Friday
Nov062015
The Oscar Eligibility List for Best Animated Feature
Friday, November 6, 2015 at 7:00AM The 16 official submissions for the Best Animated Feature Oscar have been revealed. The finalists include expected high-profile entries like Pixar's Inside Out and the still-to-come festival darling Anomalisa, and some you are maybe hearing about for the first time. Here's the list:
- Anomalisa (US)
- The Boy And The Beast (Japan)
- Boy And The World (Brazil)
- The Good Dinosaur (US)
- Home (US)
- Hotel Transylvania 2 (US)
- Inside Out (US)
- Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet (Multinational)
- The Laws Of The Universe – Part 0 (Japan)
- Minions (US)
- Moomins On The Riviera (Finland)
- The Peanuts Movie (US)
- Regular Show: The Movie (US)
- Shaun The Sheep Movie (UK)
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water (US)
- When Marnie Was There (Japan)
After racking up Pixar's second highest domestic gross, Inside Out is the early frontrunner. Its potential is also boosted by its Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay prospects, and it has the blend of brains and heart that have lead Pixar to more wins in the category than any other studio. There is also The Good Dinosaur coming for Thanksgiving and hoping to celebrate Pixar's first dual release year with dual nominations.
Pixar isn't alone in bringing a high pedigree. Anomalisa stands to benefit from its uniqueness among the pack: already boasting the Academy-approved pedigree of Charlie Kaufman, it's also a rare entry intended squarely at adults. GKIDS, who have found favor in this category with lovely low profile films, have three eligible candidates, including Studio Ghibli's When Marnie Was There. Will Blue Sky's The Peanuts Movie register with nostalgic love or will it have similar poor luck to the other releases by the studio?
This category also has some tricky qualifications to note. The short version is that there could be five nominees (provided every single one of these meets release qualifications), but that depends on how well the nominating committee rates each film. If they think the field is weak, we could see less than five.
This category also has some tricky qualifications to note. The short version is that there could be five nominees (provided every single one of these meets release qualifications), but that depends on how well the nominating committee rates each film. If they think the field is weak, we could see less than five.
Reader Comments (17)
There deserves to be five this year. Good quality work in the mix.
I know people complain about how uncompetitive this category is (i.e., a third of eligible features may be nominated this year), and I get it. It's ridiculous.
But at the same time, sometimes, for that exact reason, this category gets to be a ghetto where really interesting work is highlighted. The Ghibli titles, the Cartoon Saloon titles, and especially my beloved Ernest & Celestine would have a much lower profile without the easy ride.
This year, we could have a category that includes Anomalisa, The Prophet and When Marnie Was There. What a thrill.
Every year I throw a dramatic "If XX doesn't win/if XX wins I'll never watch the Oscars again!" without really meaning it but I swear that if Anomalisa wins over Inside Out, I'm done.
Boy And The World is a wonder!
So... what happened with The Little Prince?
Petd - Tell us more!! I couldn't even find this one on IMDb
Ryan T. - I was wondering the same, but maybe it's releasing next year...
I know Boy and his World has been kicking around for a long time -- i thought it would be in the mix last year. It's from Brazil and I think it's mostly non-verbal? i could be wrong.
i don't understand why there's no French films this year. They have such a good track record with animation of late. I LOVED Phantom Boy at TIFF so i'm hoping they just delayed the qualifying til next year's Oscars? Because if not that's a real missed opportunity since i think it would have been nominated.
Boy And The World is totally non verbal.
Here is the brazilian imdb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3183630/
Heres is a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7x8oi_1GBo
And the soundtrack, which is marvellous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpOb3db_Xuc
Can we all celebrate the possibility an R rated animated feature will likely make the final five in a category which has historically excluded such fare? You don't have to like Anomalisa but the pedigree of those behind it will ensure a shift for the category it's competing in.
/3rtful: you're overreacting. Chico & Rita was nominated the other day and nothing changed
Louis -- sadly, you are right. Also we don't really know that Anomalisa will get nominated. Probably it will yes but what if we only have 3 or 4 nominees this year... (which is possible given that they're at the bare minimum to trigger 5 IF votes are high enough overall)
Nathaniel - agreed on some reservations for Anomalisa. While it has name recognition of Kaufman, he's obviously untested with this branch. If it doesn't fit their taste, the category rules of rating the submissions could hurt its chances.
Did anyone see The Prophet? I know it got a mixed review on this site, and I missed the very short window it was in theaters in my area. Is it worth a watch?
Shaun the Sheep MUST make it in. Utterly delightful for everyone, whether you're 2 or 80. I liked Inside Out a lot and really want to see When Marnie was There and Anomolisa.
I did not realize Moomin's was eligible. As a Finn I kind of hope it gets nominated even if that will never happen.
If they go for five I would expect Inside Out, Shaun the Sheep (they nominated that Aardman pirate movie, remember!), The Good Dinosaur, Anomolisa, and either The Prophet or When Marnie Was There. I might give the leg up to the former purely because it could be a way to honour so many animators.
There's a "Regular Show" movie??? Count me in, for that one.