OVP: Best Animated Feature Film (2016)
The Nominees Were...
Travis Knight & Ariannne Stner, Kubo and the Two Strings
John Musker, Ron Clements, & Osnat Shurer, Moana
Claude Barros & Max Karli, My Life as a Zucchini
Michael Dudok de Wit & Toshio Suzuki, The Red Turtle
Byron Howard, Rich Moore, & Clark Spencer, Zootopia
John Musker, Ron Clements, & Osnat Shurer, Moana
Claude Barros & Max Karli, My Life as a Zucchini
Michael Dudok de Wit & Toshio Suzuki, The Red Turtle
Byron Howard, Rich Moore, & Clark Spencer, Zootopia
My Thoughts: This week we move into the categories that tend to get the headlines on Oscar night for 2016, and start with the category that, when people say "I haven't seen any of the nominees" I usually point them toward. After all, combine Disney's ubiquity with popular culture with their hold on this category (only twice, 2005 & 2011, have they been overlooked for nominations), and you have at least one movie each year that you probably brought your kids to. In 2016, in fact, it was probably two of them, and so we'll kick it off with those two films, which were surely dueling for the eventual win.
Zootopia is (and I recently rewatched this movie) just way better than it has any right to be. A film that has a message of tolerance in it is something that usually animated features, trying to dumb things down for their audience, cannot handle without it being cloying, but that's not Zootopia. Yes, the tolerance message is obvious for anyone over 11, but that doesn't mean it's not well-served in this movie, which has brilliant set design and world-building, and lovely animation. Even the film's obvious jokes (and there are a few) are effective, from the Godfather bit to the Shakira. The movie struggles to find truly compelling side characters other than Judy & Nick, but this is hardly something to dismiss it over-Zootopia deserves this inclusion.
So, quite frankly, does Moana. Disney feature length movies I sometimes struggle with here because at least one feels like it's only included because of the billions of dollars sitting behind it's needed success, but these are both home runs, and both films I've revisited in the last year. Moana is bold, gorgeously-drawn (the blues and greens! ahh!), and filled with the best soundtrack for a Disney musical since...Pocahontas? Can I say that without eliciting the ire of Frozen fans? Like Zootopia, the side characters are one-dimensional, but Moana is such a breath-of-fresh-air as a princess that she fully serves the movie you're watching.
Kubo and the Two Strings was a bit of a box office disappointment, but if you've seen only one of the remaining three films it's the one you saw. The film is another installment from our beloved Laika, and you can see once again the inventive nature that the animators bring to making their films unique. The Washi sisters are genuinely spooky, and the Skeleton monster is breathtaking. I'd normally give it credit for all of this, but since this is the rare animated film cited for VFX, it's hard not to feel like that's already been awarded, in which case Kubo loses points for being the least inventive Laika film to date in terms of character & story, as well as the one that has the sleekest (but least colorful) design.
My Life as a Zucchini is such a strange film to be cited here, and continues the weird Oscar history of this category that also brought us I Lost My Hand and Anomalisa. The story here is middling and predictable, but the rest of the film is a home run in my opinion. The animation is miraculous, the combination of computer effects with clay sets is fascinating and seamlessly done, and the character development is really strong. This, unlike pretty much every other film on this list, does a good job of filling out side characters to make them feel like someone you can root for and have as a "favorite" rather than just find them adorable. If this category sometimes feels unnecessary, Zucchini getting an Oscar nod probably makes it worth it.
The same is true for The Red Turtle, which is a marvel. A story that is more fable than plot, it unfolds in a wordless fashion, but it's so lovely. The use of color is meticulous but gorgeous, with red and black in particular being used to emit specific emotions that the lack of dialogue cannot. It honestly reminded me in a lot of ways of The Bicycle Thief, the sort of film that's so simple, so basic, but so brilliant-it is very difficult to pull off something basic & elegant and make it avoid ever being dull. The Red Turtle does that.
Zootopia is (and I recently rewatched this movie) just way better than it has any right to be. A film that has a message of tolerance in it is something that usually animated features, trying to dumb things down for their audience, cannot handle without it being cloying, but that's not Zootopia. Yes, the tolerance message is obvious for anyone over 11, but that doesn't mean it's not well-served in this movie, which has brilliant set design and world-building, and lovely animation. Even the film's obvious jokes (and there are a few) are effective, from the Godfather bit to the Shakira. The movie struggles to find truly compelling side characters other than Judy & Nick, but this is hardly something to dismiss it over-Zootopia deserves this inclusion.
So, quite frankly, does Moana. Disney feature length movies I sometimes struggle with here because at least one feels like it's only included because of the billions of dollars sitting behind it's needed success, but these are both home runs, and both films I've revisited in the last year. Moana is bold, gorgeously-drawn (the blues and greens! ahh!), and filled with the best soundtrack for a Disney musical since...Pocahontas? Can I say that without eliciting the ire of Frozen fans? Like Zootopia, the side characters are one-dimensional, but Moana is such a breath-of-fresh-air as a princess that she fully serves the movie you're watching.
Kubo and the Two Strings was a bit of a box office disappointment, but if you've seen only one of the remaining three films it's the one you saw. The film is another installment from our beloved Laika, and you can see once again the inventive nature that the animators bring to making their films unique. The Washi sisters are genuinely spooky, and the Skeleton monster is breathtaking. I'd normally give it credit for all of this, but since this is the rare animated film cited for VFX, it's hard not to feel like that's already been awarded, in which case Kubo loses points for being the least inventive Laika film to date in terms of character & story, as well as the one that has the sleekest (but least colorful) design.
My Life as a Zucchini is such a strange film to be cited here, and continues the weird Oscar history of this category that also brought us I Lost My Hand and Anomalisa. The story here is middling and predictable, but the rest of the film is a home run in my opinion. The animation is miraculous, the combination of computer effects with clay sets is fascinating and seamlessly done, and the character development is really strong. This, unlike pretty much every other film on this list, does a good job of filling out side characters to make them feel like someone you can root for and have as a "favorite" rather than just find them adorable. If this category sometimes feels unnecessary, Zucchini getting an Oscar nod probably makes it worth it.
The same is true for The Red Turtle, which is a marvel. A story that is more fable than plot, it unfolds in a wordless fashion, but it's so lovely. The use of color is meticulous but gorgeous, with red and black in particular being used to emit specific emotions that the lack of dialogue cannot. It honestly reminded me in a lot of ways of The Bicycle Thief, the sort of film that's so simple, so basic, but so brilliant-it is very difficult to pull off something basic & elegant and make it avoid ever being dull. The Red Turtle does that.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Globes were slightly more mainstream than Oscar, but honestly they made room for Zucchini so I can't fault them entirely. Sing got in instead of The Red Turtle, with Zootopia taking first place. BAFTA weirdly went with four nominations (can't we all just agree that this category only needs three nominations?), with Kubo actually winning, beating Finding Dory, Moana, and Zootopia (one has to assume that the Disney vote split enough to cost it here). I'd assume considering its box office and the power of Pixar that Finding Dory was sixth place here, but honestly-the fact that it missed at the Globes in favor of Zucchini makes me wonder if people just didn't like it.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I truly think this should be only three nods here, and Oscar picked all three of the ones I would have gone with, so I'm good.
Oscar’s Choice: Without Dory there to water down the vote (and maybe hand this to Kubo, which had fans as is evident by that VFX nomination), Oscar went with the early critical favorite Zootopia.
My Choice: One of the best lineups this category has had-there's not a stinker in the bunch here. I'm going with Red Turtle, which has stuck with me the longest, even if Disney might have deserved a trophy with silver Moana and bronze Zootopia. Rounding out the list is Zucchini and then Kubo.
There you have it-the Animated Featured category. Are you with me that The Red Turtle rises above or are you with the consensus citing Zootopia? What's it going to take to finally get Laika a trophy in this category (after 2019, they're now zero for five)? And what held Finding Dory back so far when they've been willing to endorse Pixar for less? Share your thoughts below!
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