And the Oscar nomination will go to...

[Donald Duck 12]

I always love making predicitions for the Best Animated Feature category. So who is in the running first of all (each studio can have three films eligable). Then when we determine that who will be nominated (I am pretty sure that five can be nominated this year, please correct me if I am wrong). Finally then who will win? The films released/to be released this year are (tell me if I missed any):

Weinstein Company- Doogal
20th Century Fox- Everyone's Hero
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Paramount- Barnyard
Over the Hedge
Flushed Away
Disney- Cars
The Wild
Universal- Curious George
Think Film- Farce of the Penguins
Sony- Monster House
Open Season
Warner Bros.- A Scanner Darkly
The Ant Bully
Happy Feet

[Mr. Manager]

I thought Farce was live-action? Anyway, I think it's too early to make predictions. We still have some more animated movies on the way. Plus, we haven't even gotten the list of the movies being considered.

[Fifi Fanatic]

I suspect that "Cars" will probably be the winner. Though I personally will be pulling for "Over the Hedge". :)

[Johnny Cakes]

Monster House should win out of that list. I also hope that Cars and Curious George get a nomination.

[Donald Duck 12]

Monster House should win out of that list. I also hope that Cars and Curious George get a nomination.

Those were the only three that I have seen this year. They were all great films, but not the best ever. I can see those being nominated.

[Dr.Pepper]

Wasn't Open Season, Flushed Away, and Over the Hedge all Dreamworks or was I mistaken?

[Mr. Manager]

Wasn't Open Season, Flushed Away, and Over the Hedge all Dreamworks or was I mistaken?Paramount bought Dreamworks.

[Lonestarr]

If Monster House doesn't, at the very least, garner a nomination, the Oscars are officially rigged.

[HG Revolution]

Flushed Away looks good, and if the Academy continues with the Aardman love (Chicken Run being snubbed for Best Picture was the reason they created the Best Animated Film award in the first place), it could win.

Cars is a shoe-in, and I personally hope A Scanner Darkly gets some recognition.

[SirLemming]

So far I want Monster House to win, and due to its overall good critical reception and due to "Pixar yet again" being the more obvious choice, I think it has a chance.

Doogal was a critical flop as far as I can tell, so that'd just be bizarre.
The Wild... ditto.
And Barnyard? I don't remember hearing anything about that after it came out.
Open Season doesn't seem to have gotten a whole lot of love either.

Cars is obviously going to be nominated, and most of the other ones have as good a chance as any.


Farce of the Penguins is not animated. A Scanner Darkly might not be in the category either... I don't know.

[Aldrius]

Cars, Monster House, Over the Hedge.

Out of that list. Dunno who's going to win, though. =x

[Moto Pete]

Over the Hedge

Curouis George should win best Movie Soundtrack

[Golgo13]

I'd imagine the nominees will be Cars, Monster House, Flushed Away. Obviously, I haven't seen Flushed Away so I can't give an accurate idea of it's worth, but if it's anything like Aarman's past films, it should be a big contender.

All things considered, I believe Monster House will win. It has a great story and terrific animation. Not to mention it had some very interesting animation techniques.

For instance, Monster House was rendered completely without motion blur.

[sterfish]

Although Monster House might be a good film, I wouldn't be too surprised if it didn't get nominated. The Academy has somewhat of a bias against motion capture and that may keep the film from getting nominated the way it kept The Polar Express from getting nominated. I think you'll see Cars, Flushed Away, and Over The Hedge nominated with Curious George or possibly Happy Feet making a surprise bid.

[Dudley]

My Scanner Darkly won't be nominated for the same reason Waking Life wasn't nominated.
The Academy doesn't think rotoscoping counts as animation.

[TnAdct1]

My Scanner Darkly won't be nominated for the same reason Waking Life wasn't nominated.
The Academy doesn't think rotoscoping counts as animation. However, Waking Life was eligible for the Best Animated Film award in 2001.

[Baltofan]

Over The Hedge should win!

[PeppeRaskell1]

Hmmm...Best Animated Feature? I definitely see A Scanner Darkly, Cars, Flushed Away (Oscar really can't say "no" to an Aardman film).

And I also see Doogal, Everyone's Hero and Barnyard getting some kind of award...Maybe one of them will have the honor of getting the very first "Razzie" for "Worst Animated Feature"....

[Dudley]

However, Waking Life was eligible for the Best Animated Film award in 2001.

It was? Well, my bad.:sweat:

[Ben]

I would love to see A Scanner Darkly, Monster House and Cars nominated. Scanner is really the best film of those three, but of course Cars is going to win.

Unfortunately Flushed Away doesn't seem like it's going to be spectacular -- it's not a pure Aardman film, it was produced by DreamWorks, and there were enough creative differences during the production to lead to the breakup of the partnership.

[MonkeyFunk]

I posted my predictions on my livejournal in July. That's how proactive I am!


The inevitable "I don't have anything better to do" entry
It's time for... really early predictions for Best Animated Picture Oscar!

The contenders:

Curious George
Doogal
Ice Age 2
Over the Hedge
The Wild
Cars
A Scanner Darkly
Monster House
Ant Bully
Barnyard
Everyone's Hero
Renaissance
Open Season
Flushed Away
Happy Feet

(14 in all, which means 3 nominees - unless there are two last minute entries, like that Gulliver's Travel movie no-one in America had heard of until it got shortlisted last year, in which case we'll have the first 5-nominee year since 2002)

So, breakdown:

Curious George - possible; critical reception could've been warmer and it's also an unapologetic kidflick at a time when aniamted movies are expected to have more adult appeal, but since it's 2D I guess it could be nominated for variety.

Doogal - no

Ice Age 2 - probably not, since there's a load of other funny animal movies coming out, and this one's a sequel

Over the Hedge - quite likely - at RottenTomatoes it only has 1% less than Cars, even though it didn't seem to go down quite as well with online animation fans. Us lot don't seem to dig DreamWorks movies in general, but the same can't be said of the Acadamy - Shrek beating out Monsters Inc, Shark Tale being nominaed over Polar Express, Spongebob Squarepants, Ghost in the Shell 2 and Home on the Range even though it was absolutely panned by critics...

The Wild - probably not

Cars: not as warmly recieved as past Pixars but still almost certain to be in there.

A Scanner Darkly - Got mixed reviews but, like CG (uh, I mean Curious George - what ironic initials), has the variety factor going for it

Ant Bully, Barnyard, Happy Feet, Open Season - okay, I haven't even seen any trailers for these. To early to judge but right now I'm leanng towards Over the Hedge as the funny animal movie of choice.

Monster House - the few reviews it's got are mixed, but since it's not another funny animal movie it won't have to compete with Hedge.

Flushed Away - torn. Part of me wants to say "it's Aardman, of course it'll be great!", part of me wants to lump it in with Barnyard and the rest. I'm hoping it'll be Hedge's biggest contender in the animal field.

Everyone's Hero - hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Trailer didn't set me alight but it has some potential. I'll be keeping an eye on it...

Renaissance - I have high hopes for this one. Stands out in terms of both subject and visual style. On the other hand, it could turnout like the Final Fantasy movie: looks good but is actually a bit pants.

So, the predictions:

3 NOMS
First guess: Cars, Hedge, Renaissance
Second guess: Cars, Hedge, Flushed

5 NOMS
First guess: Cars, Hedge, Renaissance, Flushed, Hero
Second guess: Cars, Hedge, Renaissance, Flushed, Scanner

WINNER
Cars

Phew.

Next year should be more interesting - Meet the Robinsons, Ratatoille, Earthsea, Beowulf, Simpsons, Coraline, TMNT. Be cool to see Ratatoullie and Earthsea up against either Robinsons (Pixar vs. Ghibli vs. Disney) or Corline (CGI vs. 2D vs. stop motion).

[Jeff Harris]

This year hasn't really given us a lot of quality pics, but considering the history of the Best Animated Picture award, they'll probably:

- End up nominating just three movies rather than five.
- Will give Flushing Away a nomination, because, golly, those Oscar folks just loves them some Aardman, though Dreamworks Animation (as of 10/29, still independent) is publicly saying it's from the people who brought you Shrek rather than saying it's from the people who brought you Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromitt.
- Will probably have reservations about giving Cars a nomination, but will do it out of obligation and respect for the studio.
- Will give a nomination to a non-Dreamworks/Pixar movie just to show "fairness." There are five dark horse candidates that'll likely get the third and final nomination:

Curious George, Universal
A Scanner Darkly, Warner Independent Pictures
The Ant Bully, Warner Bros.
Monster House, Sony Pictures
Open Season, Sony Pictures

If Flushing Away and/or Cars doesn't get nominated, expect one of those films. Though to be honest, I don't see any of those "critter movies" getting a nomination (see Madagascar's non-nomination last year).

Then again, it is too early to make guesses.

[Mr. Manager]

I saw Over the Hedge yesterday, and I don't think it's Oscar-worthy. It's a little early to make predictions, but I'll make some anyway. I won't make predictions for the winner yet, though.

If they go with three nominations, I think they'll go this route:
Cars
A Scanner Darkly
Flushed Away or Curious George or Monster House

If they go with five nominations, I see it going like this:
Cars
Flushed Away
A Scanner Darkly
Monster House
Curious George

[SirLemming]

I really hope A Scanner Darkly isn't nominated in this category. I don't think it fits. I realize TONS of work went into animating it, and I'm not trying to discredit it. But it really is a combination of animation and live action, even though there's technically no live action on the screen. It's directed as live action and presented through animation.

Motion capture and rotoscoping are different, because they use it to translate human movements to animated characters, but still have completely fictional character designs and direct the scenes in a way that doesn't involve cameras (at least not in the traditional sense). I'm not trying to imply that A Scanner Darkly is "cheating", but to call it an animated film is somewhat inaccurate.

[Mr. Manager]

Y'know, I agree with that, SirLemming. I've mentioned previously on this board that rotoscoped and motion captured films shouldnt be nominated in the animated category. But due to the fact that The Polar Express was nominated in the category in the past, I think they'll nominate A Scanner Darkly and/or Monster House. I'm not insulting either, I'm just saying.

[Ben]

It's directed as live action and presented through animation.

No, its director always knew it would be animated. So to say it was "directed as live action" is inaccurate. It involves live action footage directed so it could be animated. Studios like Disney have used rotoscoping since their first animated features. I bet a lot of your favorite animation was rotoscoped. So if you're going to exclude rotoscoping from the category of animation you're going against 70 years of tradition that say it is animation.


Motion capture and rotoscoping are different, because they use it to translate human movements to animated characters, but still have completely fictional character designs and direct the scenes in a way that doesn't involve cameras (at least not in the traditional sense).

Rotoscoping doesn't involve cameras in the traditional sense either. They film some actors, then they draw something else over it. How is that different from filming some actors, then drawing something else over it with a computer? And if you're going to say that Scanner Darkly doesn't have fictional characters, show me a real scramble suit and a real dude with 50 eyes on his head.


I'm not trying to imply that A Scanner Darkly is "cheating", but to call it an animated film is somewhat inaccurate.

Like I said, 70 years of tradition says you're wrong.

[SirLemming]

There's no need for this hostile tone. I'm not attacking the movie. Just hear me out.

The movie was shot on camera first, then drawn over. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) That's not the same as merely using a real person's movements as reference for a character's animation, or inputting those movements via computer. Because that's just the movements. For this movie they primarily (with some obvious exceptions) filmed an entire live-action movie and then traced over it. Clearly it's still a huge amount of effort, but the process isn't animation in the truest sense... nor is it live action in the truest sense. It's both. Not only is the motion already there, but the entire scene is there. The background details, the camera angles and movements, every hair on the characters' heads, etc. Rotoscoping usually only covers the basic skeletal motion.

[Jeff Harris]

The rules for the Best Animated Picture states that a film has to be at least 75-80% animation minimum. Just because a film is rotoscoped doesn't mean that it's not animated.

That said, I really want A Scanner Darkly to be among the five (there had better be five films this Oscar season) nominees. It's obvious that the Academy is biased against darker, non-family movies actually winning the award. Of the 17 nominees in the category, only two (The Triplets of Belleville and Howl's Moving Castle) aren't exactly family-themed films, and it would be nice to see something not necessarily tied to a family franchise not only get nominated for the award, but also win. After all, animation isn't just a kids and family medium . . . is it?

Otherwise, I will continue to believe that the Best Animated Feature award is a joke aimed to segregate animated films from live-action films for Best Picture nominations.

[Ben]

Otherwise, I will continue to believe that the Best Animated Feature award is a joke aimed to segregate animated films from live-action films for Best Picture nominations.

Sometimes I start thinking that way, but then I remember that this means one feature animation director every year gets an Oscar, which is good. Miyazaki winning an Oscar meant that Disney could then plaster "From Academy Award Winner Hayao Miyazaki" all over everything, which was fantastic for the Ghibli DVD line.

[Jeff Harris]

Sometimes I start thinking that way, but then I remember that this means one feature animation director every year gets an Oscar, which is good. Miyazaki winning an Oscar meant that Disney could then plaster "From Academy Award Winner Hayao Miyazaki" all over everything, which was fantastic for the Ghibli DVD line.Yeah, that's true. Both Months of Miyazaki (you know, in light of the Corpse Bride/Polar Express TV premieres on ABC Family, I almost forgot that Disney gave Turner access to an enormous bulk of Studio Ghibli's fully uncut library to air on TCM and The Network) were a coup to watch. I mean, seriously, a Best Animated Feature actually aired on Toonami and films that could have won if the category had been around followed.

Brad Bird's another guy I'd put up there with Miyazaki. I'm not saying that he wouldn't have won a Best Picture award for The Incredibles, but the award he got for the movie does highlight the bulk of his work, which also includes the brilliant yet underappreciated film The Iron Giant.

Still, part of me hates the fact that while animation is separate from the "main" categories, there still isn't Academy Award categories for Best Actor and Actress in an Animated Production. There's still a prejudice in the industry that animation is beneath "real" movies, which is unfortunate. Mel Blanc, for all his work in all those Oscar-winning shorts he did at Warner Bros., never received an Oscar for any of them. Don't think he has an Emmy either. He probably received Honorary awards, but that's it.

[SirLemming]

The rules for the Best Animated Picture states that a film has to be at least 75-80% animation minimum. Just because a film is rotoscoped doesn't mean that it's not animated.
I see it as a combination. To say it's "animated" is really not specific enough. As for the percentage, that can be vague and confusing. Does it mean how long animation appears on the screen? Because then it's 100%. But... it's not really "100% animated", is it? Especially if you think of "animation" as the process of figuring out how to make a drawn character "come to life".

The movie defies categorization, which is probably a compliment. So I'd prefer that they leave it in the "all kinds of films" category. There are enough strictly animated films to fill their own category.

[Jeff Harris]

I see it as a combination. To say it's "animated" is really not specific enough. As for the percentage, that can be vague and confusing. Does it mean how long animation appears on the screen? Because then it's 100%. But... it's not really "100% animated", is it? Especially if you think of "animation" as the process of figuring out how to make a drawn character "come to life".Or sculpted. Or modeled. But the thing is, if you want to be nitpicky, the whole film process itself is animation. Film is nothing more than splicing a series of multiple still images together to create the illusion of life, in this case, photographs instead of drawings.

But the whole thing is that the criteria for Best Animated Movie is loose at best. For a film to be considered for the award, it doesn't have to be 100% animation. According to Academy standards, a bulk of the content does have to be animated, with a 75% minimum.

It's a loophole that could make A Scanner Darkly an Oscar-nominated movie.


The movie defies categorization, which is probably a compliment. So I'd prefer that they leave it in the "all kinds of films" category. There are enough strictly animated films to fill their own category.That's true too. And through all the cookie cutter critter films (Ice Age II, The Wild, Over the Hedge, Open Season, Flushed Away, and Happy Feet), the anthromorphic films (Cars, Everyone's Hero . . . who am I kiddin'? That one won't even get a Razzie), the children-themed films (Curious George, The Ant Bully, Monster House), and those movies that defy categorization (Renaissance, A Scanner Darkly), they're going to have to sift out three (or five) that will be classified as the best of the best of the year.

[delariean]

I was going to mention Full metal Alchemist the movie..but with its limited..and I mean limited exposer in the theaters I doubt it will even be looked at...:crying:

[Mr Cat Dog]

As long as it shows in LA for at least a week in the 2006 calendar year, it has the potential to be nominated.

[Mr. Manager]

Still, part of me hates the fact that while animation is separate from the "main" categories, there still isn't Academy Award categories for Best Actor and Actress in an Animated Production. There's still a prejudice in the industry that animation is beneath "real" movies, which is unfortunate. Mel Blanc, for all his work in all those Oscar-winning shorts he did at Warner Bros., never received an Oscar for any of them. Don't think he has an Emmy either. He probably received Honorary awards, but that's it.That really irks me too. I like that there is an animation category but what annoys me is that because of that, animated film aren't nominated for Best Picture. For example, Spirited Away would've been a great nomination for Best Picture.

The discrimination isn't just in film either. The Emmys discriminate animation as well. The fact that the two main animation awards aren't televised on network television is so dumb. The animation awards of the Emmys are just lumped in with the Creative Arts Emmys rather than having it along with the Primetime Emmys. Sure the awards for the 'toons get shown on TV, but it's on E!, rather than network television.

[Ben]

I see it as a combination. To say it's "animated" is really not specific enough. As for the percentage, that can be vague and confusing. Does it mean how long animation appears on the screen? Because then it's 100%. But... it's not really "100% animated", is it? Especially if you think of "animation" as the process of figuring out how to make a drawn character "come to life".

By that standard cgi films aren't animated, as they don't use "drawn characters." The final product of A Scanner Darkly, on the other hand, is made of drawings. I really don't see what's so vague or confusing about that. Are you saying Photorealism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorealism) isn't painting?


The movie defies categorization, which is probably a compliment. So I'd prefer that they leave it in the "all kinds of films" category. There are enough strictly animated films to fill their own category.

Not really. If there were, we'd have had five noms every year. And as Jeff and I mentioned your strict definition excludes cg and stop-motion films like Wallace and Gromit and Corpse Bride.

[SirLemming]

By that standard cgi films aren't animated, as they don't use "drawn characters." The final product of A Scanner Darkly, on the other hand, is made of drawings. I really don't see what's so vague or confusing about that. Are you saying Photorealism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorealism) isn't painting?



Not really. If there were, we'd have had five noms every year. And as Jeff and I mentioned your strict definition excludes cg and stop-motion films like Wallace and Gromit and Corpse Bride. Well of course I think CGI and stop-motion are animation. I wasn't trying to create the ultimate definition of animation there, I was just speaking strictly within the realm of 2D animation since that's the main issue at hand here.

You're really making a much bigger deal out of this than I ever intended. I am NOT attacking or discrediting the movie or its techniques. I simply think that if you're going to nominate a couple of animated films to represent what the animated film medium is all about, the ones that don't use this blend of live-action and animation should really take priority. They're "more" animated.

[Ben]

You're really making a much bigger deal out of this than I ever intended. I am NOT attacking or discrediting the movie or its techniques. I simply think that if you're going to nominate a couple of animated films to represent what the animated film medium is all about, the ones that don't use this blend of live-action and animation should really take priority. They're "more" animated.

No, I understand what you're saying, and I don't think any art should be given a "higher priority" over its peers just because its conceptualization process was different. As I mentioned, saying "A Scanner Darkly" is "less" animated than other animated films is like saying Richard Estes's work
http://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/images/1136366666.jpg
is "less" painted than other painters'. It doesn't make any sense.

[SirLemming]

Well... I have to say I really don't see it as a problem. That's what I'm rambling on about here. Why does it matter that it's (according to me) "less animated"? It's not a quality judgment. Sure, it means it wouldn't be eligible for the animated film Oscar, but it would still be eligible for the general best film Oscar.

To sum it up in a different and possibly better way, it's just that I think the live-action aspect is hardly negligible. It's equally prominent. When you watch it, you know there's something more going on than just your typical animation. And not just because the movements are smooth.

Is that agreeable enough? Maybe?

[HG Revolution]

Is that agreeable enough? Maybe?

Only if you consider Monster House ineligable. With A Scanner Darkly, the animation team had to create every frame. The actors provide the movement, but that doesn't change that it takes a lot of talent to pull off the roteroscoping. With Monster House, the animation team doesn't even really need to create frames. Mostly all the animators do is create the character models and do touch-ups in areas where the motion capture technology wouldn't support itself. A Scanner Darkly's mix of animation and live-action is pretty balanced, while Monster House's mix uses animation more for technical issues while the majority of the film is done in live-action. If it were up to me, Monster House would be nominated for Best Special Effects, while Scanner Darkly would be up for Best Animated Feature.

[SirLemming]

Only if you consider Monster House ineligable. With A Scanner Darkly, the animation team had to create every frame. The actors provide the movement, but that doesn't change that it takes a lot of talent to pull off the roteroscoping. With Monster House, the animation team doesn't even really need to create frames. Mostly all the animators do is create the character models and do touch-ups in areas where the motion capture technology wouldn't support itself. A Scanner Darkly's mix of animation and live-action is pretty balanced, while Monster House's mix uses animation more for technical issues while the majority of the film is done in live-action. If it were up to me, Monster House would be nominated for Best Special Effects, while Scanner Darkly would be up for Best Animated Feature. While I don't know everything about Monster House's process, you're ignoring the animation and direction that goes into everything that isn't the characters, which is a pretty huge aspect of it. It's an entirely created world. In A Scanner Darkly it's not just the actors that provide the movement, it's everything.

Would I prefer Monster House to have non-motion-capture animation? Yes.

[HG Revolution]

In A Scanner Darkly it's not just the actors that provide the movement, it's everything.

Wrong. The majority of the filming was actually done greenscreened. Honestly, if they were to film some of those scenes in live-action entirely then their effects budget would have to be way bigger than it was.

[SirLemming]

Wrong. The majority of the filming was actually done greenscreened. Honestly, if they were to film some of those scenes in live-action entirely then their effects budget would have to be way bigger than it was.
See, I didn't know that. Why didn't somebody mention that sooner? Okay, I guess I really shouldn't be shifting the blame to you...
However, to my credit, I did say this in my first "argument post" about it:


The movie was shot on camera first, then drawn over. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)
...
For this movie they primarily (with some obvious exceptions) filmed an entire live-action movie and then traced over it.

So are you saying most of the backgrounds actually are hand-drawn? I really thought they were just right there with the actors. It sure looked like it.

[langden alger]

out of the whole 'cgi heap' this year, monster house was the only one i was intrigued enough by to actually go out to see. so i can't really say honestly how well it matches up to cars or over the hedge. in the end, monster house did not dissapoint me at all. for being both fresh and enjoyable it deserves an oscar imo'.

[TnAdct1]

From an Oscar press release, here's a list of the 16 films that have been submitted for Oscar consideration:


“The Ant Bully”
“Arthur and the Invisibles”
“Barnyard”
“Cars”
“Curious George”
“Everyone’s Hero”
“Flushed Away”
“Happy Feet”
“Ice Age The Meltdown”
“Monster House”
“Open Season”
“Over the Hedge”
“Paprika”
“Renaissance”
“A Scanner Darkly”
“The Wild”

[MonkeyFunk]

Let's see what RottenTomatoes has to say...

“Flushed Away” - 77%
“Cars” - 76%
“Over the Hedge” - 75%
“Monster House” - 72%
“Curious George” - 70%
“The Ant Bully” - 65%
“A Scanner Darkly” - 64%
“Ice Age The Meltdown” - 57%
“Open Season” - 49%
“Everyone’s Hero” - 40%
“Renaissance” - 40%
“Barnyard” - 24%
“The Wild” - 18%
“Arthur and the Invisibles”, “Happy Feet”, “Paprika” - remains to be seen

[HG Revolution]

OK, now my predictions go something like this:

Flushed Away
Cars
Monster House
A Scanner Darkly
Paprika (hopeful winner!)

[Baltofan]

Over The Hedge for sure winner!