We may not see a "Best animated film" category at the Oscars this year afterall.

[The Clown Prince]

This comes from Cinescape...

"There's a chance that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first year of their Best Animated Feature Film category may have to wait until next year.


According to the Hollywood Reporter, the new category requires a minimum of eight cadidates for nominations before it is official enacted. At this point, there look to be only seven. The seven are: MONSTERS, INC., OSMOSIS JONES, FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN, WAKING LIFE, JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS, SHREK and ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE. Any further potential candidates must have their papers filed with the Academy by 5 p.m. today, or the category will wait another year to be activated."

Come on, 8 films? That is totally ridiculous. Best actor, actress, director, and film all get to have 5 nominees. Hell, even some categories get to have 3! But 8 for the animated film category? I don't want to think that the Academy doesn't want this new category around, but when the request 8 animated films? I don't know. It will be really disapointing if we don't see this, especially when a film like Shrek and possibly Monsters Inc. deserves something like this.

The Clown Prince

[Singin' Stray Cat]

There HAS to be eight nominees? Since when? I agree, that sounds like a very lame reason to drop a category...

[Maxie Zeus]

No, the rules say that there must be eight "candidates," not eight "nominees." How many "candidate" live action movies are there a year? Hundreds. So it is not too much to ask that there be at least eight animated films from which nominees can be drawn, and then voted on.

[Keith]

OH C'mon - you mean The Trumpet of the Swan and Recess: School's Out don't count?!

Those are sure-fire Oscar contenders, right?!:p

[DerekPowers]

what about return of the joker??? does direct to video not count, anyone know?

but out of the 7 named, even though i havent seen all of them, id have to go w/ either waking life or atlantis.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by DerekPowers
what about return of the joker??? does direct to video not count, anyone know?

but out of the 7 named, even though i havent seen all of them, id have to go w/ either waking life or atlantis.

No. Rules state that to be eligible for an Oscar it must play in theaters. Not sure what the precise rules are: something like, in at least one theater in Los Angeles and one in New York, on or before the last weekend of the year.

[Lachesis]

Yaaagh!

Who's sitting on the anime?! I KNOW Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Metropolis are eligible!

[Joe Tully]

Yeah, I'm sure that there are some lesser-known films that are eligible. But do they need to be submitted by the producer or something? Sorry, I don't know a whole lot about this.

[BourgeoisBuffoon]

Excuse me.

(B.B. puts a helmet on him. We see him yelling angerly. He then takes it off calmly)

Okay, I have thought this over. THE OSCAR PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS! I'm sure they can't just drop the rule for once...heck, even if an 8th animation fillm is found, it's probably just a unknown one that nobody would vote for anyway.

Still, we better find that unknown film...:(

[The Clown Prince]

OK, I misunderstood the "nominees" and "candidates" thing. But you know, still, they should forget the 8th one and pick their 5 nominees from the seven that were listed. I guess we'll know soon if this category will happen or not.

The Clown Prince

[Joe Tully]

Hmm...from http://www.oscars.org/74academyawards/rules/rule07.html

The official Academy site


The Executive Committee of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch shall meet prior to the last Board of Governors meeting at the end of the calendar year. At this Branch meeting, a reminder list of the animated feature films released during the year shall be reviewed. If the committee finds that there are eight (8), or more, eligible animated feature films that warrant a category, it MAY choose to recommend to the Board of Governors that there be a Best Animated Feature Film Award given this year. If the Governors accept this recommendation, the following nomination process shall be set in motion.


It doesn't sound like the 8 have to be submitted for activation, they just have to meet other rules of the Academy. I am pretty sure that at least one of those films that has been mentioned (Recess, Trumpet of the Swan, and the anime assuming they opened in Japan during 2001) qualify. If you look around the Academy's site, it says that an Animated film would have to be at least 70 min. (those all are, Swan cuts it close at 75 min.) air in the L.A. area , and open during 2001.

Clown Prince-Could you put up a link to that article? I can't find it at Cinescape. If anyone finds any criticism of my logic, please point it out. When I try to figure out stuff like this, I am often wrong, but this seems to make sense.

Edit: Never mind, CP, I found the link.

[The Clown Prince]

Sure thing Joe Tully. Here it is...

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Movies&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=270338&obj_id=30671

Hope that helps. :)

The Clown Prince

[Calhoun07]

To paraphrase the insult dog...

The Oscars are good....for me to poop on!

This is just one more reason why I don't care for them and why I will never watch their lame ceremony. The oscars are pretty meaningless anyway. Do we need a statue to validate what we already know, that Shrek is the best animated movie this year?? I don't need an awards show to tell me that.

[Lachesis]

Hmm, if you follow the link on that page to today's new article. . .

Does anyone wanna guess what the six new entries are?

Too bad about Blood the Last Vampire. Good stuff.

[Maxie Zeus]

The follow up article does make it sound as though the producers/distributors have to submit some kind of paperwork for their films to be considered even as "candidates." Can't find anyplace that says what the new films are.

As for "Vampire Hunter D" and "Metropolis": If these are foreign they may not be eligible, as the Oscars (except for the "Best Foreign" categories) are meant to apply to American films.

And no, I don't have any more respect for the Academy than anyone else here. In fact, I don't much like the whole idea of a Best Animated category because the Academy will just give it to Disney every single year, the way they give "Best Song" to the Mouse House without regard to actual quality.

[Joe Tully]

Thanks CP. :)

From what I was reading at the Academy page, it seemed to say that foreign films were eligible if they opened anywhere in the world during 2001 and aired in L.A. There are some other minor stipulations too, but that was pretty much it.

My guesses for nominees?

Spriggan (Japan)
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (Japan)
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (Japan)
The Trumpet of the Swan
Recess: School's Out
Pokemon the Movie 3 (Japan)

These are all taken from the 2001 releases listed at www.cartoonresearch.com

These 6 plus Blood: The Last Vampire would be the only ones there that aren't already listed as nominated. It sounds like we'll see it after all.

Yeah, the awards aren't always a decent gage of talent, but I think that it would be nice to at least have an Animated Oscar. I am hoping that Disney doesn't win. The only claim I think they might have would be Monsters Inc. and then I think it would go to Pixar and Disney would only have reflected glory. Not that they wouldn't try to take all of the credit for themselves. I'm hoping that Shrek gets the award.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by Joe Tully
From what I was reading at the Academy page, it seemed to say that foreign films were eligible if they opened anywhere in the world during 2001 and aired in L.A. There are some other minor stipulations too, but that was pretty much it.

You're right. So if those films you listed ARE the ones that were added at the last moment, it sounds like the oversight was due entirely to the producer/distributors not knowing what they had to do to get on the list.

BTW, the reason ROTJ can't make it: "Films which receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release will not be eligible for Academy Awards in any category. (This includes broadcast and cable television, as well as home video marketing and internet transmission.)" :(

[Lachesis]

You're missing Metropolis and possibly Bill Plympton's Mutant Aliens. Not sure if the last one's technically been released, though it's played at festivals already.

Foreign films are eligible if they were released in 2001 originally and have had a one-week run in a L.A. theater before the end of the year. Exceptions are possible, if you meet certain criteria. "Life is Beautiful," for instance, was released two years before its U.S. run in Italy.

Eligibility depends on the submission of some form or other with the signatures of all producers and directors, plus supplementary documentation, like cast lists, synopses, theater junk, etc. Actual film prints are due by the end of the year

Just found out Jin Roh was submitted, but I'm not sure if it's eligible.

[RockItShipper]

Pokemon 3 was a 2000 release in Japan... But 4 came out this past summer.

[Joe Tully]

Well, unless Pokemon 4 is shown in LA before 2001 ends, it isn't eligible either. I guess one of Lachesis's picks must replace Pokemon 3 on my list.

[Bic]

Just got this from Ain't it Cool.com (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=10705) so I don't know how true it is, but here is what it said:


There are questions of whether there will be an Oscar for Best Animated Feature this year, and is so what anime will qualify. There must be at least eight features that meet the criteria in order for the award to be given. Known candidates where Monsters Inc., Osmosis Jones, Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within, Waking Life, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Shrek, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire, but there are indications that other candidates where instated before the deadline.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, six as yet unidentified animated feature films were made candidates just prior to November 1st deadline, giving the new category 13 films, five more than it was. Academy spokesperson John Pavlik addressed this new batch, saying, "It remains to be seen how many of these will qualify, but there's certainly a lot more room for maneuvering now.

Blood: The Last Vampire was rejected because its 50 minute run time falls short of the required 70 minutes.

Jerry of Bandai Entertainment sends word that their co-release with Viz, Production I.G.'s Jin-Roh, written by Mamoru Oshii has made the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences cutoff deadline. The 13 entries will not be made public until December 12th.

Personally, I think Shrek or Monsters Inc. should be nominated for Best Picture as well since they are the two best movies I seen so far this year. :D

[Calhoun07]

I would easilly pick Shrek as best movie overall, over all the live action stuff put out, too. I doubt the Academy would ever see it our way, tho. But it was simply the best movie.