Oscars called out by studios over treating animation like trash!

[gaastra]

They want best picture and other nods for animated movies. About freaking time oscars are called out over treating animation like trash. If coco was live action it would have got 12 nods.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/s ... a131&ei=26

[Ben]

BAF has always been a palm-off ghetto.

[gaastra]

Animated list of eligible movies.

https://variety.com/2024/film/awards/os ... 236217001/

Art College 1994”
“Captain Avispa”
“Chicken for Linda!”
“The Colors Within”
“The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie”
“Despicable Me 4”
“Flow”
“The Garfield Movie”
“Ghost Cat Anzu”
“The Glassworker”
“The Imaginary”
“Inside Out 2”
“Kensuke’s Kingdom”
“Kung Fu Panda 4”
“Living Large”
“Look Back”
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim”
“Mars Express”
“Memoir of a Snail”
“Moana 2”
“Piece by Piece”
“Rocket Club: Across the Cosmos”
“Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds”
“Spellbound”
“Sultana’s Dream”
“That Christmas”
“Thelma the Unicorn”
“Transformers One”
“Ultraman: Rising”
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”
“The Wild Robot”

[Farerb]

Maybe they should start making animated films that deserve recognition because everything they've released in the last 7-8 years have been completely mediocre and forgettable.

[gaastra]

So, look back of course got shafted. Big shock to no one. Wild robot of course no best picture nod. Again, no big shock at all. Piece by piece shafted from best doc.

Animated movie nods. Note look back has a better rt critic and aud score than half of these.

Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit
The Wild Robot

Some good animated news however. 3 nods for wild robot and flow got an international nod.

https://deadline.com/2025/01/2025-oscar ... 236264399/

[Ben]

Personally, I found many of the whole nominations baffling. Pleased to see W&G back on top again though!

[Randall]

BAF has a real race this year! Snail likely has no real chance, but the other four are all in the running.

And--- BAF effectively keeps animated films out of the Best Picture category. I've accepted it.

Awards shows are a farce anyhow. No one has time to watch all those films and come to proper conclusions. It's just a game we play every year. I can't take it too seriously.

However, I watched The Boy and the Heron recently, and I gotta say... Across the Spider-Verse was totally shafted last year.

[Ben]

BAF has a real race this year! Snail likely has no real chance, but the other four are all in the running.

Does it, though? While I wouldn't discount Snail entirely (Harvie Krumpet won Best Short, and Adam Elliot has become an Academy favourite since Mary And Max), it’s always going to be between the better-known films or characters because, well, as you say yourself, no one has the time to watch all the films. I’m somewhat surprised Piece By Piece didn’t get a nod, since that got a lot of awards-worthy promotion. W&G are known and have won before, so that’s an easy pick, plus it was a delightful comeback, but pretty clear it’s going to be yet another Pixar because it’s Pixar or "the cute one about the robot that made me cry". Robot has been wildly successful in terms of cutting through this year.

And--- BAF effectively keeps animated films out of the Best Picture category. I've accepted it.

And so it has been from even before the first one was ever handed out. With one exception, this was a given as soon as the category was announced. I would also argue that, in order to fill five slots, this has also resulted in there having been some films nominated that would/should have never gotten a second glance in terms of Oscar prestige, and only there to make up the numbers.

Awards shows are a farce anyhow. No one has time to watch all those films and come to proper conclusions. It's just a game we play every year. I can't take it too seriously.

And this is one of the problems, but one hopes that the people in their respective categories do at least have a chance to see most if not all of those films. And it really is different if you’re in the biz, and especially the guilds. While, yeah, there are some insiders that look down on awards, that could be because they’ve never won and likely don’t make the kind of thing that might ever be considered, but I also know others that take it extremely seriously and try to catch all the buzz films so that they can make informed votes. Others just vote for their friends, or people they like. Yes, it is a game, to an extent, but for those in the field, especially to get nom'd, it is a big deal personally, just like it’s nice to be recognised in local awards or a specific line of work. It just so happens that moviemaking is a global business and the big awards play out on the world stage. Yes, basically as a marketing and publicity ploy, but still important recognition (and a salary/status boost) for those on the shortlist (even if they don’t ultimately win).

However, I watched The Boy and the Heron recently, and I gotta say... Across the Spider-Verse was totally shafted last year.

Which was, and wasn’t, a massive surprise/upset. Spidey was a shoe-in, but Miyazaki apparently still hadn't had enough Academy recognition and that film's campaign was all about "his last film" and how this was therefore the last time anyone would have a chance to vote for the guy that made all those (better) films that never had a chance before. That was a career award, much like Scorsese winning for the risible Departed when he clearly has made much, much better films before and since (for the better version, refer to the original and brilliant Infernal Affairs trilogy).


As for the wider awards, like I said, I’m mostly baffled. Costume Design especially, all pretty much based on existing concepts. And Wicked for Best Score? It’s a stage show! How are either of these things original? So glad it wasn't nom'd for Cinematography, though, as I found it amazingly and weirdly flat, and only partially get the Editing nod, since while it wasn’t great it did feel like they saved it in post, hence why no directing recognition, which is a clear snub. VFX is likewise a bit of a mishmash, with a lot of obvious titles there and one or two that don’t really belong…

In terms of the wider categories, ueah, it’s a bit more open this year, which is always more fun, though already there are some front runners emerging. Would kind of be nice to see Ralph Fiennes pick up essentially a career nod at this point, and especially Demi Moore, who I suddenly got a huge amount of respect for after seeing Brats and his level-headed, sensible and aware she is. For her to get this fairly late recognition for something clearly outside her usual lane, it would be great to see her complete that personal story arc.

[gaastra]

BAF has a real race this year! Snail likely has no real chance, but the other four are all in the running.

Along with no super / man nod for doc this is getting attacked online with many saying look back should be there over snail and was the better reviewed movie. But it's anime and unless its Ghibli oscars ignore or don't even watch it so no shock it got shafted.