Oscar for Best Animated Feature 2014

[disneyprincess11]

I liked The Lego Movie moderately well. I don't necessarily see it as a snub. Either way, part of me is glad to see two hand-drawn animated films nominated. Who knows if that'll happen again for a decade or two.

With Dreamworks trying to do 2D again, Disney could try to beat them with the best 2D movie, so it could happen soon

[dvdjunkie]

I, personally, am so ticked that "LEGO Movie" didn't get a nomination for Best Animated Film that I have switched all my backing to "The Box Trolls". Didn't really care for "Big Hero 6" as much as really liked "Box Trolls".

[DisneyJedi]

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/oscar ... 201405956/

I found an article explaining "good reasons" for The Lego Movie's snub. And when I say "good reasons", I mean pathetic, stupid and EXTREMELY hypocritical excuses!

[estefan]

I think this is simply a case of so much competition. I wouldn't be surprised if The LEGO Movie was #6 in the voting and that it was really close for all five slots. And even with LEGO Movie not on there (and I say this as somebody who considers it my favourite film of 2014), the nominees are still a wide variety of different styles, stories and mediums. We have hand-drawn Japanese animation, a hand-drawn Irish animated movie, a stop-motion picture, a more traditional CG-animated movie and a more modern-inspired CG-animated movie. That's why I always call bunk, whenever somebody says all animated movies look alike. Looking at the Best Animated Feature nominees this year, it's clear that's not the case.

Would I have liked LEGO Movie to get in? Absolutely! I would have personally switched out Big Hero 6 for it (as whenever people complain about a film being "snubbed", they never say which nominee they would replace it with). But think about this: back in 2001 when the category was introduced, the nominees were Monsters Inc, Shrek and Jimmy Neutron. Not a knock on Jimmy Neutron (which is certainly a likeable little movie), but if it came out today, I don't think it would have a chance in getting nominated. In addition to The LEGO Movie, Cheatin' and Mr Peabody & Sherman were probably in the running as well. It really shows how much the medium has grown over the past decade that movies have to fight for a spot. There are so many members of the Academy's animation branch, this is simply a case of those five movies just getting more votes. Contrary to popular belief, the Oscar nominees and winners are not decided in a board room with somebody not getting in or winning because of any sort of malicious intent.

[PatrickvD]

I like Laika, but the Boxtrolls should have been switched with Lego in my opinion.

That would have made for a strong top 5. Either way, I agree it's still a varied, strong category this year.

[unprincess]

Im so happy that TOPK & SOTS got nominated. At least these 2d films will get a tiny bit more exposure now. As for LM, well I havent seen it but honestly I doubt I ever will as its just not the type of thing I look for in animated films. So naw, its not like Im losing any sleep over it getting snubbed or anything...

[dvdjunkie]

Note to unprincess:

Can you not spell, or are you just lazy? What the heck is TOPK & SOTS stand for? Not everyone is up to date on what these stand for. Can you please spell things out so those of us who are interested in what you have to say can understand?

Thank You!!!

[Mooky]

Well, someone's in dire need of an enema...

Anyway, while I don't hold the Oscars in high regard anymore, the exclusion of something as creative and innovative on a purely visual/technical level as The Lego Movie (the episodic and random nature of the story could have used additional work but even that can be excused given the implication of the plot twist) and the inclusion of the predictable and tired BH6 is unfortunate but not surprising. I find it funny that gimmicky Boyhood was nominated for the Best Picture, while the same gimmicky quality probably kept TLM (oh, I'm sorry, it's short for "The Lego Movie") away from the Best Animated Feature category, but hey, that's the Academy for you. Somebody should make a documentary about AMPAS in the vein of This Film Is Not Yet Rated and MPAA.

[jazzflower92]

Well, someone's in dire need of an enema...

Anyway, while I don't hold the Oscars in high regard anymore, the exclusion of something as creative and innovative on a purely visual/technical level as The Lego Movie (the episodic and random nature of the story could have used additional work but even that can be excused given the implication of the plot twist) and the inclusion of the predictable and tired BH6 is unfortunate but not surprising. I find it funny that gimmicky Boyhood was nominated for the Best Picture, while the same gimmicky quality probably kept TLM (oh, I'm sorry, it's short for "The Lego Movie") away from the Best Animated Feature category, but hey, that's the Academy for you. Somebody should make a documentary about AMPAS in the vein of This Film Is Not Yet Rated and MPAA.

I would not call BHG predictable and tired.

[Mooky]

Well, someone's in dire need of an enema...

Anyway, while I don't hold the Oscars in high regard anymore, the exclusion of something as creative and innovative on a purely visual/technical level as The Lego Movie (the episodic and random nature of the story could have used additional work but even that can be excused given the implication of the plot twist) and the inclusion of the predictable and tired BH6 is unfortunate but not surprising. I find it funny that gimmicky Boyhood was nominated for the Best Picture, while the same gimmicky quality probably kept TLM (oh, I'm sorry, it's short for "The Lego Movie") away from the Best Animated Feature category, but hey, that's the Academy for you. Somebody should make a documentary about AMPAS in the vein of This Film Is Not Yet Rated and MPAA.

I would not call BHG predictable and tired.

Sorry, I should have called it "How Power Rangers Train Their Iron Giant" ...

[unprincess]

Note to unprincess:

Can you not spell, or are you just lazy? What the heck is TOPK & SOTS stand for? Not everyone is up to date on what these stand for. Can you please spell things out so those of us who are interested in what you have to say can understand?

Thank You!!!

TOPK=TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA

SOTS=SONG OF THE SEA

[Sotiris]

People are losing their minds over The Lego Movie not getting nominated. It's ridiculous. The Academy overlooks quality films all the time. Why is everyone going berserk over The Lego Movie? The worse thing about this is how people are attacking the two 2D movies nominated (which they didn't even watch) calling their inclusion "unnecessary", "elitist", "pretentious" and other such nonsense. Why aren't they blaming BH6 or HTTYD2 for the Lego Movie's lack of a nomination? Instead of applauding the inclusion of smaller, indie films which against all odds managed to get nominated over big-budgeted, Hollywood fluff, people and industry professionals are condemning it. It's absurd!

I fear that because of the Lego controversy they're going to restrict eligibility to American-only films or open up the nomination process to the entire Academy instead of the animation branch. That would be catastrophic! It would mean that no indie or foreign film would ever be nominated again. The Oscars would become like the Golden Globes or the BAFTAs where they never have any indie animation nominees.

Just look at what Academy members are saying. Not random people on the net but Academy members! Where do I start? Ageist, xenophobic, anti-2D... Are these people for real?

It's also noteworthy that GKIDS, a small distributor of Japanese films in America, received multiple noms for the second time in four years with both of its hand-drawn hopefuls, Song of the Sea and The Tale of Princess Kaguya, earning noms. How could Lego have missed and these much lower-profile films have made it? As one Academy member told me this morning, "They [the members of the animation branch] are old f—s and many are Europeans and they hate seeing traditional animation slip away."

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/o ... ate-764029


The most reasonable response was by Dean DeBlois on the whole Lego debacle.

I was happy to hear our name mentioned and was shocked when 'LEGO' wasn't. It bums me out because Chris and Phil are great guys and they made a great movie. But I also see the artistic merit in the other nominees like The 'Tale of Princess Kaguya' and 'Song of the Sea'. They're both amazing movies in their own way. [...] I'm obviously a fan of hand-drawn animation, having come from that background, so I applaud that being continued. I think the animation branch is made up of many classically trained, hand-drawn animators, and they certainly do their best to keep the medium alive and in the public eye, and the Academy is a great way of doing that and recognizing and celebrating them. And it's important, I think, because a lot of those skills get lost as everyone focuses on computer animation. There's always a danger that the art form of hand-drawn animation and all of its sort of time-honed techniques will be lost in time.

Source: http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/wit ... ttle-is-on


GKIDS president Eric Beckman says the indie films are not to blame for Lego's exclusion but the fact that the Academy has a distaste for comedies.

Just don't suggest that GKIDS was responsible for edging out "The Lego Movie," which some believe would've won the Oscar if it had been nominated. "I really liked 'The Lego Movie,' Beckman said. "I have an 11-year-old son, and, like most 11-year-olds in America, was really upset that it didn't get in. We did the math a bunch of different ways to figure out how we get two in and what wouldn't. I'm no expert but maybe it's part of the phenomenon that comedies don't get the love they need from the Oscars either. And so if you look at 'Lego', the animation was inventive and it was a funny, engaging story but it still doesn't translate into a nomination."

Source: http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononho ... s-20150213

[Lady Cluck]

LMFAO at acting like The Lego Movie is comparable to Boyhood in any way. Oh brother, the hyperbole for this movie is getting out of hand It's a fun movie, but not high art, a timeless classic, or a milestone in the medium.

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/oscar ... 201405956/

I found an article explaining "good reasons" for The Lego Movie's snub. And when I say "good reasons", I mean pathetic, stupid and EXTREMELY hypocritical excuses!

Those are all perfectly logical reasons. #3 is especially comforting.

Voters watch all 20 contenders, so the best rises.

Unlike normal audiences (or the Academy at large, who often pick a widely seen film to win), the animation branch is obliged to screen all eligible contenders. Each film is scored on a 10-point scale, and the five that receive the highest score go on to be nominated. That means each toon is considered on its own merits, and for this group, technique is perhaps the most important. In other categories, nominations go to the five films that received the most first-place votes, resulting in a diversity of choices, but in this category, it’s literally the five movies the branch likes best.

So it got the fair chance it deserved, they just didn't like your precious movie as much! Too bad!

[unprincess]

Why aren't they blaming BH6 or HTTYD2 for the Lego Movie's lack of a nomination?

so true...

I fear that because of the Lego controversy they're going to restrict eligibility to American-only films or open up the nomination process to the entire Academy instead of the animation branch.

yeah Im worried about this too. I already think its bad enough that they open the final voting for best animated film to the entire academy since most members are too ignorant or dont care enough about animation. It will just go to the most popular film now.

also wouldnt be surprised if there's a studio push behind alot of this negativity...last thing they need is for these smaller traditional films to get publicity and *gasp* risk audiences discovering that there's more to animation than CGI buddy comedy romps!

[Lady Cluck]

I threw my copy of The Lego Movie in to my fireplace because I'm so disgusted by the animation xenophobia being expressed by its biggest supporters. After watching again, it's not as good as I thought anyway. I can see why 10 year old boys would really love it, but all these adults losing their minds over it is pretty astounding

[estefan]

I fear that because of the Lego controversy they're going to restrict eligibility to American-only films or open up the nomination process to the entire Academy instead of the animation branch. That would be catastrophic! It would mean that no indie or foreign film would ever be nominated again. The Oscars would become like the Golden Globes or the BAFTAs where they never have any indie animation nominees.

Not very likely to happen. They've never stopped foreign language films from getting nominated for Best Picture and the animation branch certainly would never allow that to happen.

I remember a similar reaction when Tangled wasn't nominated in favour of The Illusionist, The Adventures of Tintin was passed over for A Cat in Paris and when they picked Ernest & Celestine over Monsters University. And yet the rules for eligibility stayed exactly the same.

[Mooky]

LMFAO at acting like The Lego Movie is comparable to Boyhood in any way. Oh brother, the hyperbole for this movie is getting out of hand

Because this is directed at me, I need to clarify several things:

1. While Boyhood is certainly a good movie, let's be honest here and admit it would have never gotten the amount of attention it did if it weren't for the fact it was filmed over 12 years with the same cast and crew. Thus my 'gimmicky' comment. The story itself is nothing special, just a typical coming-of-age story. Richard Linklater has made MUCH better films (the Before series; also somewhat gimmicky), but they never received this much acclaim.

2. I didn't even like The Lego Movie much, if at all -- I rated it 5/10 -- but it was a treat from the visual standpoint (and this is coming from someone who doesn't care a great deal for CG animation), it was enjoyable for the most part, and it had a nice though clichéd message. That said, it was still miles above BH6.

3. I fully support the nominations of Kaguya and Song of the Sea and I don't blame them for TLM's exlcusion; I blame the AMPAS and their short-sightedness.

It's a fun movie, but not high art, a timeless classic, or a milestone in the medium.

Thanks, you just described BH6 minus the fun part. Now go along and try not to choke on your bile.

[Sotiris]

I remember a similar reaction when Tangled wasn't nominated in favour of The Illusionist, The Adventures of Tintin was passed over for A Cat in Paris and when they picked Ernest & Celestine over Monsters University.

Those reactions were nowhere nearly as explosive as the ones for The Lego Movie snub. This is a very different situation.

And yet the rules for eligibility stayed exactly the same.

Maybe changing the rules for eligibility is a stretch but they could very well open up the nomination process to the entire Academy instead of the animation branch which would have the exact same effect. I sincerely hope that doesn't happen.

[Lady Cluck]

Thanks, you just described BH6 minus the fun part. Now go along and try not to choke on your bile.

I didn't SAY every other nominee was those things, just that Lego Movie isn't deserving of this outrage.

Big Hero 6 isn't groundbreaking either, but it does have a cohesive story and clearly defined characters who exhibit growth. The Lego Movie doesn't so it may not appeal to Academy voters.

Let's be real, there's more outrage over The Lego Movie because it appeals to the fanboy mob. It's more like The Dark Knight than Tangled.

[taei]

Big Hero 6 isn't groundbreaking either, but it does have a cohesive story and clearly defined characters who exhibit growth. The Lego Movie doesn't so it may not appeal to Academy voters.

Let's be honest here... Only 1 out of the 10 characters grew in the movie. The others were all sidelined!