11 Films Compete for Best Animated Picture

Love it or hate it, the Best Animated Feature is a category that will stay with us for a long time as more and more animated pictures have been dominating the US Box Office. I for one think its a great thing, and given that the nominations have given exposure to such innovative films such as The Triplets of Belleville last year and Spirited Away (which won in 2003), you can't fault the category (although you do have to wonder at how Treasure Planet ever got nominated). So, here is the list of 11 pictures eligible for the 3 nomination slots, courtesy of the official website.

"Clifford's Really Big Movie"
"Disney's Teacher's Pet"
"Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence"
"Home on the Range"
"The Incredibles"
"The Legend of Buddha"
"The Polar Express"
"Shrek 2"
"Shark Tale"
"Sky Blue"
"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie"

The two safe bets from this list are Shrek 2 and The Incredibles, the two most successful films in terms of box office intake. So what of the third slot, well Shark Tale does have a chance, but I don't think that it will make it. I doubt a classically animated film like Home on the Range will make the cut either. My bet is on yet another left-field nomination for a foreign film (much in the same vein as Spirited Away) to make the cut. My bet is on Ghost In The Shell 2 which competed at the Cannes Film Festival this year and has been hailed by some critics as a benchmark in Japanese Anime. Whether or not the Academy will embrace or acknowledge this film is another matter, but their track record in this short-lived category has been impressive so far.