Oscar-nomics: Best Animated Feature Predictions

I have mentioned this before and I know I am not the first to say this, but it was a weak year for animated films. 2010 wasn't much better (though that's because I loved 2009's), but it at least had a Pixar gem that year. This year, Pixar didn't even make the cut, though I saw that coming anyway. So, without the biggest Animated name in the race, who gets the trophy. Easy, its The Adventures of Tin..... WHAT!!! I knew there was some distaste for motion-capture, but Tintin was a marvelous film nonetheless, seeing this snub is ridiculous. So, with that snub, and Pixar laying an egg this year, who shall win? Here are the nominees:

A Cat in Paris: Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli

A French animated film making the list is certainly a welcome considering many foreign films generally don't make it into this list (sadly). I think this was probably the biggest surprise of the year because while it has been respected by many overseas, it has barely seen the light of day here (I just heard about it at the nominations). While it is nice to see the Academy go for such a different nominee, I think the nomination is the reward here.

Chico and Rita: Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal

Another welcome surprise, but I was less surprised with this one since it had some love from the Annies and Goyas. This animated from the Isle of Mann (located near the UK), has gotten much love from international critics and has premiered to love by critics here in America. that being said, it has barely seen any time in theaters her, so much like A Cat in Paris, the nomination is the reward.

Kung Fu Panda 2: Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Good to see this film is doing well, considering it wasn't as respected as the first and didn't do as well financially. It was respected by critics, some of whom even considered it better, but not enough for me to get behind it. The Academy enacted a rule in which they would have 5 nominations if there were enough films, which was the case this year (Tintin made that cut for the record). I think had only three nominees had been picked, this film would just miss out. Still, nice to see it here.

Puss in Boots: Chris Miller

Again, good to see it make the cut, especially since it had a lot to prove as its first stand alone film outside the Shrek films. While it didn't do as well as the green Ogres films, it did respectable business to keep those hopes alive. Still, it didn't quite have as momentum as this last nominee.

Rango: Gore Verbinski

For a while it seemed like a Rango vs. Tintin match-up, and for good reasons. Both were well executed, told interesting stories and include wonderful voice talent, both deserve the prize. While this film may not hold up as well as the previous nominees, in a year with so-so competition, I see no reason why this film won't win. It also has been on a strong awards run, so with that and its biggest competition out of the mix, I am picking this to win.

Sorry for the rather rapid prediciton, my time is short. I will (or at least try to) be back tomorrow for more predictions, have fun at the movies otherwise...

Winner: Rango
Runner-up: Chico and Rita

Should Win: Rango
Should've been nominated: The Adventures of Tintin