If You Like Anthropomorphic Robots, Does That Make You a ‘Botty’?

Editor’s Note: In this essay film critic Joe Strike offers us his insights into the Oscars nominees for best animated feature.

For me, the Oscar I most look forward to during that endless TV show isn’t Best Picture or Best Director, but Best (or Outstanding Achievement In, I guess) Animated Feature (from hereon referred to as BAF). The first straw in the wind was Wall-E‘s Golden Globes BAF win. At that point I was sure the Oscar nominees would be Wall-E, Kung-Fu Panda and (the token intellectual nominee) Waltz with Bashir. Turns out Bashir got a Best Foreign Film nomination (way to go, Avi – nice Jewish boy makes good!) and Disney’s superdog Bolt filled out the third spot. (A fun movie, but not a flick for the ages.) Read more…

Tags: Disney, Kung-Fu Panda, Wall-E, Waltz With Bashir

Who Will the Best Animation Oscar Nominees Be?

Frankly I’m still a bit let down from last year when the Academy picked glossy Ratatouille over the more interesting Persepolis. This year fourteen films were submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, of those only three lucky picks will make the cut to be in the best animated feature category. This year the films come from every corner of the world, although as an anime fanboy I’m very happy to see two entries from Japan! Here’s a guide of who’s who this year: Read more…

Tags: $9.99, Anime, Bolt, Delgo, Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who!, Dragon Hunters, Fly Me To The Moon, Igor, Kung-Fu Panda, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Oscar, Sword Of The Stranger, The Sky Crawlers, The Tale Of Despereaux, Wall-E, Waltz With Bashir, ואלס עם באשיר, スカイ・クロラ, ストレンヂア 無皇刃譚