It’s funny that the awards watching industry were mostly off our marks this year in so many ways — nobody really knew where this race was headed and still don’t. It’s been a while since the Oscars were so unpredictable. The animated category in particular has been a mystery. One of the ways it’s been mysterious is in the animated feature race. While the general consensus of awards pundits were underestimating Brave in favor of the more generally liked (by a certain demographic) Wreck-it Ralph. But Brave has gotten two awards from the industry – last night’s Editors Guild and Cinema Audio Society. Sure, those guild awards don’t necessarily mean that the whole of the Academy will go that way but it also won the BAFTA. That has to mean Brave is now the film to beat. But I think it’s still a three-way race between Brave, Wreck-It Ralph and Frankenweenie.
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If Wreck it ralph had been released under the pixar banner, it would certainly be a lock to win.
Do the voters just not watch the animated films and assume the Pixar film is best? Brave was not only a disappointment by Pixar standards, it was an average film all together, lacking in both humour and heart. I don’t understand why it’s won any awards to date, and I’ll be sad if it wins an Oscar.
I saw the 5 nominees for Best Animated Picture. My favorite was Frankeweenie because is so well made, with so much feelings and the final scene was emotional for me that I even cried. Paranorman was great because I’m agree with what Antoinette wrote about the message about bullying. I loved Brave because the mother-daughter relationship and the animation is beautiful. Pirates was so funny and the use of motion picture was excellent, and I remember that It was so well received by the critics that I read, that was the reason why I went to see it. And finally Wreck-It Ralph was good, but I don’t get all the praise that got from the critics.
I’ll rooting for Frankeweenie, but I think is gonna be between Brave and Wreck-It Ralph, with Pirates as a Dark Horse.
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: “Wreck-It Ralph”
COULD WIN: “Brave”
I think you’re underestimating Paranorman, it could still surprise.
This might be Tim Burton’s only chance at an Oscar so I’m rooting for him. But I think WRECK-IT RALPH will break on through to for the win.
And I just knew that that was Kate Winslet in IRIS and THE READER.
Forgot Roger Deakins… 4 over overdue nominees and people are only madly thinking about crowning other professionals that dont have an even near importance of those
Will Win – Brave
Could Win – Wreck-It-Ralph
Should Win – ParaNorman
I have a feling this is the category I’ll feel more sad about the result. Animation really did not follow suit and was one of the most forgetable aspects of 2012. That said Frankenweenie is not only the best film but Tim Burton is, together with Greg P. Russell and Kathleen Kennedy, the most overdue nominee this year. But those who ask for more box office consideration should be happy about this outcome… Unfortunatelly box office is killing Frankenweenie, the movíeis with the best reviews here.
My personal choice would be ‘Frankenweenie’. There’s so much heart and detail that went into it, you can tell that it really meant something to Burton. It’s also beautiful, and in my opinion, the best directed of the bunch. 2nd choice is ‘ParaNorman’, which was very clever, funny, and touching. Also incredibly animated. 3rd would be ‘Wreck-It Ralph’, then ‘Brave’. I haven’t seen ‘Pirates!’. I think ‘Rise of the Guardians’ should’ve been nominated, but oh, well… I thought it was better than ‘Brave’. However, I agree that the Oscar is most likely going to either ‘Brave’ or ‘Wreck-It Ralph’, with outside chances to ‘Frankenweenie’ and ‘ParaNorman’. I don’t think ‘Pirates!’ stands a chance.
@Watermelons: I know you’re all about plugging Winslet, but I don’t think so. Flushed Away couldn’t even crack the list in 2006, which was the weakest year for animated films since the category’s inception.
@Christophe: Yeah, I don’t get any of this talk about WIR being “deep” or anything. I thought it was like HAPPY FEET: beautifully realized (animation-wise), but pretty much hallow on the inside. It felt like such a wasted opportunity to me.
However, I have to disagree about FRANKENWEENIE. Wanted to love it, but, like Corpse Bride, I walked out thinking, “Eh.” I only say I wouldn’t be heartbroken if it won because I’d love to see Tim win, and I don’t think either ParaNorman or Pirates has much of a shot.
@ Watermelons
Flushed Away couldn’t even get a nomination over Cars, Happy Feet, or Monster House.
While Brave was entertaining enough, it wasn’t anything special as a whole (despite having excellent parts). Wreck It Ralph (unfortunately the only other nominee I’ve seen) was a pleasant surprise and I enjoyed it more than my 7 year old sister. PS Sarah Silverman was snubbed at the Annies
Wreck-It Ralph was the surprise of the year for me. Going in, I had no idea it was a Rich Moore film with Jim Reardon working on it as well. But I think if Flushed Away, the 2006 animated feature film starring Kate Winslet (Iris, The Reader) had been delayed and only released in 2012 it would be sweeping the whole set of animation awards based on its strength of voice casting.
-Watermelons
Wreck-It Ralph will win though my favorite animated movie of the year is definitely Frankenweenie. Such a great movie that nobody seems to love as much as i do 🙁
^^
frakenweenie is just booooooring.
^^Free – WIR was such a sloppy uninspired mess and that’s coming from a HUGE Sarah Silverman fan! I guess some folks fall for it bc it has the cool factor (video games and stuff) but it’s as empty as [insert name of smth ridiculously empty]. Any other year, I would have cheered for a Brave or Pirates! victory but Frankenweenie is so much ahead of its competition, the other flicks do not even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath.
It won’t win but I absolutely LOVED “ParaNorman.” Wouldn’t be heartbroken if Frankenweenie or Pirates won (the latter won’t, but still). Unlike everyone else (it seems), I was more irritated than entertained by WRECK-IT RALPH (once Silverman entered the scene, it became insufferable), and I’ve yet to hear anyone speak of BRAVE without noting that it’s Pixar in less-than-perfect form.
Anne Thompson made a great point a few weeks ago on her podcast mentioning the snob factor for Brave beating Wreck It Ralph in the category. I think she is on to something. I think the Academy could shun a movie like Wreck It Ralph in favor of the epic looking Brave.
“Brave” gets my vote…beautifully done, hilarious…”Wreck-It-Ralph” was like watching paint dry.
I haven’t seen any of them, but I go by the pre-cursors. I thought I was the only one predicting ParaNorman, but I guess not. It won Dallas Film Critics (who haven’t been wrong in 11 straight years in this category), plus Las Vegas and Online and Washington, DC film critics (who have only been wrong once in the last 10 years in this category). Not to mention all the other critics awards. We’ll see.
I think the buzz is still with Wreck-It Ralph. It had the lead as ballots were sent out, and I don’t think Brave’s recent wins are indicative of an uptick in its chances.
[Wreck-It Ralph’s BFCA, Annie and PGA] wins debunk anyone who argues that “FRANKENWEENIE” and “PARANORMAN” were the critics’ darlings, the earlier possibly garnering sympathy votes for Tim Burton’s lack of Oscars.
No, I think Frankenweenie and ParaNorman still have the edge over Wreck-It Ralph with the critics. They’re both ahead of it on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic (ParaNorman and Wreck-It Ralph are tied, at least), while ParaNorman fared best with critic groups overall.
My choice would be ParaNorman. The best of the five for me, but I think Ralph will win the Oscar.
I believe a LOT of academy members haven’t even seen the animated films and are going to vote according with the “buzz”. I think it’s close between Brave and WIR, although I would love to see a Tim Burton’s win.
I have only watched Ralph,Brave and Frankenweenie.
Among these 3, Brave is the one with the best graphics/animations, but Ralph is the best movie (by miles).
liked Wreck-it Ralph the most, rooting for Frankenweenie because of Tim Burton (he really deserves to have an Oscar), but also cause I liked it, but I think Brave will win.
^ok now I get it! interesting point indeed, I keep hoping Academy members just vote for whichever movie/performance they prefer and set aside extraneous criterian but that might just be wishful thinking…
Go go “Paranorman!” Or “Wreck-it Ralph”
@Christophe, I didn’t mean that as a slight to Burton in any way. I just meant that if he couldn’t win BAFTA over the Scotland-set Brave, what with his legacy and HBC as his wife, then I doubt he gets the British vote for the Oscars.
I’ve only seen BRAVE and PARANORMAN. I thought BRAVE was pretty basic so I went with PARANORMAN, not to mention that it’s timely because of its message about bullying. But maybe the others are too. I wouldn’t know.
After watching “Wreck-it Ralph”, and with only Frankenweenie yet to see, I feel that, while I liked “Brave” a lot, I don’t understand who would vote for it, if seen the former. “Wreck-it Ralph” could perfectly claim to have been snubbed of at least Production Design and Original Screenplay noms, and I wouldn’t have minded to have seen it making the cut for the Big Award. It’s deep, imaginative, emotional, entertaining, while at the same time a good exercise on nostalgia.
I can see people going for Frankenweenie so Tim Burton finally can be named an Oscar winner. I can see people going for the heart, depth and style of Paranorman. I also can see voting for the charm of the much underrated Aardman’s The Pirates… but “Brave”, while also a really good film, would be winning just for being Pixar, in front of this competition. To me, there’s a narrow margin of quality between Pirates, Brave & Paranorman, while Wreck-it Ralph really shines an inch above the rest.
But heck, that’s my opinion.
^What’s wrong with being ” modern-day British royalty”? The Academy sees itself as Hollywood Royalty so I doubt they’d be prejudiced against aristocracy of any kind. Sure they criticize the 1% even though they all belong to that group, but it’s a classic case of artistic schizophrenia.
Unfortunately I think Frankenweenie is out of it since BAFTA went the way of Brave, and WIR is the bigger commercial and critical hit. None of these would surprise me, but I still voted for WIR because I think more people actually like it than either Frankenweenie or Brave.
On the other hand, Burton is certainly overdue, Frankenweenie has a great backstory as his pet project, and there is no undeniable pick here. Burton’s wife may be modern-day British royalty, but who knows, the Academy may like him more this year.
I agree with BlueFox94, though. Brave’s wins here aren’t necessarily indicative of a changing tide. Brave is Pixar and so it was always going to have an advantage in the tech categories. But I just can’t see the Academy throwing another Oscar Pixar’s way when the film wasn’t that beloved.
Of course, when Cars lost to Happy Feet, BAFTA was the harbinger. Brave won BAFTA. Which leaves WIR as the only logical spoiler.
“These wins debunk anyone who argues that ‘FRANKENWEENIE’ and ‘PARANORMAN’ were the critics’ darlings, the earlier possibly garnering sympathy votes for Tim Burton’s lack of Oscars.”
Um, these wins, save maybe for Critics’ Choice (which is barely a “critics” group) say ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about what was and wasn’t the year’s critical darling. And indeed, that film was “ParaNorman,” followed by “Frankenweenie.” Follow the critics wins. PGA, Annies – not critics groups.
Frankenweenie is the only anim. feature nominee that aims at doing Art and being more than just a nice little flick. Tim Burton is long overdue but he will most likely go down in history alongside the other film masters (Kubrick, Hitchcock and such) who never won any major Oscar.
Those are good points, BlueFox94. I haven’t seen any of the nominees yet do am riding blind in this category — which in a way makes it easier to predict.
“BRAVE” won the BAFTA easily because “WRECK-IT RALPH” wasn’t released in the UK until two weeks ago.
Admittedly, I can see “BRAVE” having a flashier editing job (due to the archery and the comedic reactions between Merida and her transformed mother). It makes sense why it won the Eddie since it also won for Editing at the Annies, where “RALPH” dominated.
However, because of “BRAVE”‘s win at the CAS, that could give a sense of an upset.
Still, “RALPH” still has three key wins: the Critics’ Choice, the Annies, and the PGA, all of which are huge voting bodies voting for the general BEST animated film. These wins debunk anyone who argues that “FRANKENWEENIE” and “PARANORMAN” were the critics’ darlings, the earlier possibly garnering sympathy votes for Tim Burton’s lack of Oscars.
It may SEEM wide-open, with “BRAVE”‘s easy wins at BAFTA and for its editing and sound, but “WRECK-IT RALPH” having those three key wins should make it the frontrunner.
I mean, no film by Walt Disney Animation Studios has won yet. It’s the perfect time, and with “PAPERMAN” winning the short, it will be the first time I can think of that two films shown together in a theatre screening would win their Best Film categories.
the Critics’ Choice, the Annies, and the PGA
None of those have traditionally been a “key choice.”
And it also took the BAFTA.