OVP: Best Animated Feature Film (2017)
The Nominees Were...
Tom McGrath & Ramsey Naito, The Boss Baby
Nora Twomey & Anthony Leo, The Breadwinner
Lee Unkrich & Darla K. Anderson, Coco
Carlos Saldanha & Lori Forte, Ferdinand
Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, & Ivan Mactaggart, Loving Vincent
My Thoughts: We are already to the back-half of our nominees for 2017, and with that we're going into an Animated Feature Film list. I will say that (this is unrelated to today, but is worth remembering) I officially hit every single Animated Feature film nominee in terms of viewing this year, so not only have I seen every film nominated in this category to date, but by end-of-year we will actually have done every single writeup for the OVP (to date) for this category. Today we're going to get into one of the last truly creative lineups that Oscar came up with for this category, which in recent years has basically just became a default for whatever Disney put out.
Our one Disney film is Pixar's Coco, which is a total triumph and one of the best films that Pixar has made...for my money, it is the only movie that Pixar has made in the last decade that approaches its Golden Age hue from 2007-2010. Totally imaginative in its approach to animation, with vibrant oranges, purples, & pinks, it also has a central story that is lovely AND a fantastic musical component that has never been done so well in a Pixar movie. Though it didn't move as much merchandise as Frozen or Cars, this is why people come back to Disney and find it special (despite its VERY problematic politics)-it's because sometimes it's blissful magic.
It's clear that Blue Sky was trying to get at that with Ferdinand, the closest they've come to straight up just copying Disney in terms of their bright animation choices & toy-friendly drawings (usually Blue Sky had a bit more creativity with its design even if it didn't always work). John Cena is a decent comedian, and is a natural fit for Ferdinand, but the supporting cast fails to impress. Kate McKinnon's goat is no Dory, and the screenplay doesn't flesh out enough of the non-Ferdinand characters for my taste (plus, the sound mixing is bad). It's cute...it's just not Oscar-worthy.
Speaking of cute but not Oscar-worthy, let's not forget about The Boss Baby, though I think it'd be a good idea if we did. No amount of perfect casting (Alec Baldwin as a big baby seems, well, apt) will get past this being a messy vehicle for an interesting character that was meant to (and did indeed) launch a franchise. The Boss Baby is about as good of an argument to only include three nominees in this field as you could find, as it's just "fine," but it gets to stand alongside movies like Howl's Moving Castle and The Illusionist as a runner-up thanks to Oscar greedily insisting that each year has five truly special animated features.
Loving Vincent is proof, though, that this category can do some good. Obviously only nominated in this category (unlike Coco), the movie is filled with gorgeous, almost impossible imagery. The world's first (and surely only) fully-painted film (done over 1000 different canvasses), it is a wonder to behold. Gorgeous animation, melding both the jaw-dropping (there are scenes people in my theater literally gasped when we suddenly saw famous Van Gogh recreations brought-to-life) and the subtle (the odes to some of the voice actors like Aidan Turner & Douglas Booth in the way they depict van Gogh's life is eye-catching). The central story is generally a yawn (we all know the story of van Gogh, and even with a fresh "mystery" spin it feels known), but you won't care with animation this pretty.
The Breadwinner is a movie that works better in theory than in practice. Beautiful animation yet again (the teal, scarlet, & emerald combination is a winner), but it falls a bit with the story. I liked the way that a lot of the story is unspoken (notice how they never actually mention the United States in the lead up to the war in Afghanistan), but the inclusion of magical realism takes away from some of the grounded measures they portray in how women are treated in a society where they are completely dependent on men to provide food & money. After 15+ years at this point of the Oscars, it feels like the "prestige drama animation" slot that happens nearly every year was getting a bit dull, which is the case with the handsome-but-fine Breadwinner.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Globes went with the exact same lineup as Oscar, with Coco coming out the winner while BAFTA went with Coco as their winner against Loving Vincent and My Life as a Courgette, which wasn't eligible for the Oscar in 2017 as it had been nominated the year before. In terms of sixth place, then, I don't know if it's more likely that we'd have Despicable Me 3 (the first one was skipped, the second one wasn't) or if they'd gone for another prestige indie like The Big Bad Fox...given that the fifth slot went with Boss Baby, I think the movie that printed money is a more likely scenario.
Films I Would Have Nominated: The first snub for The Lego Movie was one of the biggest shocks (if not THE biggest shock) in the history of the category, so it's not surprising that The Lego Batman Movie couldn't land the plane in 2017 for a nomination. But it's a pity, as both movies are meta-delights, and Lego Batman manages to even make the Bruce Wayne saga feel fresh-and-new.
Films I Would Have Nominated: The first snub for The Lego Movie was one of the biggest shocks (if not THE biggest shock) in the history of the category, so it's not surprising that The Lego Batman Movie couldn't land the plane in 2017 for a nomination. But it's a pity, as both movies are meta-delights, and Lego Batman manages to even make the Bruce Wayne saga feel fresh-and-new.
Oscar’s Choice: With a field this comparatively weak, even if Pixar hadn't played its big guns it probably would've won...employing something as critically-acclaimed as Coco, there was no doubt.
My Choice: Yeah, Coco for sure-even the gorgeous animation of Loving Vincent (who would've been a unique & worthy winner) can't stand a chance against the best animated film of the 2010's. Behind them both is Ferdinand, Breadwinner, and Boss Baby.
And that's our Animated Feature film race. Does anyone want to stick their nose out for anyone other than Coco, or should we just move on? Why do you think the Lego franchise never caught on with the Oscars? And was it Despicable Me or Big Bad Fox just around the corner? Share your thoughts below!
No comments:
Post a Comment