OVP: Best Animated Feature Film (2001)
The Nominees Were...
Steve Oedekerk & John A. Davis, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Pete Docter & John Lasseter, Monsters, Inc.
Aron Warner, Shrek
My Thoughts: We have officially hit a milestone with this article. We are currently in our 22nd season of this series, and while we have done some out-of-order, collectively we have 22 consecutive years (links to all of the past contests at the bottom of this page). That means, for Animated Feature Film, we have hit every single category. We'll obviously continue to add in new years (i.e. 2023 will come up as soon as Oscar chooses to have it & I've seen them all), but with today's article, we won't have any past Animated Feature races, as we got to them all, and you can see all of my thoughts as a full idea now.
The real reason that Animated Feature Film became a category in 2001 was that animated features became such a big deal from multiple studios (no longer just Disney) that it felt like the right time to honor that in the wake of films like Anastasia, The Prince of Egypt, Toy Story 2, and The Iron Giant. But you'd be forgiven for thinking it was because of Shrek. For those that didn't live through it-Shrek was a phenomenon in 2001, with everyone obsessed with its lewd take on storybook characters; it was heavily in the conversation for a Best Picture nomination, and probably would've gotten one were it not for this category. Even then, I was a bit skeptical. I thought the jokes would age poorly (I was correct) and the animation, while impressive, wasn't as pretty as what Pixar had done. But I have to admit that the first Shrek film does have some fine moments, specifically anything involving Eddie Murphy's genuinely hilarious Donkey. It's not the original movie's fault it spawned so many dreadful sequels that collectively the series feels like a pain-in-the-ass.
Monsters, Inc. was the Pixar entry of 2001, and is a bit more my speed. The bromance between Billy Crystal & John Goodman is so sweet, and instantly lovable: Sully cuddly & a teddy bear, Mike a bumbling social climber. The film is visually a joy, not just the effects work (though that's amazing, especially on Sully's fur), but also the colors & sights of Monstropolis. The film's script is sharp, filled with delicious sight gags (all of the monsters are fun, but nothing compares to the sea of closet doors floating around the factory), but also the jokes themselves (try saying the word "paperwork" and not giggle after watching this movie). A lovely joy of a picture.
The final nominee is Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, which was at the time a pretty big deal for Nickelodeon. The humor here is sophomoric, though it can be kind of cute, and the script is predictable. The animation is prosaic, even in 2001, and while that's the point (to mirror the animation style of the TV show), it's a bit of an eyesore now. I do think some of the visual humor ideas work well, though, specifically the scene where all of the children are taking off into space in carnival ride rockets. More of that, and this would feel like a hidden gem rather than just hidden.
Other Precursor Contenders: In 2001, when Oscar started this category, the only major precursor award was the Annie Awards, which had a slightly different eligibility window than Oscar at the time (that's no longer the case), so it included both the winning Shrek, as well as Blood: The Last Vampire, Osmosis Jones, and The Emperor's New Groove (which was not eligible in 2001...in fact, Oscar nominated it in Best Song the year before, so we'll get to that movie when we tackle 2000). In terms of fourth place, it was a race between Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Waking Life (both were predicted at the time...we were still figuring out what direction this category would go). Given that in the years since animated films for adults are virtually nonexistent in this category, I wonder if Atlantis was in fourth, but I do think if Waking Life had made it, we'd have a different treatment of this category as less than just a "place for kid's films."
Films I Would Have Nominated: Yeah, I'm not going to help that problem as I wasn't a fan of Waking Life, and am a fan of Atlantis, which would've been an easy call to include for me in this category.
Films I Would Have Nominated: Yeah, I'm not going to help that problem as I wasn't a fan of Waking Life, and am a fan of Atlantis, which would've been an easy call to include for me in this category.
Oscar’s Choice: It might seem in retrospect like this was close given both films aged into franchises with long pop culture legs, but it wasn't at the time-Shrek kicked Monsters Inc's butt in 2001.
My Choice: But not for me! In what was overall a weaker year for animation (it's weird the category started this year and not somewhere more appropriate like 1999 or 2000), Monsters Inc towers over the competition. Shrek and then Jimmy Neutron follow.
And that's our Animated Feature film race. In the premiere battle for this category, do you want to go on an adventure with Shrek, Donkey, & Oscar, or join Sully, Mike, & myself? Do you like the concept of this category given the relatively limited number of films that are eligible each year? And was it Waking Life or Atlantis that was in fourth place in 2001? Share your thoughts below!
Also in 2001: Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Score, Original Song, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously in 2001
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