The Academy Awards are just over a week away and with speculation reaching a fever pitch on who will take home the coveted prizes, the feature animation race is starting to look slightly more competitive than in recent years. Who will win? It depends on who you ask.
Reliability is the byword for the Oscars when it comes to the feature categories, and the best animated feature in particularly. The award has gone to Pixar eight out of the ten times its been nominated and the years it wasn’t nominated were either one when they didn’t release a film at all or, was clearly substandard as Cars 2 made all too obvious.
Could things be different this time around? The prospective field of nominees was the largest ever seen. Despite the inevitable disappointment when films like Sausage Party didn’t make the cut, the end result is surprisingly well-rounded even if Pixar’s been left out.
So with a pretty solid line-up for the actual award, who will win?
Depending on the type of person you are, where your passions lie, and whether you’re willing to put money down on the table, the answer can be different.
Zootopia is the favorite to win given its massive commercial success, it’s recent win at the Annie Awards, and the fact that it’s got the lowest odds in many [legal] bookmaking markets are reasons enough to back the Disney juggernaut.
That isn’t the end of the story though. Kubo and the Two Strings recently won the BAFTA award which is considered one of the more reliable indicators of the Oscars because of its timing and the similar makeup of its voters. It’s also been praised for its stop-motion animation and visual effects. Variety thinks it’s about time to give Laika an Oscar for their tireless efforts.
Of the remaining films, Moana was commercially popular but it isn’t being seen as quite as progressive overall within observer circles than in the list and while it embodies many traditional Disney themes, that may not be enough to win over voters. That said, according to Google Trends, the term ‘Moana Oscar’ is mentioned almost three times as much as its sibling Zootopia.
Rounding out the list are The Red Turtle from Studio Ghibli (via Sony Pictures Classics), and My Life as a Zucchini from GKIDS. Both entities’ track record at garnering Oscar nominations is excellent given their substantially smaller marketing budgets. GKIDS in particular ought to be applauded for at least getting interesting animated films in the Oscar discussion. Studio Ghibli on the other hand, need no introduction at all. Both films are considered outside shots despite their critical acclaim yet they are perhaps the two that many industry artists and fans wish would get the eventual win. There’s always hope, as Oscar voters can be fickle.
From a purely statistical side, FiveThirtyEight crunches the data and hints that Zootopia will “probably” win, but I’d take that with a grain of salt. The Best Animated Feature hasn’t been around nearly as long as its live-action counterpart, and there is regrettably little to suggest (by way of the Hollywood Reporter’s annual anonymous interviews) that a sizable chunk of voters give it less than the minimum level of attention.
All in all, it’s by far the most interesting lineup and race for some time. My hunch is that Zootopia will take it. Do you agree, or are there reasons to persuade you otherwise. Either way, this years ceremony will surely be one to watch.
Being tall, Irish and a civil engineer by trade, Charles stands out in the animation crowd, hence his position as the
Animation Anomaly.
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Who Will Win the Oscar? It Depends on Who You Ask
The Academy Awards are just over a week away and with speculation reaching a fever pitch on who will take home the coveted prizes, the feature animation race is starting to look slightly more competitive than in recent years. Who will win? It depends on who you ask.
Reliability is the byword for the Oscars when it comes to the feature categories, and the best animated feature in particularly. The award has gone to Pixar eight out of the ten times its been nominated and the years it wasn’t nominated were either one when they didn’t release a film at all or, was clearly substandard as Cars 2 made all too obvious.
Could things be different this time around? The prospective field of nominees was the largest ever seen. Despite the inevitable disappointment when films like Sausage Party didn’t make the cut, the end result is surprisingly well-rounded even if Pixar’s been left out.
So with a pretty solid line-up for the actual award, who will win?
Depending on the type of person you are, where your passions lie, and whether you’re willing to put money down on the table, the answer can be different.
Zootopia is the favorite to win given its massive commercial success, it’s recent win at the Annie Awards, and the fact that it’s got the lowest odds in many [legal] bookmaking markets are reasons enough to back the Disney juggernaut.
That isn’t the end of the story though. Kubo and the Two Strings recently won the BAFTA award which is considered one of the more reliable indicators of the Oscars because of its timing and the similar makeup of its voters. It’s also been praised for its stop-motion animation and visual effects. Variety thinks it’s about time to give Laika an Oscar for their tireless efforts.
Of the remaining films, Moana was commercially popular but it isn’t being seen as quite as progressive overall within observer circles than in the list and while it embodies many traditional Disney themes, that may not be enough to win over voters. That said, according to Google Trends, the term ‘Moana Oscar’ is mentioned almost three times as much as its sibling Zootopia.
Rounding out the list are The Red Turtle from Studio Ghibli (via Sony Pictures Classics), and My Life as a Zucchini from GKIDS. Both entities’ track record at garnering Oscar nominations is excellent given their substantially smaller marketing budgets. GKIDS in particular ought to be applauded for at least getting interesting animated films in the Oscar discussion. Studio Ghibli on the other hand, need no introduction at all. Both films are considered outside shots despite their critical acclaim yet they are perhaps the two that many industry artists and fans wish would get the eventual win. There’s always hope, as Oscar voters can be fickle.
From a purely statistical side, FiveThirtyEight crunches the data and hints that Zootopia will “probably” win, but I’d take that with a grain of salt. The Best Animated Feature hasn’t been around nearly as long as its live-action counterpart, and there is regrettably little to suggest (by way of the Hollywood Reporter’s annual anonymous interviews) that a sizable chunk of voters give it less than the minimum level of attention.
All in all, it’s by far the most interesting lineup and race for some time. My hunch is that Zootopia will take it. Do you agree, or are there reasons to persuade you otherwise. Either way, this years ceremony will surely be one to watch.