this years BS, sweden didn't submit "let the right one in" because no one on sweden commitee wanted a vampire flick to represent sweden. Springsteen got DQ'd because he put "the wrestler" on his new cd. along with 3 blatant death list snubs(George carlin, peter monaghan, and dolemite himself!) the academy seems like a cold heartless place to me.
@logicalnoise: "Let the right one in" didn't qualify because it wasn't released in Sweden until after September 30th. It is eligible for the Oscar next year though, whether or not Sweden would submit it is another question.
@DaeSu: Took the words out of my mouth. I can't say I've seen any of these foreign language nominees this year, but it's hardly unheard-of for the Oscar "favorites" to be inferior to the supposed also-rans. And occasionally, the Academy surprises by getting it right.
That said, I say we disband the blue ribbon commission and instead set up a blue riband commission. That'll keep them occupied for a while!
@DaeSu: Departures may be better than The Class, which didn't look that amazing. But Departures would have to be the movie of the year to be better than Waltz With Bashir. WWB was gripping and powerful and amazing, and it deserved the damn award.
If they didn't have this category animation would get even LESS attention. If it was lumped in with everything else you would occasionally see a Pixar up for best picture and that's about it. Just FYI, there are the ANNIES, if you want a better idea of what's up each year in animation:
Waltz with Bashir's execution of such political issues..! Never has a film captured the sense of dissociation/depersonalization amongst soldiers/civilians in war time as did this work; namely, the recurring scene wherein the soldiers, zombie-like and listless, (re) emerge out of the water...(don't worry this spoils absolutely nothing)...
I rarely speak effusively of films, but this particular work resonated with me for days.
I'm hoping in the future the world will be nerdy enough for "Anime" to have its own category, although it will be difficult to classify what fits into that with the crossbreeding of American and Asian styles. Personally, few animated films have made me happier than Wall-E and The Iron Giant but I can't even effectively compare them mentally to feature Anime films.
Down with Pixar, for goodness sake. I mean, their stuff is good, but Persepolis was so much better artistically and storywise than the cooking rat. The should just call the Animation oscar the Pixar Oscar at this rate.
@Mark 2000: This brings up a question I haven't taken the time to look up the answer to and maybe you or someone else knows, is the Oscar for animated film supposed to be given to the best technical achievement in animation or the best overall artistic achievement rendered in animation or is it basically whatever the hell the academy voters think at the time?
Question: that list isn't every animated film that came out this past year, right? Where's Space Chimps? Why would an animated movie come out that wasn't submitting for consideration for this award?
@franklinshepard: Maybe Space Chimps wasn't entered ecause it really sucked. Even my nephew didn't like it and he likes everything animated. They only need 16 entries to bump up to 5 nominees. It is up to the studios to submit. So the list does not reflect all the films that came out; it is those that qualified and were submitted.
the statue has only gone to a non-Hollywood production had something to once, when Japanese-bankrolled phenomenon Spirited Away nabbed the prize.
I'm sure being affiliated with Buena Vista (aka Disney) didn't hurt its chances at either making the list or winning. ;)
I fully agree that there shouldn't be a "cap". They can just lump it into the "Awards we gave out but you didn't see on TV" category if time constraints are the only reason.
02/23/09
1. It uses logic.
The End.
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That said, I say we disband the blue ribbon commission and instead set up a blue riband commission. That'll keep them occupied for a while!
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11/12/08
[www.annieawards.org]
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I rarely speak effusively of films, but this particular work resonated with me for days.
11/12/08
I had to share that after reading your post, I would like to resonate with you for days too. That's all. Carry on.
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Now I have to see the movie. Yes, that's me exactly.
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And WALL*E takes chances, artistically speaking, and it doesn't talk down to audience the way most movies -- for children or adults -- do.
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<3
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I'm sure being affiliated with Buena Vista (aka Disney) didn't hurt its chances at either making the list or winning. ;)
I fully agree that there shouldn't be a "cap". They can just lump it into the "Awards we gave out but you didn't see on TV" category if time constraints are the only reason.