For Part I of this post, click away~~
Okay, today is not really early either… but this will have to do because I only have 3 years to go. In case you haven’t read the first part, or are lazy to read it now that I’ve given you the link… I got a little mad remembering films that should have won in years past~~ which include Tekkonkinkreet, and/or Paprika getting nominations in 2006 (or 2007, pick your release date issue).
So just after the break, I will be talking about 2005, 2007 and 2008…
* denotes winner
2005
- Howl’s Moving Castle
- Corpse Bride
- Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit *
From the three nominees above, Howl’s was the least I enjoyed… it was prime animation like any Studio Ghibli animated film, but so were the other two. Corpse Bride was also amazingly animated, and I still can’t believe that was stop-motion because it really feels like it could be CG… and Wallace & Gromit, great animation as well, not as CG-looking as Bride, and that’s perhaps why it won.
I enjoyed watching Were-Rabbit a lot, though some of my friends thought it was boring as hell – perhaps it was because they only saw it dubbed, and we all know why only-dubbed films SUCK.
So I don’t think I have much complains here, specially since I can’t really find any animated film that fits this year.
2007
- Persepolis
- Ratatouille *
- Surf’s Up
I enjoyed both Ratatouille and Persepolis, but I would have rather Persepolis won. Must 3d win over 2d all the time? Is 3d >>>> 2d all the time?? Sure Ratatouille had a great story, and had great animation… but didn’t Persepolis have a great story, and great quite innovative animation as well? Wasn’t Persepolis much more important in themes and ideas that way?
Surf’s Up, I don’t really know what to say. I don’t really have a proper high-rated film to fill its position as the third animated nominee, but something inside me tells me it shouldn’t be there as it didn’t really bring anything new to the table. I felt this film was just there to cash in… If I must really pick a possible alternate, how about the French Fear(s) of the Dark? Peur(s) du Noir is far from being a perfect film… actually, I’m not sure it would fit the category of ‘feature film’ because it was more like a collection of animated shorts, but at least it brought something new to the table. But would its nomination bring too much French in this category?
2008
- Bolt
- Kung Fu Panda
- WALL-E *
First of all, WTF?! Bolt?? Were they trying to nominate that film just because it was released in 3d? UGH, I thought the Academy could have done so much better than that~~ Waltz with Bashir wasn’t a perfect film and it was nominated for Best Foreign Film (and even won the Globe), so why not an animation nod? It is much more important than a movie like Bolt… but NO! Because Animated Films are only for kids, right?
I didn’t have an issue with Kung Fu Panda… after all, it is light entertainment, but if I could have~~ How about Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea? I know it’s probably being released this year in America, and it might be nominated for next year, but if I could~~~ Ponyo deserved that spot over Bolt any time. And if cuteness factor matters, Ponyo is wayyyyy cuter than Bolt.
this is a wild guess…
Best Animated Feature Nominees 2009-2010
– Coraline (Focus Features)
– Up (Pixar)
– Ponyo (Studio Ghibli)
Both Up and Ponyo are distributed by Disney, with the winner Up.
June 3rd, 2009. xD Let’s see this prediction~~~
"the heart of all animation is the story, as is nearly all of good film-making." I agree wholeheartedly.
Mind you, I had to re-read my posts too xD I never really said a film that's bringing something new should be ahead of a traditional-good story – on the contrary ;P I'll choose a great 2D over a flaky 3d. I was just comparing two average stories – here, in the case of Surf's Up vs. Peur(s) du Noir – and which one would be better suited as a nomination. I'm conflicted between a really good 2D and a really good 3D xD
I remember the BO bomb that Treasure Planet was, I actually bought it on DVD because I'm a geek and I actually was blown away by the sky-surfing scenes xD I was a teen then, and I think they were targeting me… but alas, kids couldn't really connect with it, and teens were too "grown up" to watch a Disney flick xD But that's the thing about it, Disney didn't stop the 3D shots just because it wasn't making money… it just kept going at it. It didn't just sit comfortably back – though, they now have over the year. It feels, to me, that a lot (not all) of the animation that Dreamworks and Sony have been doing feels repetitive, and they don't even have a really strong story to back them up. Pixar is just pushing it forward – The Brave Little Toaster was such a great flick xD.