Gromit, Chicken, Corpse Get Animated Oscar Nods

The list of films eligible for next year’s Best Animated Feature Film Oscar has been announced. And we’re predicting a good year for chickens, rabbits and necrophilia.

The Best Animated Feature Film Oscar longlist features kiddy-friendly films like Wallace And Gromit, Chicken Little, Valiant and a film about steam.

There are ten films currently listed for the Best Animated Feature
Film Oscar, but this list will be boiled down to a final set of three
shortlisted nominations for the award in January.

Wallace And Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (DVDs) is a possible
favourite to take the Oscar, seeing that every single thing starring
Wallace and Gromit ever has gone on to win an Oscar. If there was an Oscar for
Most Mercilessly Merchandised Range Of All Kinds Of Cartoony Crap,
Wallace And Gromit would walk it. But Wallace And Gromit: The Curse Of
The Were-Rabbit is the first Wallace And Gromit feature film, so taking the award
won’t be that cut and dry for the plasticine burns victims.

It’s been a strong overall year for cartoons, according to Bill Kroyer, governor of
the Academy’s Oscar animation branch:

"We think it’s the strongest group ever. It shows the greatest range of
style and technique yet. The initial question when the category was
founded was, Will there be enough animated releases to make the
category worthwhile? Not only do you see a range of techniques,
countries and styles, but animation is the most successful genre of
film of any kind. With horror, comedy or drama genres, you just don’t
have 10 films performing domestically and internationally like these
will."

But that’s enough smug cartoon chatter. Here’s the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar longlist:

Chicken Little - The man from Scrubs proves that he’s not just a
wacky harebrained doctor - he’s also a wacky harebrained cartoon
chicken.

Gulliver’s Travels - Indian computer animated Gulliver story. With no Ted Danson.
            

Hoodwinked - Red Riding Hood update from The Weinstein Co. Stars Xzibit.      

Howl’s Moving Castle - Mental Japanese animation about a castle… that moves.      

Madagascar - Ben Stiller successfully transplants the only character he has ever played into the body of a cartoon lion.

Robots - Ewan McGregor doesn’t just star in shit films about clones. He also stars in shit films about robots.         

Steamboy - Three words: Manchester. Steam. 1866. Calm down.   

Tim
Burton’s Corpse Bride - Now that Tim Burton has done the Christmas
animated film and the Halloween animated film, we can all sit back and
wait for the Tim Burton Pancake Day animated movie.            

Valiant - Ricky ‘I’m no sell-out! I’m the future of British comedy!’ Gervais in a film about a lovable cartoon pigeon.      

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - "Cracking Wallace And Gromit-branded stationary."

Read more:

Gromit Film Makes Oscar Longlist - BBC

[story by Stuart Heritage]