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The Key to Bumping up Animated to Five Nominees

Posted by Sasha Stone On November - 2 - 2009

Steve Pond at the Wrap does some nice investigative reporting to come up with a tiny little mystery in the world of Oscar watching – the idea that one animated movie could make the difference between three and five nominees.  This was touched upon in the comments section of this post back on October 10 here at AD but perhaps it had not yet been confirmed:

But in the world of animation, “The Missing Lynx: Paws on the Run” could prove to be one of the year’s most significant releases.

The director of the Spanish movie, Raul Garcia, confirmed to theWrap on Saturday that the company had submitted the paperwork required to enter the film in the Oscar animated-feature race.

The news is crucial because for the last couple of weeks, the number of entries in the category appeared to have stalled at 15. If 15 movies qualify, the category will have three nominees; if 16 do so, it’ll jump to five.

With a number of high-profile, well-reviewed films in the running, and with “Up” and “Coraline” seemingly heavy favorites for the first two slots, a slate of three nominees would have resulted in a dogfight for the final spot between the likes of “Ponyo,” Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog,” the buzzed-about “Mary and Max,” Sony’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” Wes Anderson’s “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “9,” and the boxoffice hit “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” among others.

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    25 Responses for "The Key to Bumping up Animated to Five Nominees"

    1. Loyal November 2nd, 2009 at 12:25 pm 1

      I hope Mary and Max gets in and that can only happen with 16 nominees.

      So vivo el lince perado!

    2. Me November 2nd, 2009 at 12:48 pm 2

      I hope hope hope this is true. Any chance for the best animated film of the year, Mary and Max, to actually make the nominees despite the fact that it isn’t being heavily promoted like the others is a good thing, IMO. It’s also the one film I think can take out “Up”, although I’d be plenty happy if Coraline won, too.

    3. Michael Parsons November 2nd, 2009 at 2:02 pm 3

      I so hope there are five nominees. Any less is so anti climatic.

    4. Casey November 2nd, 2009 at 2:46 pm 4

      coraline for the win!!!

    5. Afrika November 2nd, 2009 at 3:42 pm 5

      Out of topic but Miramax is almost dead or pretty much dead
      http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/11/02/end-of-an-era-miramax-president-quits-disney-all-but-shutters-the-label/

    6. Jesus Alonso November 2nd, 2009 at 4:30 pm 6

      But thruth is, “El Lince Perdido” seems to be a boring, horrible movie – from buzz I’ve heard here in Spain. Can we really ask ourselves why the limitation to 3 or 5 nominees depend of the quantity and not the quality of the movies submitted?

    7. Clayton November 2nd, 2009 at 4:32 pm 7

      Is there any word of a wide release for Mary and Max? I want to see it so badly. Maybe a nomination would lead to a wide release?

    8. Nick K. November 2nd, 2009 at 5:05 pm 8

      Judging by the poster, it doesn’t seem anything great. However, if it’s the key to getting us our five nominees, then I’ll gladly welcome it.

    9. Loyal November 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm 9

      @ Clayton

      I dont think so. It is available via VOD.

      http://www.thecornercinema.com/?p=667

    10. Omar O November 2nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm 10

      Perhaps I’m of a different opinion than most on this issue, but going to 5 nominees seems like a bad thing to me.

      There are a number of spectacular animated films this year, but 5 nominees of 16 films is 31.5% of the animated films being nominated. There are dozens of spectacular live action films made every year, but even with the expansion to 10 films in best picture, well less than 10% of films will be nominated in that category. Over 150 films will go into wide release this year, plus all the indy/foreign films that won’t be in wide release in America.

      I’m not saying that there aren’t an abnormally large number of good animated films this year. But if the same proportion of good feature films were nominated this year, over 50 films would make the cut. That would destroy the honor of being nominated for being nominated, and I can’t help but feel that a nomination should be good enough to be honored. With the shift to 5 nominees people will question whether movies were nominated “because there were 5 slots”.

    11. Bill W. November 2nd, 2009 at 6:17 pm 11

      I’m tired of everything having component categories. I say do away with Animated and Doc features. If they’re good enough, they will be nominated for Best Picture. Period.

    12. Joao Garcia November 2nd, 2009 at 6:52 pm 12

      It usually takes more time to make and animated feature film than a ”regular” film. That’s why it is rare to find a year with more than 15 entries in the Animated Film Category. 3 nominees is ridiculous, especially because we all know the prejudice that exists against animated feature. C’om, do you seriously believe that The Reader is better than WALL-E, that Ray is better than The Incredibles or that Atonement is better than Ratatouille. Of course not. It’s pure prejudice. And I think Disney will have to work hard to push Up to the BP nomination.
      Bil W, I disagree with you. There are masterpiece animation and masterpiece docs that did not make to the Best Picture category because almost 1/4 of the Academy members are actors. Actors vote in actors film. Toy Story, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Hoop Dreams and Bowling for Columbine are MASTERPIECE. Crash, No Country For Old Men, The Departed (winners), The Reader, Atonement, Munich, Ray… are not.

    13. Dave November 2nd, 2009 at 7:30 pm 13

      Mary and Max received some high-profile nominations at the Australian Film Institute awards last week:

      AFI MEMBERS’ CHOICE AWARD (general members)
      * Mary and Max. Melanie Coombs

      SAMSUNG MOBILE AFI AWARD FOR BEST FILM (industry members)
      * Mary and Max. Melanie Coombs

      MACQUARIE AFI AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
      * Mary and Max. Adam Elliot

      AFI AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
      * Mary and Max. Adam Elliot

    14. Dave November 2nd, 2009 at 7:31 pm 14

      Philip Seymour Hoffman’s voice work is EXTRAORDINARY in Mary and Max – thought I might just mention that, too.

    15. philivan November 2nd, 2009 at 7:32 pm 15

      I always thought that they should do away with Best Animated Feature and instead have a Best Achievement in Animation, similar to Visual Effects, where they award the best achievement in animation rather than the best film that just so happens to be animated.

      That way, the best animated film(s) can be nominated for Best Picture and the actual animators can receive an award of their own. However, if this happens, I’m sure voters will think that this category is just basically a replica of the Best Animated Feature category.

    16. The Natural November 2nd, 2009 at 7:39 pm 16

      “Crash, No Country For Old Men, The Departed (winners), The Reader, Atonement, Munich, Ray… are not.”

      Oh no, here we go again with exclaiming YOUR opinion as fact. I think you know quite well, Joao, that you’re in a very small minority on A LOT of those films, including such unanimously acclaimed films as “No Country for Old Men (yes, the very definition of masterpiece this decade), and “The Departed.” I’d go further and tell you how much I adore “Atonement” and “Munich,” but it’s irrelevant.

    17. A.J.Roscoe November 2nd, 2009 at 10:00 pm 17

      For the record, Sony Classics picks up “Mother and Child”.

      http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118010743.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

    18. Daniel November 3rd, 2009 at 2:15 am 18

      I saw Mary and Max the other day, it is absolutely wonderful. There has to be five nominees so that it at least stands a chance!

      Oh, and if winning Best Actor for voice work was possible, PSH would win for his work as Max.

    19. Cahiers November 3rd, 2009 at 2:48 am 19

      Pete Hammond thinks the Weinsteins are angling to get Michael Cera some Golden Globe noms for Youth in Revolt.

      http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2009/11/youth-in-revolt-contender.html

    20. Chamboosy November 3rd, 2009 at 6:19 am 20

      What about $9.99? It’s not a terrible film by any means, but it’s animated and not bad. No chance of getting nominated but surely it could booster the nominations up to 16, therefore making a five nominee group (for the first time?)

    21. Nick K. November 3rd, 2009 at 8:33 am 21

      @Chamboosy $9.99 was eligible for last year’s Oscars.

      The thing with the expansion of the category to five is that if the Academy continues nominating kiddie animated films and perpetuating the stereotype that animation is strictly for kids (bright, colorful, bouncy), then it really won’t matter. But now that they are extending to five, they can nominate some more adult fare, perhaps the most mature line-up they have ever had. Sure, we would have “Up” and “Coraline”, but they aren’t necessarily for small children and are just as much for adults (”Coraline” especially).

      But perhaps this is just wishful thinking. I still remember that atrocious montage for animation earlier this year, and not once did we see “Waltz with Bashir” or anything remotely aimed at adults.

    22. Joao Garcia November 3rd, 2009 at 2:50 pm 22

      ”Oh no, here we go again with exclaiming YOUR opinion as fact. I think you know quite well, Joao, that you’re in a very small minority on A LOT of those films, including such unanimously acclaimed films as “No Country for Old Men (yes, the very definition of masterpiece this decade), and “The Departed.” I’d go further and tell you how much I adore “Atonement” and “Munich,” but it’s irrelevant.”

      The Natural, I don’t think No Country For Old Men is a masterpiece. Fargo is a masterpiece. No Country is miles away from Fargo. Atonement is just a big British period soap-opera with a not so good rythim of action. Actually, There Will Be Blood is much better than No Country. If a dark film was gonna win that year, It should have been There Will Be Blood. Munich has just nothing special. Could’ve been a much better film. Goodfellas is a masterpiece. The Departed is not.
      Departed, No Country and especially Crash are a few of the most overrated films of the decade. There are others Best Picture nominees that are overrated – Seabuscuit, Master and Commander, Tootsie (this especially overrated), Lost In Translation (good, but not a masterpiece as many people think) ….

    23. Devlin November 3rd, 2009 at 6:30 pm 23

      Joao Garcia,
      It seems that you rule out NCFOM and The Departed as “masterpieces” (a pretty subjective term) just because you don’t consider them as good as their directors’ previous efforts. Just because you don’t consider NCFOM and The Departed to be as good as Fargo and Goodfellas, doesn’t mean other people don’t consider them to be masterpieces. Heck, I’d probably say I prefer Fargo and Goodfellas to No Country and The Departed as well, but I still consider the latter two to be two of this decade’s very best films…

      And I don’t think Seabiscuit is overrated, because I feel it has gotten a pretty bad reputation since it undeservedly racked up all those award nominations the year it was in contention. It was the Frost/Nixon, Michael Clayton of its year, the one that kept being nominated but never winning anything because it obviously didn’t deserve to.

    24. Stuart Mohr November 3rd, 2009 at 7:32 pm 24

      From the Academy Awards Rules governing the Animated Feature Film category:

      All submissions sent to the Academy will be screened by the Animated Feature Film Award Screening Committee(s). After the screenings, the committee(s) will vote by secret ballot to nominate from 3 to 5 motion pictures for this award. In any year in which 8 to 15 animated features are released in Los Angeles County, a maximum of 3 motion pictures may be nominated. In any year in which 16 or more animated features are submitted and accepted in the category, a maximum of 5 motion pictures may be nominated.

      1. The committee(s) will view all motion pictures entered and mark all entries 10, 9, 8, 7 or 6 with the guidelines of 10 (excellent), 8 (good), 7 (fair) or 6 (poor). Those productions receiving an average score of 7.5 or more shall be eligible for nomination.
      2. If only one production receives an average score of 7.5 or more, the committee(s) shall recommend to the Board of Governors that a Special Achievement Award for Animated Feature Film be made to that production.
      3. If no production receives an average score of 7.5 or more, the committee(s) shall recommend to the Board of Governors that no award be made for Animated Feature Film for the current Awards year.

      Given these rules, even with 16 eligible films, there may still be only 3 films nominated if their scores suck. The key word is MAY. As in a maximum of 5 films MAY be nominated. It’s quite possible that 3 or 4 films rise to the level needed to be nominated. Look at all the songs eligible for the Original Song category. Even with all of those, some years still only get 3 nominees. So let’s not get our hopes up gang.

    25. Joao Garcia November 4th, 2009 at 10:29 am 25

      Devin,

      Frost/Nixon and Michael Clayton were critically acclaimed films – just check Rotten Tomatoes. Seabiscuit was Oscar-friendly but not exactly a critic’s darling. I called it overrated just because it got in instead of City Of God (that was nominated for Directing, Screenplay, Editing and Cinematography), which is a brilliant film. City of God is one of the best of the decade. It1s a violent film that is much better than NCFOM and Departed. I think my expectations over those 2 films were so high when I finally watched them that I got a bit disappointed because I was expecting them to be more than they are.


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    • Contender Tracker

      Best Picture
      Up in the Air
      Nine
      The Hurt Locker
      An Education
      Precious: Based on the Novel
      Push by Sapphire

      A Serious Man
      Inglourious Basterds
      Up

      Julie & Julia
      Star Trek
      District 9
      Bright Star
      Where the Wild Things Are
      A Single Man

      Best Actor
      Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
      Colin Firth, A Single Man
      George Clooney, Up in the Air
      Matt Damon, The Informant!
      Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
      Viggo Mortensen, The Road
      Ben Foster, The Messenger
      Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
      Michael Sheen, The Damned United

      Best Actress
      Gabby Sidibe, Precious
      Carey Mulligan, An Education
      Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
      Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
      Helen Mirren, The Last Station
      Michelle Monaghan, Trucker

      Best Supporting Actor
      Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
      Alfred Molina, An Education
      Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia
      Peter Sarsgaard, An Education
      Robert Duvall, Crazy Heart
      Peter Capaldi, In the Loop
      Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover
      Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
      Brian Geraghty, The Hurt Locker

      Best Supporting Actress
      Mo'Nique,Precious
      Anna Kendrick,Up in the Air
      Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
      Julianne Moore, A Single Man
      Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
      Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
      Samantha Morton, The Messenger
      Emma Thompson, An Education
      Cara Seymour, An Education

      Best Director
      Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
      Lee Daniels, Precious
      Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
      Lone Scherfig, An Education
      Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
      Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
      Neill Blomkamp, District 9
      Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are
      Tom Ford, A Single Man
      Jane Campion, Bright Star

      Best Original Screenplay
      Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
      Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
      Jane Campion, Bright Star
      Quentin Tarantino,Inglourious Basterds
      Michael Haneke,White Ribbon
      Bob Peterson, Pete Docter,Up
      Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, 500 Days of Summer

      Best Adapted Screenplay
      Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
      Nick Hornby, An Education
      Spike Jonze, Dave Eggars, Where the Wild Things Are
      Peter Morgan, The Damned United
      Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
      Scott Burns, The Informant!
      Tom Ford, A Single Man

      Best Editing

      Chris Innis, Bob Murawski, The Hurt Locker
      Sally Menke, Inglourious Basterds
      Dana E. Glauberman,, Up in the Air
      Joel and Ethan Coen,, A Serious Man

      Best Cinematography
      Greig Fraser,Bright Star
      Robert Richardson,Inglourious Basterds
      Roger Deakins, A Serious Man
      Christian Berger, White Ribbon
      Bruno Delbonnel,Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker

      Best Art Direction

      Where the Wild Things Are
      Julie & Julia
      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      Bright Star
      Inglourious Basterds
      White Ribbon
      District 9
      A Serious Man

      Best Sound Mixing

      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      District 9
      Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
      The Hurt Locker
      Star Trek

      Best Sound Editing

      District 9
      Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
      Star Trek
      Up

      Best Costume Design
      Janet Patterson, Bright Star
      Jany Temime,Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
      Anna B. Sheppard,Inglourious Basterds
      Mary Zophre, A Serious Man
      Colleen Atwood, Public Enemies
      Consolata Boyle,Cheri

      Best Original Score
      Carter Burwell, Karen O,Where the Wild Things Are
      Carter Burwell,A Serious Man
      Michael Giacchino,Up
      Alexandre Desplat, Cheri
      Elliot Goldenthal, Public Enemies

      Best Foreign Language Film (submissions)

      Letters from Father Jacob, Finland
      White Wedding, South Africa
      A Prophet, France
      Dawson, Isla 10, Chile
      Nobody to Watch Over Me, Japan
      Prince of Tears, Hong Kong
      No puedo vivir sin ti, Taiwan
      Kelin, Kazakhstan
      Mother, Korea
      The White Ribbon, Germany
      Silent Army, The Netherlands


      Best Documentary Feature

      The Beaches of Agnes
      Burma VJ
      The Cove
      Every Little Step
      Facing Ali
      Food, Inc.
      Garbage Dreams
      Living in Emergency
      The Most Dangerous Man in America
      Mugabe and the White African
      Sergio
      Soundtrack for a Revolution
      Under Our Skin
      Valentino
      Which Way Home


      Best Animated Feature
      Up
      The Princess and the Frog
      Coraline
      The Fantastic Mr. Fox
      A Christmas Carol
      Mary and Max
      Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
      Ponyo


      Best Visual Effects
      Star Trek
      District 9
      A Christmas Carol
      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      Transformers


      Best Makeup

      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      District 9

      Best Song

      Best Live Action Short

      Best Animated Short

      Best Documentary Short

      China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
      The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
      The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
      Lt. Watada
      Music by Prudence
      Rabbit a la Berlin
      Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak
      Woman Rebel

    • Ampas Breakdown

      Actors-1,222
      Producers-462
      Executives-436
      Sound-411
      Writers-388
      Art Directors-373
      Directors-375
      Public Relations-370
      Members at Large-254
      Shorts/Feature Ani-335
      Visual Effects-272
      Music-233
      Editors-227
      Cinematographers-197
      Documentary-145
      Makeup-115
      Total Voting Members -approx 6,000
    • Tuesday, December 1, 2009: Official Screen Credits forms due

      Monday, December 28, 2009: Nominations ballots mailed

      Saturday, January 23, 2010: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT

      Tuesday, February 2, 2010: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater

      Wednesday, February 10, 2010: Final ballots mailed

      Monday, February 15, 2010: Nominees Luncheon

      Saturday, February 20, 2010: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation

      Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT

      Sunday, March 7, 2010: 82nd Annual Academy Awards presentation