Frontrunners: Best Animated Feature Nominees Announced

It has begun...

Five films have been nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar...

The choices are no surprise, really. Zootopia, Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, My Life as a Zucchini, and The Red Turtle. Two are universally-acclaimed Disney animated features, one is a stop-motion adventure from a beloved house, another is a stop-motion film from a mainstay distributor, and the last one is a French production with help from none other than Studio Ghibli. In a year of strong mainstreamers and very strong indies, this batch isn't too bad.

We could perhaps argue that something like Your Name. or April, and the Extraordinary World deserved the last indie slot over The Red Turtle, or we could argue that Finding Dory was better than Moana, but overall I'm pretty content. Dory not making it is a bit bittersweet for me. I can acknowledge the movie's issues, at the same time it would've nice to see a film about disabilities at least be in the running. But a spade is a spade, I felt Moana had a tighter story structure and a little more verve. On the bright side, Life, Animated is up for Best Documentary, a film about how the Disney animated classics greatly helped an autistic boy through his life. Kind of evens things out, for me.

I'll be very happy if either Zootopia or Kubo take it home. One is Disney Animation at their greatest (I have it close to the Walt films I hold so near-and-dear), the other is a LAIKA masterpiece. Both near-perfect films, and of course the Academy Awards lived up to their predictability by not giving one of these two marvels a Best Picture nomination. I guess Toy Story 3's nomination will be the last time the Academy puts an inferior cartoon movie on the level of a "real", "legitimate" live-action movie... Despite having one more slot, but no. Nine it is. What else is new?

On the bright side, Kubo and the Two Strings broke some ground! It is the first caricature animation film to get a nod for Best Visual FX since The Nightmare Before Christmas... Way back in 1993, when there was no "Best Animated Feature" category. The Jungle Book is also up for that, though the movie is technically a 99% fully animated movie with one live-action element. Given the acclaim, it could've been up for Best Picture or Best Animated Feature, but the latter category is obviously for animated movies that aren't trying to be exact recreations of real life.

Best Animated Short... One mainstreamer (Pixar's Piper), a VR short by Feast director Patrick Osborne (Pearl), a film made possible by Pixar's Co-op program (Borrowed Time), and two indie entries (Blind Vaysha and Pearl Cider and Cigarettes). I'm rooting for Borrowed Time, not only because it was a great Western piece for adults that was smart (American adult animation not relying on gratuitous violence and sex?!), but because I heard from a reputable source that The Walt Disney Company gave Pixar guff over this project. I want it to win, even if it doesn't teach a lesson or two.

Anyways, it seems obvious that Zootopia takes home the feature statue. What takes home the other statue?

To recap, I'm rooting for:
Feature: Zootopia and/or Kubo and the Two Strings 
Short: Borrowed Time
Docu: Life, Animated

What say you?

Ready, Set, Go: The Eligible Films in the Animated Feature Race [UPDATE]

That time is upon once again folks...

The Oscar prelude...

Note: The real list was released today - November 11th... What follows is the original article, and then the update, for a lot of the films on the Variety list ended up being on the official list...

Variety has released the (note: unofficial, but still very likely) list of 21 eligible animated features aiming for the five nomination slots. As usual, I'll list them and some premature predictions. Alphabetical order, let's go!

First up is Rovio and Sony ImageWorks' The Angry Birds Movie, based on that app we all know. It wasn't all that well-received, it's not award winner material. After The Lego Movie's snub, I'm not sure the Oscars would consider another big brand-based movie, especially one whose critical reception was nowhere near the unanimous praise for the brick flick.

Next up is April and the Extraordinary World. GKIDS knows how to score with great independent animated features, as their other releases put up a good fight in previous Oscar races, even imported films that were around 2-3 years old! April and the Extraordinary World blended sci-fi, steampunk, and adventure into a beautiful traditionally animated story. With the way the Oscar nom-pickers are now, I can see this being a very strong candidate... But GKIDS has other strong contenders on hand.

Then we get to Finding Dory... Here's where things get a little tough... The Academy has shown little love for non-Toy Story Pixar sequels, but with one of them (Cars 2) the reasons are obvious. Monsters University on the other hand got good enough reception, but Disney themselves didn't push the Pixar prequel, they poured all the Oscar love into "grand event" Frozen from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Monsters University should've gotten into the race, not fluff like Despicable Me 2 and The Croods. Anyways, Finding Dory's critical reception, not to mention its box office, is significantly better. The film also explored disabilities, and was very resonant. And of course, it is Pixar in good form. Those right there guarantee it a nom, right?

No, actually... Ever since the changes to the Oscars were implemented, things have been different in animationland. After 2013, the folk who pick the nominees for Best Animated Feature made it their mission to make more diverse choices. This is why The Lego Movie got left out of the 2014 race, and why LAIKA's stop-motion film The Boxtrolls - a pleasant but unspectacular film - got in. It also made room for great films like Song of the Sea and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Finding Dory, being a "good" mainstreamer and a sequel in this new climate, was already not quite locked. In 2011, it would've been.

Disney also has two other animated biggies, both from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Zootopia I think is a guaranteed lock given the film's quality and the fact that it tackled timely issues, it's one of the best-received movies of the year. Some have worried that the Oscars could last-minute view it as a Lego Movie-type, but I don't think so. In a year where most of the mainstreamers have been good enough, Zootopia has quite a few advantages. Moana is the one to look out for, for it is a big musical in the Renaissance tradition, it's about a princess (and the marketing is emphasizing the "girl power"), it has all those ingredients they love, is sure to be a box office smash. Oh, and the guy behind Hamilton was a driving force in the film's soundtrack.

(Okay, I guess we can ignore alphabetical order from this point onward...)

If Moana gets Frozen-level reception or higher, I think it's a lock. Zootopia and Moana getting into the race could squeeze the Pixar sequel out, for the three other slots need to go to films that would normally get pushed out by mainstreamers. Since the likes of Kung Fu Panda 3 and The Secret Life of Pets weren't spectacular, there's lots of room. Sing could be a potential candidate. No Illumination film has gotten unanimous praise yet, and early buzz on this feature - screened at the Toronto International Film Festival a few months back - is quite good... But will it be loved enough to get a nod? Since both aren't out yet, Moana and Sing are kind of up in the air, though I think the former has higher chances at locking a slot than the latter. Kubo and the Two Strings is definitely a lock. LAIKA, stop-motion, it's excellent. It's in.

GKIDS is loaded. They have acclaimed films from all around the world, like Phantom Boy and Miss Hokusai. My Life as a Zucchini, a stop-motion film from France and Switzerland, shouldn't be counted out either for it tackles some weighty themes. The last of the GKIDS releases is Mune: Guardian of the Moon, which is definitely more kid-oriented and cutesy. I don't think one really has a chance.

Sony Classics is readying The Red Turtle, which goes wide in January 2017. That's a co-production with Studio Ghibli, so that has a very good chance at getting in. Your Name is the current anime sensation, a blockbuster in Japan that has gotten lots of praise. That is being brought here via FUNimation. Shout! Factory has the 2D Long Way North, which could get in, but the other indies seem stronger. The Little Prince got lots of love, is thankfully eligible, and it's stop-motion... But I still feel that others have a greater chance at getting in.

The rest are the mainstreamers. Ice Age: Collision Course? Nope. Sausage Party? Nada, despite the aggressive push it's getting. Trolls? Nope. Secret Life of Pets? Not really. Ratchet & Clank? Forget it. Storks? Also not really. The Jungle Book is not counted, despite the fact that everything in that movie except Mowgli is CG. I must give the animation branch props for focusing on animated movies that know they're animated, not VFX trying to emulate real life... But still, it's kind of a contradiction, and this is coming from someone who didn't love the film.

Anyways...

The Angry Birds Movie - 5% chance
April and the Extraordinary World - 90% chance
Finding Dory - 80% chance
Ice Age: Collision Course - 0% chance
Kubo and the Two Strings - 100% chance
Kung Fu Panda 3 - 50% chance
The Little Prince - 70% chance
Long Way North - 70% chance
Miss Hokusai - 80% chance
Moana - depends on quality, will update
Mune: Guardian of the Moon - 10% chance
My Life as a Zucchini - 75% chance
Phantom Boy - 90% chance
Ratchet & Clank - 0% chance
The Red Turtle - 90% chance
Sausage Party - 50% chance
The Secret Life of Pets - 50% chance
Sing - depends on quality, will update
Storks - 50% chance
Trolls - 50% chance
Your Name - 80% chance
Zootopia - 100% chance

Buckle up, I think it's going to be a wild race...

Update...

The real list is here, as of November 11th... It includes a record twenty-seven animated features...

Here are the ones I missed, all which are foreign/independent features:

Bilal - From last year, a UAE-produced animated feature based on the real-life Bilal ibn Rabah.

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV - Based on the long-running video game series, this opened theatrically in Japan this past summer.

Monkey King: Hero is Back - Another entry that is actually over a year old. The Chinese animated feature that at one time held the record for biggest animated movie in that country.

Mustafa & the Magician - Apparently an Indian production. Can't seem to find much on this one.

Snowtime! - Another 2015 film, from Canada. I've heard good things about this one.

25 April - A New Zealand production about the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign. This also came out at festivals last year.

I can't say much about these inclusions, because I feel their changes at getting in are similar to some of the other indies that I already went over.

You'll also notice that Norm of the North, The Wild Life, and Ratchet & Clank are completely absent. Not submitted, I see...

Reviews for Moana are already pretty good, so I think it's chances are very high at getting in, but some reviewers seem a bit dissatisfied with the story. From now on, I think this and Finding Dory will compete for a second slot for The Walt Disney Company. I think Zootopia easily locks one, so for the other slot, it's either Disney Animation's Oceanic odyssey or Pixar's return to the big blue. Who gets in?

Anyways, revised:

The Angry Birds Movie - 5% chance
April and the Extraordinary World - 90% chance
Balil - 25%
Finding Dory - 80% chance
Ice Age: Collision Course - 0% chance
Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV - 25% chance
Kubo and the Two Strings - 100% chance
Kung Fu Panda 3 - 50% chance
The Little Prince - 70% chance
Long Way North - 70% chance
Miss Hokusai - 80% chance
Moana - 80% chance
Monkey King: Hero is Back - 15%
Mustafa & the Magician - 15%
Mune: Guardian of the Moon - 10% chance
My Life as a Zucchini - 75% chance
Phantom Boy - 90% chance
Ratchet & Clank - 0% chance
The Red Turtle - 90% chance
Sausage Party - 50% chance
The Secret Life of Pets - 50% chance
Sing - depends on quality, will update
Snowtime! - 25% chance
Storks - 50% chance
Trolls - 50% chance
25 April - 25% chance
Your Name - 80% chance
Zootopia - 100% chance

The plot thickens...

Box Office Report: 'Storks' Flies Low, 'Kubo' Lingers, 'Wild Life' Dead

Results are in, Warner Animation Group's second didn't quite soar.

However, Storks is far from doomed. The movie only cost around $70 million to make, as it was done by Sony ImageWorks in Vancouver. WAG's projects aren't animated in-house, hence their name: Warner Animation Group. The Lego Movie was a co-production between Animal Logic (also out of town) and a few other houses, while the upcoming Smallfoot will mostly be done at Sergio Pablos' Madrid studio. Smart strategy, but...

Why did Storks not open much higher than $20 million? Warner didn't seem to put much effort into marketing this one, methinks, putting all the love into Suicide Squad. Understandable in a way, if they were so disappointed with how Batman v Superman did ($872 million, in this day and age, is a disappointment... Because of an astronomical high budget and marketing costs... Let that sink in...), they were absolutely banking on the villain team-up to save them from an overall lousy year. Storks was much lower budget, so they probably figured a ho-hum campaign would be enough for it.

Anyways, $140 million is double the film's budget, should make that worldwide and should be all set. I'm confident it won't flop. It doesn't have much family competition up until Trolls hits, so it should do the usual multiplier for an animated family film. Word of mouth seems good, so we'll see how high it flies from here on out. As long as it's profitable, no worries, but c'mon WB. You coulda put more oomph into the non-Lego movie. Heck, you've felt The Lego Batman Movie's presence (which is opening in February, no less) more than Storks'. I know, I know, not every animated film is meant to pull those huge numbers out of a hat, regardless of their quality. At least WB was smart in not making this some $100 million-costing goliath. They'll win in the end.

Kubo and the Two Strings hangs in the top 10, losing 500+ screens, dropping 56%, and landing at $45 million domestically. Worldwide, it has collected $58 million, still quite below the other LAIKAs, but a few countries just got the picture, and quite a few more markets are left. Can it at least crack $100 million worldwide? We shall see.

The Secret Life of Pets still has some staying power, landing ahead of later films like Sausage Party and The Wild Life. Fell 45%, is now at $364 million domestically and $820 million worldwide. Hit-makers, Illumination's folk are. Watch Sing really soar this holiday season.

Sausage Party fell 52%, as it slowly crawls to the big one oh oh. $96 million here, $122 million everywhere. The Wild Life lost over 1,400 screens and dropped a massive 85%... Its third weekend. Curtains. No matter, the Belgian picture is at $29 million worldwide, it has doubled its tiny budget. Distributor Lionsgate will probably dump Rock Dog like this as well, come late February.

What say you?

Easing, and Expanding: Weekend Box Office Report

Unlike last weekend, our currently playing animated films didn't really drop...

The Wild Life only dipped 20%, the film now sits at $6 million. A much better fall than the Lionsgate-distributed Norm of the North from earlier this year, though it's probably not going to get anywhere near that film's final title. From what I saw of it at work, it seemed like it was clicks better than Norm and didn't seem as noisy and forced, but the dub voice acting? My ears...

Anyways, perhaps it could've been something bigger - for an animated feature made in continental Europe - if it had been distributed by someone else (Lionsgate is routinely bad at this, watch Rock Dog come and go in February) or given a better dub script. If the EU wants to really break into mainstream animation and compete with the heavies like Anna, Elsa, Woody, Buzz, Gru, the Minions, et al... It's going to take more than just something like Robinson Crusoe/Wild Life and someone like Lionsgate. Another story for another day...

Kubo and the Two Strings, which is on the brink of leaving my theater, lightly dipped 24%. That same weekend, ParaNorman dipped 26%, Boxtrolls saw its massive loss of screens, consequently falling 65%. Kubo and the Two Strings may not make much more than $50 million in the end, but the legs here - the same goes for Coraline and ParaNorman - speak volumes. Word of mouth was super-strong here! It's only at $10 million overseas, a bummer... But it won't matter, LAIKA has many things to fall back on.

Sausage Party is still in the 7-digits territory, falling 47% and getting up to $95 million. $119 million worldwide. C'mon now, start greenlighting similarly low-budget R-rated animated films already!

Worldwide, Ice Age: Collision Course passed $400 million, but that's second-the-last on the chart. Only the first Ice Age, back in 2002 without 3D, IMAX 3D, and the bigger market, grossed less. Again, I wonder if Blue Sky (and/or Fox) packs it in with this one, or uses that gross to justify one more. What's going on with Rio? Surprised a three hasn't been slated.

Finding Dory opened in Italy, with a fine $5 million. With that, it should make at least $15 million over there. Germany's the last big market, they get the fish on the 29th... C'mon fellas in those countries, get it to a billion! It now sits at $961 million worldwide...

Next weekend should spruce things up a bit... I wonder if a certain website is saying "There's an animation glut right now!"