Hey, this could be Osmosis Jones' final shot at glory!
Or, maybe not. But this much we do know: For the first time ever, next year's Academy Awards will hand out an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that nine films are eligible for the award next March 24, after the Academy decided last year to create a category honoring the once-overlooked genre. The list includes everything from traditional, hand-drawn animation (The Trumpet of the Swan) to computer animation (Shrek, Monsters, Inc.) and even animation mixed with live action (yup, the Farrelly brothers' Osmosis Jones is eligible).
The decision to hand out a Best Animated Feature Oscar came last September, after years of lobbying by frustrated animators, and after the Academy acknowledged the flood of animated films hitting multiplexes.
The announcement is great news for animation fans, who in years past have watched potentially Oscar-worthy 'toons get snubbed for Best Picture. The only animated film to receive a Best Picture nod remains Disney's Beauty and the Beast, which ultimately lost out to The Silence of the Lambs in 1992. Until now, the only 'toon- specific category that existed was for animated short.
It does, however, pose an interesting question for DreamWorks, which will be lobbying hard for a Best Picture nomination for the computer- animated smash Shrek.
No telling what the Animated Feature category will do to the not-so- jolly green ogre's chances. But the studio said Wednesday it will continue its Best Picture push, as it touts Shrek as "the best reviewed film of the year." After all, a nomination for Best Animated Feature won't prevent it from being nominated for Best Picture.
Other films eligible for nomination include Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Sony's computer-generated video-game adaptation, The Prince of Light, Yugo Sako's merging of Japanese animation with classical Indian art, and Waking Life, Richard Linklater's abstract animated head trip.
Two other films, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and Marco Polo: Return to Xanadu will be eligible if they stick to their release dates of December 21 and 22, respectively.
The nine eligible flicks were chosen from 13 entries. The most notable of the also-rans: Warner Bros.' live-action Cats & Dogs, which featured computer-generated special effects, but apparently didn't meet the Academy's rigid criteria.
Three nominees will be chosen by a 100-member screening committee led by Academy Governor Tom Hanks. Half of the committee will be animators, and the other half will include members of the Academy's other branches.
But the Academy won't be limiting its critique to animation quality or other technical factors. Academy President Frank Pierson says the award is intended to honor the film "as an entire creation"--including script, performances, score...and perhaps, even the vocal prowess of a certain lead ogre.
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