18 toons qualify for Best Animated Feature Film, 'Tintin' among them
The door is opened for five nominees this year
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The Academy has announced a list of 18 qualifying titles for this year's Best Animated Feature Film race. Among the films on the list is Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin," the sequel "Happy Feet Two" and Disney's "Mars Needs Moms."
Those three are significant to note because their use of performance-capture technology left many wondering whether they would make the cut. But qualifying is only half the battle. We can safely assume "Mars Needs Moms" won't tickle the branch's fancy, but will bias against the technology still get in the way of the other two during the nominations process if they do become eligible, specifically Spielberg's hopeful? We'll see.
Other films submitted include foreign language entry "Alois Nebel" and a film called "Wrinkles," which is the one out-of-the-blue title, I guess. (This is the first I've heard of it.) Singapore foreign hopeful "Tatsumi" was thought to maybe be in the hunt, but I guess not.
(UPDATE: Okay, so it turns out this is the actual list of qualifying films after all, and it's merely worded strangely. All the films on the list have been approved as animation and will qualify. The press release was worded with the "submissions" language as a caveat that films still set for qualifying runs could fall out if they don't follow through on that. That's all. Sorry for the confusion.)
The rest of the list has pretty much been expected for a while now, per our Contenders page. They are, via AMPAS press release:
"The Adventures of Tintin" A longer look at the new animated film from Dreamworks animation
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"Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked"
"Arthur Christmas"
"Cars 2"
"A Cat in Paris"
"Chico & Rita"
"Gnomeo & 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"
Per the press release, at least eight eligible animated features must be theatrically released in Los Angeles County within the calendar year for the Best Animated Feature Film category to be activated.
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Spearheaded by editor Kristopher Tapley, In Contention represents a collective of awards obsessives who comment and reflect upon, muse about and attempt to decipher the Oscar season on a daily basis throughout the year, and especially during the Oscar crunch of the fall. Regular contributors include Guy Lodge, Roth Cornet and Gerard Kennedy.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupGuy Lodge
November 4, 2011 at 4:44PM EST Reply to CommentWondering if, with five nominees, Chico & Rita could nab the not-quite-annual arthouse slot. I don't think the film's exactly a stunner, but I can see it impressing certain animators.
Andrej I hope so, it's lovely and nicely produced. It'd be a shame if the slot went to Happy Kung Fu Cars 2. If they could go the extra mile for The Secret of Kells, they might as well vie for this.
November 4, 2011 at 5:05PM ESTAs of now, my personal vote goes to Winnie the Pooh, but I'll bet on Tintin for the win.
Danny I believe Mark Kermode loved Chico and Rita so much, it was one of his top three films last year. Is he alone in his admiration or were there other critics in the UK who lauded it? His rave certainly made me curious for it.
November 5, 2011 at 12:40AM ESTMr.F
November 4, 2011 at 4:45PM EST Reply to CommentWrinkes sounds like something to watch out for since it is about the relationship between two elderly men, one in the early stages of alzheimers.
With that said, barring a critical bashing for Happy Feet 2, I'd say the nominees will be:
Tintin
Happy Feet
Puss in Boots
Rango
Winnie the Pooh
November 4, 2011 at 5:16PM ESTMr.F I can't really see a line-up of five being without a hand-drawn nominee. I guess Chico & Rita would fit the bill as well, but I mean, it's Pooh! I bet some members of the animation branch were inspired by the Pooh shorts and early Disney and they will love it.
November 4, 2011 at 7:05PM ESTJonnybon I hope Arthur Christmas or Wrinkles are better than Rio (and the overrated Rango).
November 4, 2011 at 8:24PM ESTKristopher Tapley
November 4, 2011 at 4:50PM EST Reply to CommentFYI, I originally read the release wrong. These are just the submitted titles. I don't remember there being this extra step of announcing the submissions before the qualifying titles, but anyway, these are still subject to qualification via the rest of the category's rules.
Rashad
November 4, 2011 at 5:00PM EST Reply to CommentCars 2, despite what people think, is automatic. I can't imagine the Animators not nominating a Pixar movie. (Even still, it's better than some of the past nominees the category has seen.)
Monty Jack I dunno...the film was mercilessly raked over the coals, and I don't think the Academy would want to honor a shallow, money-grab sequel from a company that has never stooped to this kind of nonsense before. I predict Cars 2 to be the first un-nominated Pixar movie.
November 4, 2011 at 5:03PM ESTAndrej Don't forget that back then Cars 1 didn't win - not even for its backup nod in Best Original Song.
November 4, 2011 at 5:09PM ESTGuy Lodge I can see a lot of Pixar-loyal animators in the branch still being impressed by the film's technical virtues.
November 4, 2011 at 5:32PM ESTGraysmith I think the fact that it's by Pixar is exactly why it's going to miss out. People hold them to much higher standards than everyone else, and as such won't be as forgiving now that they finally made that rare misstep.
November 4, 2011 at 6:05PM ESTAlso, few sequels have made the cut for the Best Animated Feature category, and they were both highly successful AND highly acclaimed: Shrek 2 and Toy Story 3.
Ali At 33% on RT, it would be embarrassing if Cars 2 were nominated.
November 6, 2011 at 7:03PM ESTJasper
November 4, 2011 at 5:09PM EST Reply to CommentWon't Winnie the Poo be ruled as too short to qualify?
Rashad 40 minutes is the minimum for the academy
November 4, 2011 at 5:13PM ESTred_wine
November 4, 2011 at 5:24PM EST Reply to CommentI would insinuate Spielberg ass licking if the animators back away from their stand on motion capture and nominate Tintin.
Motion capture is not animation. Haddock's face was animated by Serkis, not by the animator's artistry, Woody's face was.
But there's also this, that apart from the actors, even a mo cap film is fully animated (say the plane, ships, streets in Tintin). So its neither here nor there.
But I definitely see logic in the anti-mo-cap stand of the animators.
Rashad Monster House was already nominated before. It's not like animators don't know what mo-cap is.
November 4, 2011 at 5:46PM ESTsharkman Damn, I was so pissed when Happy Feet beat Monster House. Seriously, Monster House is a wildly underrated film that deserves to be critically reappraised.
November 4, 2011 at 6:13PM ESTGraysmith
November 4, 2011 at 5:52PM EST Reply to CommentI'll be rooting for the criminally neglected Winnie the Pooh.
Anyway, with the big Hollywood studios cranking out sequels there's certainly an opportunity for (one of) the little guys to squeeze in there if there are five nominees.
John
November 4, 2011 at 6:15PM EST Reply to CommentWait and see Wrinkles being nominated, the film had excellent reviews in Spain according to wickipedia.
Kristopher Tapley
November 4, 2011 at 6:41PM EST Reply to CommentAlright, another FYI. Note the update in the copy here. Turns out this IS the list of qualifying titles. All the motion capture stuff passes muster. It was merely a strangely worded press release, allowing for the possibility that films that haven't had their qualifying runs could still fall out if they don't follow through on that.
Rashad How in the world does Chipmunks and The Smurfs qualify? Granted I haven't seen either, but how are they different from Transformers or even Rise of The Apes?
November 4, 2011 at 7:19PM ESTKristopher Tapley Transformers and Planet of the Apes didn't submit. Nor did Avatar. But if Avatar had, it probably would have qualified.
November 5, 2011 at 1:26AM ESTred_wine Avatar would have 100% qualified if it had submitted. But of course they did not submit it for animated.
November 5, 2011 at 5:17AM EST
November 5, 2011 at 7:41PM ESTLaHaine
November 4, 2011 at 7:41PM EST Reply to CommentBy the look of this lackluster list no more than 3 movies truly deserve to be nominated(Tintin :D, Rango and maybe Rio). Somehow, I get the feeling Tintin will be the most critically successful of the bunch and will win this award easily. The academy never fails to award the most critically successful animation, and I doubt they'll stop now :/
juan_josé_serrano
November 4, 2011 at 7:50PM EST Reply to CommentCan someone explain me how to the rules for qualification work? I don't understand how Tin Tin and The Smurfs passed. Wasn't mo-cap banned? And just how live action films with animated characters get in?
Kristopher Tapley It wasn't banned. It was merely clarified that it isn't in and of itself animation. Smurfs qualifies due to the percentage of animated characters.
November 5, 2011 at 1:27AM EST
November 5, 2011 at 3:00PM ESTwisconsinkel
November 4, 2011 at 10:27PM EST Reply to CommentIn a perfect world:
Rango
Chico & Rita
Puss in Boots
A Cat in Paris
With Chico & Rita for the win
Winnie the Pooh
forg
November 4, 2011 at 10:53PM EST Reply to CommentI doubt Chipmunks and Smurfs will qualify. I hope we can have 5 nominees so Winnie The Pooh has a shot for a nod. I've seen Chico & Rita and the story is formulaic but I find the animation beautiful plus the music is lovely so I think this one has a shot.
Kristopher Tapley They qualified.
November 5, 2011 at 1:27AM ESTJP
November 4, 2011 at 11:56PM EST Reply to CommentToo bad this pretty much weak year will have 5 nominees and 2010 didn't. Tangled, Despicable Me and My Dog Tulip would be not only sure nominees but also have a good shot at winning. How To Train Your Dragon and The Ilusionist would propably be locks to win this year.
Regarding the nominations,
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Arthur Christmas"
"Cars 2"
"Chico & Rita"
"Happy Feet Two"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"
"Rio"
"Winnie the Pooh"
all look like having a shot at the nomination. Rango and probably Tintin are locks. For me, Arthur is in too. One of the last two films nominated will be chosen between Dream Works' Puss In Boots and Kung Fu Panda. I predict it will pe Panda. And the 5th and last nomination for me is Rio.
Tye-Grr
November 5, 2011 at 4:38AM EST Reply to CommentFor me, 'Rango' is the best animated film of the year so far by FAR. I don't get the love for 'Rio', unless your ten or under. It's very colorful, sure, but ibdont find any single aspect of it to be above mediocre. 'Cars 2' looks stunning, but it's a confused film that takes a turn for the bizarre with it's spy film plot and wafer thin side story about friendship and acceptance. 'Rango' is a gorgeous film, wonderfully animated with incredible character design and fantastic lighting, and the surprisingly hilarious and deep western story was a real treat and a surprise.
matsunaga
November 5, 2011 at 5:56AM EST Reply to CommentI just checked out the trailer of "A Cat in Paris"... And i really loved the animation... Anyone here who can provide a review of the film?
Hope all qualified so that five nominees are possible... I'll have:
Rango
Winnie the Pooh
Kung Fu Panda 2
Tintin (I'm more excited to see this than War Horse)
Puss in Boots/ Rio/ A Cat in Paris for the last slot...
John-Paul
November 6, 2011 at 6:28PM EST Reply to CommentI really want Kung Fu Panda 2 to be nominated, although I may be the only one who feels passionately about this. In no way do I think it will win, but it's rare that an animated sequel surpasses its predecessor, and I think this one does. Anyway, I'll be pissed if Cars 2 gets in over Kung Fu Panda 2, since I think that would be OBVIOUS Pixar favoritism. If they're going to nominate a sequel, at least let it be one that's actually good (although it remains to be seen whether or not Happy Feet 2 will live up to the original).
Adventures of Tintin will win this award, I think. The early word of mouth is very positive, and I think it's the only one that has a good shot at being nominated in other categories (particular score and the sound categories).