Big, big news coming to us as numerous award shows are right around the corner and speculations are beginning to run rampant!
According to various sources (Animation World Network and Variety in particular), The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced that 20 films have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film Category of the 87th Academy Awards.
These films differ wildly from each other, ranging from big studio productions to independent, sometimes hand-drawn features. Here is the list below (in alphabetical order):
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
Cheatin’
Giovanni’s Island
Henry & Me
The Hero of Color City
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart
Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
The LEGO Movie
Minuscule – Valley of the Lost Ants
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Penguins of Madagascar
The Pirate Fairy
Planes: Fire & Rescue
Rio 2
Rocks in My Pockets
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
As Variety notes, if there were eight submissions, there would be three nominees. Sixteen or more submissions would trigger five nominations. Guess how many nominations we will have this year!
Why the increase in submissions? It’s all due to other countries realizing the value of Oscar recognition in this category due to the competition being lighter than foreign-language category.
Also, the feature animation field has become busier and more prolific than ever. 20th Century Fox definitely had the lion’s share this year (for obvious reasons), distributing five of the 20 films on the list. Disney wasn’t too far behind, with three films out this year (one of them a direct-to-DVD that was granted a limited release in theaters). Not to mention the number of new animation studios that have set up shop this year alone.
Lastly and most importantly, animated films are starting to become commercial heavy hitters. The Lego Movie, Rio 2, and How to Train Your Dragon 2 collectively brought in $1.5 billion at the global box office. That number will no doubt rise as Big Hero 6 and The Penguins of Madagascar hit theaters in the next few weeks.
The race is definitely heating up right now, and the speculations should only get more interesting moving forward.
Don’t forget to stick around at the end of this month for our Best Animated Feature projections in the month of November!
What do you think? Any surprises you see on the list? Are there any films this year that should have been submitted?
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