November
13
Oscar Watch: So Many Toons, So Few Slots
Posted by Peter Debruge]
You know the animation sector is healthy when four major studios each release two toons a year (Disney had Wall-E and Bolt, DreamWorks Animation opened Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa). Factor in another dozen potential contenders from smaller distributors, and you have more than enough to grow the category from the customary three slots to a far-more-interesting five (the cutoff for three is 15).
So why didn't it work out that way this year?
The animated feature category depends on who submits, and at least six films declined to compete this this around (you can familiarize yourself with the 14 that did enter here). To lift an observation from an Oscar Animation Preview story running tomorrow:
Consider how this year's race might have been different if Fox had submitted Space Chimps and Universal had entered The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie -- neither film was likely to be nominated, but they would have pushed the total submission count to 16, boosting the chances for the studio's more polished contenders: Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! in Fox's case and The Tale of Despereaux for U.Other 2008 toons sitting out the race: IFC's Fear(s) of the Dark, the Weinstein Co.'s Azur and Asmar, Roadside Attractions' Chicago 10, Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Indian toon Roadside Romeo from Yash Raj Films.
It's a shame, really, since there were more than three great toons this year -- including some quality work among the films that declined to participate. And with Pixar's well-reviewed Wall-E virtually assured one slot (the studio's never been passed over before), it leaves a lot of great movies fighting over the remaining nominations.
I suspect what happens is that "the little guys" decide they don't stand a chance against big-studio toons and simply don't submit. But they're wrong. At the nomination stage, the animation category isn't about promotional muscle but quality. To vote, the nominating committee must screen at least 80% of the entries (that's 12 of the 14) fresh at the end of the year, then rate each one. Every film stands an equal shot, and the three with the top scores advance.
That's how such exceptional films as The Triplets of Belleville and Persepolis have broken through in the past, and it's the very reason philosophical toon documentary Waltz With Bashir, stop-motion meaning-of-life inquiry $9.99 and elegant anime parable The Sky Crawlers were right to enter this year. If the shorts category is any indication (and why shouldn't it be, since the same voters nominate in both?), the Academy frequently bypasses big-budget CG contenders for personal, sincere stories.
If no small films get in this year, it won't be the Academy's fault, but rather that of the half dozen indies who didn't submit. Widen the race, and the mix gets really interesting.
Subscribe to this blog's feed
Thank you for this great observation!
Animators are typically work-a-holics who don't get caught up in their own success, but love to study and admire others. There are exceptions. A lot of executives and animation studios treat animators as the bastard children of the Entertainment Industry. Hopefully that will change if more animators stand up for their work and put themselves out there.
Posted by: Carol Wyatt | November 14, 2008 at 01:04 PM