20 Films Battle It Out In Best Animated Feature Oscar Race
It’s that time of the year again! The lights, the stars, the glamour! As we prepare for the Oscar season ahead of us the Academy have officially revealed the list of films longlisted for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. There were many incredible animated films released this year both independent and studio and so it will be interesting to see them battle out to get shortlisted, nominated and then finally winning.
There’s a very minor increase from 19 films last year to 20 films this year that have been longlisted which will eventually be shortened down to just 5 in the nominees. Last year caused some controversy when Pixar were snubbed, however also created much celebration in nominating two 2D films and 2 foreign animations. What could this say for this year? Could The Tale of Princess Kaguya get a nomination this year? Or could Bill Plympton take a spot with Cheatin‘? Or could the Academy shock and only nominated 3D films? The standard for 3D movies has been incredibly high this year with The Lego Movie, How To Train Your Dragon 2, The Book of Life and Big Hero 6 all receiving incredibly positive critical reception however the Academy often likes to diversify it’s mediums such as in 2012 when 3 stop motion films were nominated.
It’s always interesting to see a 3D film not made by Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks or Blue Sky and this year was a great year for that. Warner Brothers championed with Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s The Lego Movie displayed incredible and unique animation style as well as also featuring a interesting dystopian societial message whilst Reel FX’s The Book Of Life boasted some incredible character design in a creative, colourful eccentric celebration of the Day of the Dead. In a quiet year for stop-motion LAIKA are leading the way with The Boxtrolls. LAIKA’s third feature film may see them have their third Oscar nomination but will it be another disappointment or will LAIKA finally strike home? Bill Plympton leads the independent animation lot with his crowdfunded feature Cheatin’ alongside Signe Baumane and Rocks In My Pocket. Dreamworks and Disney have tied for most nominations with 3 nominations each. Penguins, Peabody and Dragons fight Dreamworks’ corner whilst Planes, Pirate Fairy and Big Hero fight Disney’s.
All the films nominated this year
Whilst not all these films have been released in the UK yet, the anticipation to see them is incredibly high and the diversity of different mediums and different styles of animation this year has been incredible so it will be a tough call to see which films are selected and which films are snubbed.This is the first year since 2005 that Pixar have not released a film. Usual victors in this category means that this opens up a massive space in the competition with no real lead. However right now predictions are mostly on The Lego Movie and Big Hero 6 with Book of Life not far behind. But never mind what the predictions are saying! Which film are you rooting for to win? Also, expand your selection by telling us what you liked about that film in the comments.
Who do you want to see shortlisted for the Best Animation Feature Oscars?
- Song of the Sea (30%)
- The Lego Movie (24%)
- The Book of Life (14%)
- The Boxtrolls (11%)
- Big Hero 6 (5%)
- Rocks in My Pockets (5%)
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (5%)
- The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (3%)
- Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (3%)
- Minuscule – Valley of the Lost Ants (0%)
- Rio 2 (0%)
- Planes: Fire and Rescue (0%)
- The Pirate Fairy (0%)
- Penguins of Madagascar (0%)
- Mr. Peabody and Sherman (0%)
- Cheatin' (0%)
- Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (0%)
- The Hero of Color City (0%)
- Henry and Me (0%)
- Giovanni’s Island (0%)
Loading ...The 87th Academy Awards ceremony will be held in Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on February 22, 2015. Make sure you check oscars.org, and obviously Skwigly.com for regular updates.