FILM
Who’s Winning The Animation
This year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature can steal the show
I’ve been working in animation for over seven years. Never as an animator (except for pixel art), mostly as a showrunner, producer, and writer. My experience and professional deformation are the very reasons Best Picture faded as the main Academy Award nomination for me, giving way to the real deal.
Best Animated Feature.
Much like its current recipient, Guillermo Del Toro, I treat an animation feature as a film. In 2021, it was Del Toro who decided to move his already Oscar-having career to the world of animation. His impact was not in creating solid puppet stop-motion. It was, as said by the Joker, to send a message. Animation is film. And I must admit he succeeded in sending it. Surely, after such a campaign, his feature was bound to obtain the golden statuette and take its place among the best works of animation ever created.
Despite all the media buzz about Pinocchio, the Animated feature category is often unfairly overlooked. Some even say it was created to free the Best Picture from the burden of tolerating animation next to “real movies.”
Still, this year it looks incredibly promising if you enjoy the unexpected because to predict this year’s outcome would be as hard as, ironically, producing animation. Believe me, it’s a pain in the… everywhere.
Before we start, let’s take a quick look at the nominees.
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
- “The Boy and the Heron” (GKids/Toho, Hayao Miyazaki)
- “Robot Dreams” (Neon)
- “Elemental” (Pixar)
- “Nimona” (Netflix)
Rules
There’s one Golden Rule in the Best Animation Feature category. If the Disney film makes it to the nominees (they usually do) — it wins. Especially if it’s a Disney/Pixar one.
This rule has several exceptions. Such as Disney films don’t win in cases where there’s a Hayao Miyazaki feature (Spirited Away in 2002) or if there is a Spider-Man movie (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018).
Now, let’s take a quick look at the nominees once again. Exciting, isn’t it? In any other circumstances, I’d gladly bet on Elemental. Although rather weak and full of questionable visual decisions, it still is a Disney/Pixar product that, overall, performed quite well.
But not this year.
The Outsiders
“Robot Dreams” is a beautiful Spanish-French work of animation. A touching story of an unexpected friendship, presented without a single word. It is, however, much more suitable for Cannes, rather than the Dolby Theatre.
“Nimona” was originally supposed to happen in 2020. It was shelved during the acquisition of Fox by Disney, also known as the Mickey Goes Shopping Day, and later canceled. The story ping-ponged from one studio to another until it was finally picked up and released in 2023.
I like a movie with history. Every time it finally hits the screen I have a little goblin screaming “Yaay” inside of me. That means the creators and the team finally made it. Regretfully, my little “Yaay” goblin has zero influence on the Academy, and Nimona doesn’t look like a power-lifter in comparison with the other nominees.
I should say, there’s always room for surprises. “Happy Feet” raised a heavy amount of eyebrows beating “Cars” back in 2006.
Cars.
The franchise, which went on to earn somewhat over $11 billion. Yet, a tap-dancing penguin was the Academy’s choice that year.
The Competition
I’ll say it as it is — I have no idea who is going to win this year.
The fact that both “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “The Boy and the Heron” came out quite breathtaking combined with Disney/Pixar deciding to take it easy creates a rare situation where the chances are equal.
The Academy could play it safe, presenting Hayao Miyazaki with an Honorary Award and technically eliminating his picture from the race. But he already received one back in 2014. His masterpiece was long-awaited and supposed to be the last dance of one the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation.
However, it came out so well that Miyazaki decided to postpone his retirement and is already working on another feature. As great as this news is, it could also influence the Academy. The good old “We can always give the award to his next work” comes into play.
However, from the scriptwriting point of view, “The Boy And The Heron” holds better ground than its competition. Like many other Miyazaki movies, it is a grand metaphor and a call to peace in our unsettling times.
Some of my colleagues say that “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” won’t take anything because the first part already has an Oscar. Why award something to a sequel if it’s not Pixar, right?
Not really.
The thing is, the sequel beats its predecessor, big time. If the first movie was innovative, the second one is mind-blowing. From the industry point of view, I can confidently say it touched the edges of possible.
The only weak spot is the script, which is good and complex, but unfinished. The movie ends up with a cliffhanger and leaves a strong aftertaste of being part two of a trilogy. Not necessarily a stumbling block, but it falls in comparison with the masterful storytelling of Hayao Miyazaki.
Recent Annie triumph speaks a little in favor of the friendly neighbor and his multidimensional copies. However, the Academy Award is not known for ultimately following the Annie jury’s decisions.
What about “Elemental?” Is it competitive enough to be considered a worthy opponent this year? I’ll keep it short — see the Golden Rule.
Final Thoughts
If you haven’t seen any of the listed movies, I urge you to check at least the Spider-Man and the Miyazaki feature. Those two are not only fantastic and beautiful on their own, but they also are an important addition to the art of cinema itself.
If for reasons unknown you have some time to spare — by all means, cover the whole nominee list. And get your popcorn ready, for this year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature will be a battle worth following.
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