OVP: Best Animated Feature Film
The Nominees Were...
Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, How to Train Your Dragon
My Thoughts: This is a bizarre category, alternating on a regular basis between three and five nominations. It seems weird that in a year that was so obviously influenced by animation (five of the year's Top 10 films were animated) that they decided to stay with only three nominees, thus making this category, which is normally a bit of a Bingo free space for certain studios, a far more competitive race.
The first nominated film, however, likely didn't have to struggle for its nomination, though, even with a tight race for the third slot. Toy Story 3, following in the footsteps of its genius predecessors, shows us what life was like as Andy, a largely ancillary character in a universe of iconic film personalities, finally grew up and headed to college. In the process, he has to decide what parts of his childhood are best left in the attic, best left in the forgotten background.
I mention the Andy parts of this movie, as they are easily the best parts of the film, and the portions that ring to my mind first. The film only works, it should be noted, because of the deep understanding we have developed with these characters in the past two installments. Part of me thinks it should lose some points for that, but it so smartly feeds that I can't help but not care. The final play with Andy so desperately makes us feel for our own lost childhoods, or for our children's lost childhoods, you can't help but getting swept up in the emotional hurricane that Lee Unkrich is releasing. I also think this was the final moment of the early days of Pixar-since then they've become far more "corporate," greenlighting sequels for Cars, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc., and have seemingly given up on the brilliant heights that films like the Toy Story series, WALL-E, and The Incredibles reached.
How to Train Your Dragon also likely sailed to this nomination. The film is far too tight and smart to have come from the same company that created Shrek (one of the past decade's most overrated series), but does have some of the charm of the Kung Fu Panda movies. The movie, which tells the tale of one boy standing up against prejudice through training a dragon to be his friend and compatriot. The movie's battle sequences are epic, and though the occasional toilet humor joke gets in the way (Hiccup's friends all fall into that standard animated trick of being one-joke side characters), I thought this was a lovely film, and way better than it had any right to be. And, for the record, this is one of those few films that 3-D really added another dimension to the film-I felt like I was coming at the movie in a way that few 3-D films seem to do (they don't want you to connect so much as they want you to pay $5 more to occasionally have something sprung in your face).
The final film was stunningly not Disney's Tangled, the latest installment in the wildly successful Disney Princess line nor was it Despicable Me, a silly film that resonated with critics and audiences worldwide. Instead, it was a quieter, subtle Jacques Tati-inspired film about a man who bonds with a young woman who eventually leaves him alone and penniless, who earns his paltry living as an illusionist with aspirations that never really come to light. The film is a bit slow at times, but is so beautiful with its rich color palette and its harsh, difficult messages about aging and about throwing out our dreams for momentary pleasures within our grasp. It is an animated film that is most definitely not for children (though there are moments in Toy Story 3 that also don't fit with the G-Rated set), but it's a film that wouldn't work in any other format, and I'm glad that Oscar found room for it.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Globes didn't limit themselves to three nominations, and so Despicable Me and Tangled were joined by Oscar's trio (Toy Story 3 took home the trophy). BAFTA stuck to three nominations, but didn't keep The Illusionist, instead picking Despicable Me, but also it went with Toy Story 3 as the winner.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I could make a case for Tangled, but honestly, if I limit myself to just three, Oscar got it completely right-these are the three best animated films of 2010. One of those rare, rare moments where Oscar got it completely right.
Oscar's Choice: Pixar is a hard studio to beat (it's only lost two Oscar races, and only missed the race completely once), and so Toy Story 3 won rather handily.
My Choice: Part of me wants a written guarantee that Pixar will never make a sequel to Toy Story and ruin the beautiful ending of the film by giving us another round with the characters, but I can't get that, and so I'm going to make a leap of faith and still cast my vote for Woody, Buzz, and the gang. In the process, I move How to Train Your Dragon to second and keep The Illusionist at the bronze.
Do you agree, or do you wish that How to Train had toppled Pixar? What do you think it will take to have a competitive race not break Pixar's way (they've only lost twice, and only Cars was in a somewhat competitive situation, and that's generally considered one of the few low-points for the studio)? And would you have put in Tangled or Despicable Me, or would you have stuck with Oscar's selections like I did?
Also in 2010: Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously in 2010
Past Best Animated Feature Contests: 2011
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