I've mentioned this before, most recently on a new episode of No Rest for the Weekend with my friends over at Behind the Rabbit Productions, but 2022 saw a real resurgence in the quality of animated films. Three of my personal top 10 pictures for the entire year were animated, compared to one from 2021 … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2023 – Animated Feature
Less than two weeks ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially released their lists of eligible films in three specialty categories, including Animated Feature, which had a bit of controversy in the run-up. Movies like Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and Eternal Spring were initially going to be left out due … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Animation Nomination, Part 1
I honestly lost count of the number of times last year that I said on this blog that 2021 was a weak year for animation. Out of the 26 films submitted for the Animated Feature category, three were lazy sequels to movies that already weren't that good to begin with (The Addams Family being the … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2022 – Animated Feature
It's finally happened. The Oscar Blitz has officially entered the preliminary stages, at least from a public-facing perspective. The deadline for specialty feature films to submit to the Academy was on November 1, and typically as soon as eligibility is determined, the powers that be at AMPAS publish those lists. For whatever reason, we had … Continue reading Put On Your Blitzin’ Shoes – Academy Announces Specialty Feature Submissions
This year marks a milestone for the Academy's youngest category. The Oscar for Animated Feature will be handed out for the 20th time next month, which is sort of hard to believe. Animated Short films have been receiving recognition from the Academy since the 1930s, but it took until the turn of the 21st Century … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Animated Feature
I was starting to get a little antsy waiting for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to start announcing the submissions for this year's Oscars. I know everything got pushed back by two months, but we're less than two weeks from the shortlist announcements, and thus far we haven't seen a whit of … Continue reading I Love it When You Submit – 93rd Oscars Specialty Feature Submissions!
At last we come to the end of our animated adventure. In this column I'll break down four more entries for next year's Oscar for Best Animated Feature. A grand total of 32 films were submitted, and I tracked down as many as I could, to the point that I've now seen 20 of the … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts: Toontown, Part 3
Good news, everyone! I was planning on this column being the conclusion of my pre-nomination coverage of the Animated Feature category. I did four movies last time, and the plan was for five tonight. However, we ain't done yet! Thanks to a surprise release and rentals on YouTube, I'll be able to do a third … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts: Toontown, Part 2
We've hit the second milestone of this year's Oscar season, with the announcement of the 32 films vying for Best Animated Feature. As mentioned in the International Feature post, there have been some major changes to the rules for this year's Academy Awards. One of them pertains to this category, as the minimum eight movie … Continue reading Who Will Replace the Spiders? – Animated Feature Submissions Announced!
I only had two movies to see to complete this year's Oscar Blitz (outside of the Shorts, that is), the fewest I've ever had to see, which is good, because I'm dead flat broke at the moment. Anyway, given that there were just the two, I figured it'd be best to work the appropriate categories … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Animated Feature
I Actually Paid To See This 