song from Bolt lyrically reflected the emotional journey of Penny and Bolt very very well.

[Vernadyn]

Wow! What great Best Score nominations for once. I would be happy with any of those films winning...though I do admit that I'd finally like to see James Newton Howard, Danny Elfman, and Thomas Newman get an Oscar. And Alexandre Desplat, along with Mr. Giacchino, is going to lead the next generation of film composers.

[American_dog_2008]

Hope for Bolt!