Is there some reason Space Chimps isn't on the list.. The inclusion of that film would put the total at 15 ..
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The Tale of Despereaux may 'technically' be a U.S. production, in that Universal Studios & Larger Than Life Productions are located in California .. but most of the movie's actual animation/artistry was created at CFC Framestore, which is in England.
On a similar note .. although M-G-M & Exodus Productions are based in the U.S., the animation studio which created Igor (Sparx) is in France. And a fair number of artists on the film were transplanted from VietNam, IIRC.
Something might qualify, but it also has to be submitted by the studios to compete. All paperwork has to be submitted on time. Anyways, I expect that Wall-E will go for the win. The other two nominees should be Kung Fu Panda and maybe either Waltz with Bashir or Tale of Despereaux (if it's good). The main thing holding Waltz with Bashir is the type of animation (flash) or the fact that it's more of a documentary. We'll see.
"The Sky Crawlers" is impressive too. Surreal, passionate, thoughtprovoking. It may not be as well known or popular as other films in the bunch but it is certainly better than many (or most) of them. Still, I have little hope that it will be recognized by the academy. I wasn't surprised when Paprika was ignored last year too. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Best Animated film category, popularity, box-office and entertainment seem to have been the deciding factor, most of the time.
Last edited by Jafar on November 14th, 2008, 12:10 am, edited 2 times in total.
What is even more dissapointing is that only animators vote on who ends up a nominee. You would think animation professionals would want to see more than just one type of film (usually family-friendly) honored for their top award. When they do go "alternative," it's for films that are universally acclaimed (Spirited Away, The Triplets of Belleville, Howl's Moving Castle, Persepolis), which isn't a bad thing, but I would like to see more spontaneity in their choices. I think Waltz With Bashir has a 50-50 chance, because critics, while definately supportive of the film, are not exactly going crazy over it. Some think the flash animation is downright unattractive. Maybe so, but I would love to see it get honored just to shake things up.
Adam wrote:I would like to see more spontaneity in their choices.
Indeed. That's exactly what I feel too. It is really ironical if only the animators from the academy get to vote for films. Its time they looked at animation as just another medium not to be judged solely on technical brilliance.
The nominations for the 36th Annie Awards were announced today, and Kung Fu Panda leads all films with 17 nominations. Bolt was second with 9 nods, and WALL-E third with 8. Those three, along with $9.99 and Waltz with Bashir were tapped for Best Feature. Winners will be announced on Friday, January 30, 2009, at UCLA’s Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, CA. A full list of nominations is here.
The inclusion of that film would put the total at 15 ..
