Moving On to the Pre-Blitz – 96th Academy Awards Shortlists

The first major mile marker for next year’s Oscars has finally been crossed. Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released their shortlists in 10 of the 23 categories. Participating branches and members have been viewing submissions, attending bake-offs, and voting for the past few weeks, and now the semifinalists have been revealed. From these lists, the appropriate sectors of the Academy will now go through a second round of voting to determine the final five nominees, which will be announced on January 23.

In addition to the 10 lists released today, I figured this was as good a time as any to share the 33 films that have qualified for Animated Feature. That category doesn’t have a shortlist, so the Animation and Short Films branches will simply narrow the bunch to five. The list was originally released a little more than a week ago, along with the 88 International Feature entries and 167 Documentary Feature hopefuls, but the Academy didn’t do a traditional press release on their website, instead emailing pdfs to various news outlets, of which I am decidedly not one. So since those other two fields do have shortlists in this grouping, I might as well add the candidates for the former as well.

As always, I’ll provide whatever relevant links and release information I have available to me, so that hopefully you can see these films if you so choose. Here are your 96th Academy Awards specialty semifinalists!

Documentary Feature – 15 Films
American Symphony – Netflix
Apolonia, Apolonia – TBD
Beyond Utopia – In Theatres Now
Bobi Wine: The People’s President – Hulu
Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy – VOD Rental
The Eternal Memory – Paramount+
Four Daughters – In Theatres Now
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project – HBO January 8
In the Rearview – TBD
Stamped from the Beginning – Netflix
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie – AppleTV
A Still Small Voice – In Limited Release
32 Sounds – Had Limited Run in May, Streaming Release TBD
To Kill a Tiger – In Limited Release
20 Days in Mariupol – In Theatres and on PBS

First reaction is that I’m glad Beyond Utopia, Four Daughters, and 20 Days in Mariupol are on this list. I’m surprised Anselm and The Mission aren’t, but the Documentary Branch is always quite mercurial. Really, the biggest bit of satisfaction I have here is that the Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concert films weren’t eligible, because that would have been a straight kick to my rock-loving rocks if I had to try to watch them for “documentary” purposes.

Documentary Short – 15 Films
The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Bear
Between Earth & Sky
Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games
Camp Courage
Deciding Vote
How We Get Free
If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop
Last Song from Kabul
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó
Oasis
Wings of Dust

No initial reaction here, as I haven’t seen any of these films. And really, when it comes to the shorts, I just wait until the nominations come out and dance giddily when the entire field is released for screenings.

International Feature – 15 Films
Armenia – Amerikatsi – In Limited Release
Bhutan – The Monk and the Gun – In Theatres February 9
Denmark – The Promised Land – In Theatres February 2
Finland – Fallen Leaves – In Theatres Now
France – The Taste of Things – In Theatres Now
Germany – The Teachers’ Lounge – In Theatres Now
Iceland – Godland – In Limited Release and Vudu
Italy – Io Capitano – TBD 2024
Japan – Perfect Days – In Theatres February 23
Mexico – Tótem – In Theatres January 26
Morocco – The Mother of All Lies – TBD
Spain – Society of the Snow – Netflix January 4
Tunisia – Four Daughters
Ukraine – 20 Days in Mariupol
United Kingdom – The Zone of Interest – In Theatres Now

Not too many surprises here. As often happens, the list is very Eurocentric, with all the major players making the cut. In last night’s “Back Row Thoughts” column, I noted that a lot of these films were gambling on making the shortlist or getting a nomination before releasing publicly. For some, like Perfect Days and The Monk and the Gun, it paid off, but for others like The Settlers and Housekeeping for Beginners, it’s now a lost cause. I’ll still see everything I can for comparative purposes, but really, my only true disappointment is that The Zone of Interest made it while The Peasants and Concrete Utopia didn’t. On the plus side, of the 36 entries I saw, 12 of them made it past this first hurdle, and of the three I haven’t seen, two of them have concrete release dates. Not a bad return on my efforts.

Makeup & Hairstyling – 10 Films
Beau is Afraid – Showtime
Ferrari – In Theatres December 25
Golda – Showtime
Killers of the Flower Moon – In Theatres Now
The Last Voyage of the Demeter – VOD Rental
Maestro – Netflix
Napoleon – In Theatres Now
Oppenheimer – Theatres and VOD Rental
Poor Things – In Theatres Now
Society of the Snow

The biggest surprises here are Maestro and Last Voyage of the Demeter. The former’s a bit of a shock because there are ultra-PC folks out there desperate for something to complain about, who blasted this film since the trailer for Bradley Cooper using a prosthetic nose to look like Leonard Bernstein. To them I say, “fuck off,” because we literally gave Nicole Kidman an Oscar 20 years ago for doing the same thing. As for the latter… really? What was the makeup job there? I mean, maybe there were a few closeup shots of Dracula that required practical makeup, but everything else was CGI, and bad CGI at that. How the hell did this piece of shit break through? I know that lesser movies get more consideration in the bake-off categories, but damn!

Original Score – 15 Films
American Fiction – In Theatres Now
American Symphony
Barbie – In Theatres and HBO
The Boy and the Heron – In Theatres Now
The Color Purple – In Theatres December 25
Elemental – Disney+
The Holdovers – In Theatres Now
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – Disney+
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn – In Theatres Now
Society of the Snow
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – DVD and Netflix
The Zone of Interest

A lot of interesting choices here, as well as some confusing ones. The Zone of Interest is a terrible choice, as it’s just guttural rumblings, as I mentioned in the review. I’m also a bit perplexed at Indiana Jones, as it’s mostly repeated cues from previous entries. I’m guessing it’s just to get John Williams ever closer to the all-time nomination record. I’m curious about The Color Purple, as it’s an adaptation of the stage musical, so nothing in that score is eligible. On the plus side, I’m overjoyed that the peppy score for Barbie is here, along with the soaring orchestration of The Boy and the Heron.

Original Song – 15 Songs
“It Never Went Away” from American Symphony
“Dear Alien (Who Art in Heaven)” from Asteroid City – Amazon Prime
“Dance the Night” from Barbie
“I’m Just Ken” from Barbie
“What Was I Made For?” from Barbie
“Keep it Movin'” from The Color Purple
“Superpower (I)” from The Color Purple
“The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot – Hulu
“High Life” from Flora and Son – AppleTV
“Meet in the Middle” from Flora and Son
“Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – In Theatres Now
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon
“Quiet Eyes” from Past Lives – VOD Rental
“Road to Freedom” from Rustin – Netflix
“Am I Dreaming” from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will these shenanigans never end? Seriously, Music Branch, what does she have on you? Tell me! There’s no explanation for any of this other than blackmail or bribery. You cannot be serious!

For those who don’t know why I’m screaming, it’s because yet again we are forced to endure Diane fucking Warren. Having made a four-decade career out of writing the same schmaltzy ballad over and over again, she’s somehow been nominated eight of the last nine years, including the last six years running, and 14 times overall. The Academy even gave her an honorary Oscar last year, presumably in hopes of stopping this trend, because she will never win. The membership writ large, not to mention the general public, is sick of her churning out the same old tripe. Yet somehow, some way, the Music Branch shortlists and nominates her every single goddamn year just about. I thought we had dodged a bullet when the bullshit track she wrote for 80 for Brady didn’t make the list, and given that great, interactive, memorable songs like “Peaches” from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, “Camp Isn’t Home” from Theater Camp, and “Out-Alpha the Alpha” from Dicks: The Musical didn’t make the cut, surely we were finally safe, or at least getting a one year reprieve. But nope, once again this is actually a competition for four spots because the annual chicanery continues, with Warren penning yet another yawn fest ballad for the Hulu movie about Cheetos. Fuck me!

Apart from that nonsense, there are some good choices here. It’s just a shame that 10 of them will be unceremoniously defenestrated in favor of Warren’s default spot. Only two songs per film can be nominated, so one of the tracks from Barbie will go, presumably “Dance the Night,” which was fun, but not nearly as memorable as Lizzo’s “Pink” narration song which didn’t make this cut, and certainly not to the level of giddy joy of “I’m Just Ken” or the surprisingly poignant “What Was I Made For?” Yes, I’m actually endorsing a Billie Eilish song. Miracles happen every day. It’s by far her best work, and well more deserving of consideration than the Bond theme she copied from Sam Smith that got her an Oscar by fiat. Flora and Son was a movie I really wanted to see, but it fell by the wayside, so I’ll be curious to see what Bono and the filmmakers came up with for that one, and I’m really glad the silly “Alien” song from Asteroid City made it. This might turn out to be a great category for once, assuming someone puts a stop to this obvious gladhanding and cheating.

Okay, rant over. Moving on.

Animated Short – 15 Films
Boom
Eeva
Humo (Smoke)
I’m Hip
A Kind of Testament
Koerkorter (Dog Apartment)
Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Once Upon a Studio
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
Pete
27
War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko
Wild Summon

The only one of these I’ve heard of is Once Upon a Studio, which is a retrospective of Disney for the 100th anniversary. From what I’ve seen and read, it’s a much more proper celebration of the centennial than Wish could have dreamed, so I’ll hold out hope that it’s decent (I assume it’s on Disney+). As a lifelong John Lennon fan, War is Over obviously piques my interest as well. “Happy Xmas” is literally my favorite Christmas song.

Live Action Short – 15 Films
The After
The Anne Frank Gift Shop
An Avocado Pit
Bienvenidos a Los Angeles
Dead Cat
Good Boy
Invincible
Invisible Border
Knight of Fortune
The One Note Man
Red, White, and Blue
Strange Way of Life
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Yellow

This is a category where I just like to imagine the stories based on the titles. Like, what am I supposed to infer from The Anne Frank Gift Shop? A little girl wrote a diary before dying in a concentration camp. Have a keychain! Or a fridge magnet! Also, I imagine a ravenous dog with a dick owner for two titles running together. Dead Cat? Good Boy!

Sound – 10 Films
Barbie
The Creator – Hulu
Ferrari
The Killer – Netflix
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest

No real surprises here, though there are a few trends emerging. Given these lists so far, you can assume a few things. Best Picture will likely be a race between Barbie, Oppenheimer, Maestro, Killers of the Flower Moon, and maybe Napoleon, The Zone of Interest, Poor Things, and Ferrari. You can also expect that International Feature will almost certainly come down to The Zone of Interest and Society of the Snow, with maybe a dark horse shot for 20 Days in Mariupol. That film might also compete heavily for Documentary Feature, but given the other nominations, you have to think American Symphony is the favorite. As for Animated Feature, which I’ll get to shortly, assume it’s a three-horse race between Elemental, The Boy and the Heron, and Across the Spider-Verse at this point.

Visual Effects – 10 Films
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One – In Theatres Now
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – Disney+
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Poor Things
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire – Netflix
Society of the Snow
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Once again, no real surprises, though I am pleased that Godzilla made it, given how shitty our movies about the lizard are these days. I am genuinely shocked that Zack Snyder bribed enough people to get Rebel Moon on there, given that it currently sits at an abysmal 24% on Rotten Tomatoes. Again, the bake-offs allow for more mediocre fare on one element, but you’re stretching at this point. It’s also quite telling that an animated film made the list, as basically all VFX is these days is cartoons. Speaking of which…

Animated Feature – 33 Films
The Amazing Maurice – Hulu
Blue Giant – In Limited Release
The Boy and the Heron
Chang’an – Unknown
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget – Netflix
Deep Sea – Unknown
Elemental
Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia – VOD Rental
The First Slam Dunk – Unknown
The Inventor – VOD Rental
Leo – Netflix
Lonely Castle in the Mirror – VOD Rental
The Magician’s Elephant – Netflix
Migration – In Theatres Now
Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie – Netflix
The Monkey King – Netflix
My Love Affair with Marriage – In Limited Release
Nimona – Netflix
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie – VOD Rental
The Peasants – In Theatres Now
Perlimps – Unknown
Robot Dreams – Unknown
Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken – Peacock
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Netflix
Suzume – Amazon and Crunchyroll
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Paramout+
They Shot the Piano Player – In Theatres Now
Titina – Unknown
Trolls Band Together – In Theatres Now
Unicorn Wars – VOD Rental
Warrior King – VOD Rental
Wish – In Theatres Now

This is an all-time record for eligible submissions, and as much as I’d love to track them all down, I don’t think it’ll be possible to make the attempt this time around. There are several that are on streaming, including six on Netflix that I haven’t seen yet, but there are also six that I have absolutely no data on. The closest I could find was The First Slam Dunk, which made a qualifying run back in July, but that’s it. All of these films are foreign, most of them Asian (though there’s some European and Brazilian in there as well), so we’re at the mercy of GKIDS and other distributors that specialize in animation. I will probably still check out a few of these, especially since Leo and Nimona have gotten such good reviews, but that’s about all I’ll be able to squeeze in. Also, I really, Really, REALLY, RE-HE-HE-HE-HEALLY don’t want to watch Paw Patrol or Trolls. If the six unknowns somehow fall into my lap, allowing me a real chance to clear the list, I’ll hold my nose and suffer through them. Otherwise, there’s no point.

***

And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between! The Pre-Blitz is officially underway. We have just over four weeks until nominations are out, giving me a finite amount of time to clear off as many of these as possible, so that when January 23 rolls around, the Blitz can hit the ground running! These shortlists are my favorite early Christmas present, even if they do require me to acknowledge the existence of Diane Warren yet again. Seriously, AMPAS, get your shit together and put an end to this!

Join the conversation in the comments below! How many of these films have you seen? Which category is the most interesting to you among these lists? Can you actually name five movies featuring nominated Diane Warren songs? Let me know! And remember, you can follow me on Twitter (fuck “X”) and YouTube for even more content!