3 Best Animated Feature Oscar Nominees (1 Viewer)

[Edwin Pereyra]

Because less than 16 films are eligible for Oscar's Best Animated Feature for 2003, only 3 nominations will be taken from the field of contenders.

Those in the running according to Variety include:

Disney's "Brother Bear," "Finding Nemo," "The Jungle Book 2," "Pokemon Heroes" and "Piglet's Big Movie"
DreamWorks' "Millenium Actress"
Warner Bros.' "Looney Tunes: Back in Action"
Paramount's "Rugrats Go Wild!"
Sony Classics' "The Triplets of Belleville"
Sony/Columbia Tristar's "Tokyo Godfathers"
The German film, "Jester Till (Till Eulenspiegel)"

Three pics' eligibility is still contingent on their release by the end of the year. "Jester Till (Till Eulenspiegel)" and "Tokyo Godfathers" are both skedded to preem in Los Angeles on Dec. 5 and "The Triplets of Belleville" will preem Friday.

~Edwin

 

[MartinTeller]

I'd say it's a lock for Nemo.

 

[Edwin-S]

Probably. Too bad though. Any one of the three I was looking at seemed more innovative than anything in NEMO.
It never ceases to amaze me how Japanese animators are willing to try telling different types of stories. Both MILLENIUM ACTRESS and TOKYO GODFATHERS seem to be aimed at adults.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I've seen Triplets of Bellville, and though I love it, I have to give the nod to Nemo. Bellville is an astoundingly all-visual movie; the print I saw was in French without any dubbing or subtitles, but it didn't matter at all. Still, Nemo is one of the most entertaining and gorgeous movies of the year.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Yeah, I think Nemo's got it, and I certainly won't be disappointed if it wins. Nice to see that DreamWorks submitted Millenium Actress, though. Wish Sony had done the same with Cowboy Bebop. Oh, well.

 

[Chris]

I do not understand how "Piglet's Big Movie" can be considered, as it contains previously aired material as part of the film, making up substantial portions.

I must be missing something. My kids love the flick (ok, they are 2/4 year olds) but I would think it would fail the "original material" type test.. it would be like a re-release being nominated.. ?

Then again, I think the "Best Animated" is just a way for the Academy to shuck off the fact that "Nemo" may be deserving of a best pic nod (and Toy Story 2 most definitely was)

 

[Steve Christou]

Definitely a lock for Nemo, did I hear somewhere Pixar wanted to submit it for Best Picture nomination too?

 

[Shaun]

I'm suprised Dreamwork's Sinbad animated movie wasn't under consideration. Pokemon Heroes? Come on...

 

[Adam_S]

Dreamworks knows there are not going to be enough submissions for five nominees this year. They also know that Sinbad was critically lambasted and has zero shot at a nomination when there will only be three. Millenium Actress therefore will be competing with one less film if they don't nominate Sinbad--and because it's the foreign film indie (sort of) animated film it has a good chance at being the third nominee behind Nemo and Brother Bear.

My picks for the three nominees (everyone knows Nemo will win, it's as foregone a conclusion as Julia Roberts or Chicago winning).
Finding Nemo
Brother Bear
The Tripletts of Belleville

Likely to oust Belleville will be Looney Tunes back in action, but that film seems to be getting a bad reception so it most likely will not. the rest of the films are pretty unrealistic chances, but it's good to have them submitted because that gives the academy the seven (?) necessary to hold the category.

Adam

 

[TheLongshot]

Probably. Too bad though. Any one of the three I was looking at seemed more innovative than anything in NEMO.
It never ceases to amaze me how Japanese animators are willing to try telling different types of stories. Both MILLENIUM ACTRESS and TOKYO GODFATHERS seem to be aimed at adults.

As much as I love "Millenium Actress", "Finding Nemo" is one hell of a film that works on many different levels. It wouldn't sadden me to see "Finding Nemo" winning.

It also doesn't help that MA and TG are made by the same director. I kinda wished they didn't get in such a hurry to get TG into contention and just waited until next year.

Jason

 

[Craig S]

"Based on critical reaction to the film, we did not believe it was up to the standards of the Academy," DreamWorks spokeswoman Susan Bennett says.

I figure the Academy can go ahead and engrave the bald guy for Finding Nemo. I don't know that there will be a more deserving winner this year than this almost perfect gem of a film.

 

[Rob Lutter]

Millenium Actress has a definate shot of making Nemo lost when they hand out the awards... don't write it off.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Millenium Actress has a definate shot of making Nemo lost when they hand out the awards... don't write it off.

Let's see... A story that involves an actress, a filmmaker doing a documentary and Japan's moviemaking past. This is what Hollywood is all about. My thoughts on the film.

~Edwin

 

[Edwin-S]

All I know is I would like to see all three of the ones that I mentioned: Millenium A, Tokyo G, and Triplets. Thanks to the North American movie audience mentality that has slotted animation into a narrow range of subjects, I cannot see the films I would like to see.

Hell, the distribution on these films was so poor I didn't even know they existed until I saw this thread. Millenium Actress is actually out on DVD. The disc has been released by Dreamworks and I have never seen it on a store shelf. DW has done as shitty a job distributing the DVD in stores as they did distributing the movie in theatres. Do the goofs running these studios think that animation fans only live in places like New York or Los Angeles?

I like NEMO just fine, but I think the Academy Award for Best Animated Picture should be going to animated films that push boundaries visually or narratively. While NEMO is an excellent film, it is not expanding the boundaries of animated film: a film like MILLENIUM ACTRESS is pushing the envelope because the subject matter is something that is more likely to be seen in a live action film than an animated one.

From the trailer alone -never mind the music- I can tell that, stylistically, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE has it all over NEMO. However, how can anyone make a judgement on the worth of films for Academy Awards when you can never see the films to begin with?

 

[Jason Seaver]

but I think the Academy Award for Best Animated Picture should be going to animated films that push boundaries visually or narratively.

See, I think it should go to the best overall film. Of the ones I've seen this year (so far, just Finding Nemo, Milennium Actress, and The Triplets Of Belleville), I'd give it to Nemo. Milennium is a little on the pretentious side where narrative structure is concerned, and Triplets is just a hair below Nemo.

Of course, I'd have liked to see Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat In Space get nominated, but I don't know if it's even played L.A.

 

[Edwin-S]

Wow! I'm in animation purgatory where I live.

Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space? This is another one I've never heard of. Where do you guys find out about this stuff? Who was producing the film?

I have to admit it is hard to tell the overall quality of a film just from a trailer. How can a person make a judgement when they are never released widely enough to ever be seen?

When it comes to animation, living in North America sucks. People here have been so spoiled by 120 million dollar live action blockbusters they won't give anything done using another medium a chance. The first thing out of their mouths is "why didn't they do this in live action?" They seem to be incapable of realizing that it is an artistic choice and respecting that. Film critics are especially bad for that kind of sentiment.

The perception that live action films are somehow superior to animated ones is so complete on this continent that you continually see properties that would be suited to animation being made as live films.

Take CAT IN THE HAT. Just looking at the trailer for that film is almost enough to make me heave. GRINCH gave me the same reaction. I don't know what possesses people to think that Suess's books can be translated into live action films. They can put 50 tons of make up on people like Mike Myers or Jim Carrey and they are never going to even come close to the spirit of Suess's illustrations.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space? This is another one I've never heard of. Where do you guys find out about this stuff? Who was producing the film?

Tree-of-life for Kintique, in Japan. It doesn't have a major US distributor (heck, the IMDB lists no US distributor at all); it played a repatory theater here in Cambridge for a week after being the closing-night selection of the Boston Fantastic Film Festival. It's wild, and would never win because it's just too damn bizarre and arty.

 

[TheLongshot]

I like NEMO just fine, but I think the Academy Award for Best Animated Picture should be going to animated films that push boundaries visually or narratively.

Well, if that was true, "Waking Life" probably should have won last year.

Personally, I'd go with the best film, and so far, that was "Finding Nemo".

Jason

 

[Edwin-S]

I guess it depends on your definition of "animated". I don't consider painting over live action footage as animation.

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

I guess it depends on your definition of "animated". I don't consider painting over live action footage as animation.

Disney's Snow White wasn't animated?