What an Animated Oscar Race?
The cherished 11 for the animated Oscar race have been announced. Now it’s time for us in the industry to debate the final three and eventual winner. So therefore, I say, let the discussion begin.
Pretty much anyone can look at the list and know that Shrek 2 and The Incredibles are shoo-ins. Up until the release of Pixar’s latest, the film to beat was Shrek 2, which boasts the impressive stat of being the third highest grossing film in U.S. box office history at more than $440 million. Globally the film ranks seventh, bringing in more than $883 million. Then you add in home entertainment sales and the giant green ogre of a film has piled into the coffers of Spielberg & Co. more than a billion dollars. One adds in merchandising and you start to get dizzy. So what does this all mean in the Oscar race? The Academy loves to reward a good film that succeeds.
That being said — The Incredibles fits the bill as well. The reviews have been stellar. The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern said this is the picture to beat for best film of the year. Disney and Pixar are following the same feeling and are pushing the flick for best picture as well. Golden Globes may be a lock, but Oscar may be a building this film won’t be able to leap in a single bound. Remember, Toy Story 2 won the Globe for comedy, but got bubkis from the Academy, except the inevitable best song nomination (or previously known as an animated film’s consolation prize).
So the winner will most likely be one of these two films. The campaigning will begin once the nominations are announced and it will be a matter of marketing and voter perception. Outside organizations will launch ads claiming that Mr. Incredible doesn’t deserve to be called a superhero because he doesn’t bleed. Others will claim that Puss in Boots is a flip-flopper — one moment he wants to kill Shrek and the next he’s the big guy’s best friend. Nine states will pass laws banning ogre/human civil unions and others will use The Incredibles as proof towards tort reform. But I digress into the land of tongue-in-cheek.
I highly doubt the campaigns for Shrek 2 and The Incredibles will be as bitter and divisive as the U.S. presidential election, but I do foresee some bickering in regards to the wild card film. Can I call it the Nader nomination? The field is pretty wide open in terms of the film that will grab the third slot. And I’m sure whomever gets the nod will have people complaining why another film didn’t.
So let’s look at the contenders. Unlike last year when Jester Till came out of left field, there are no real surprises on the list. Blazeway and Pentamedia’s The Legend of Buddha and Maxmedia’s Sky Blue (also known as Wonderful Days) were already on the radar as 2004 releases. But has anyone seen them? Likewise, there aren’t any glaring omissions like last year’s decision by DreamWorks not to enter Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas into the running. The only omission of note is the absence of Samuel Goldwyn-released French 3D feature Kaena: The Prophecy, which was left off the list because off Academy rules regarding foreign films being entered by their country of origin.
So now let’s go by studios. First, the old school studio synonymous with animation — Disney — along with the new school studio synonymous with animation, Pixar, have The Incredibles as their best shot for the award. Disney’s other two contenders are Disney’s Teacher’s Pet and Home on the Range. Both films have little hope of making the final three. Both were released in the beginning of the year with little fanfare, despite being generally well received by people who saw them. With the mega-push behind The Incredibles, these films will be left behind in superhero dust.
Yet, wouldn’t it be nice if Home on the Range did get a nod. A farewell salute to original 2D animation at Disney. We can wish upon a star can’t we?
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