Jan 13, 2023

5 animation features that Academy voters should not miss this award season.

This year's favorite to win an Oscar nomination for best animated feature has been largely nailed for some time now.

The experts and prognosticators who are to predict these kinds of things are Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, the Red, Marcel Shell in Shoes, the Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as a Rock to be announced on Tuesday the 24th, Wendell & Wilde, The Minion: The Rise of the Gru, the Lightyear...

It seems to be well written about these films, but we were written about these films.Spotlight some of our other favorites that belong to the conversation. Listed in alphabetical order below, we make the case for 5 films that should not be overlooked as the awards season continues to roll together.

The Academy barely allowed the film to qualify for the Animated feature category at first, but after a swift and almost unanimous uproar within the creative community, the decision was reversed and Linklater's latest film became one of 27 films that could win 1 nomination. It's hard to say how much viewers have received this film, as it's released directly on Netflix and has little data, but it's one of the most reviewed animated features of 2022 by critics, and in Linklater's reputation, it's a sign of this world that it's likely to sneak a surprise nod.1 This is not an outside idea.

Apollo 10 1/2 is an animated retelling of the first Moon landing mission experienced through the parallel perspectives of the mission control team at the launch and a young child growing up in Houston, watching the launch from his living room. Though not explicitly autobiographical, the Houston-born Linklater drew heavily on his own experience as a film child, increasing the authenticity of the story in adulthood.

Perhaps most likely to get an Academy nod from this list, given that he was recently nominated for a Golden Globe, Inu-A-Lister was the first film to win an oscar. In 2022, Oh provided one of the most exciting viewing experiences in all of the feature animation 1. As the film passed the festival circuit, the crowd screamed, screamed, danced and danced along with energetic scores and thrilling concert sequences. Director Masaaki Yuasa is a rock star in the animated world whose work has won multiple awards around the world, though often overlooked by American audiences and award shows.

Inu-o is set in Japan in the Muromachi period after the Genpei War of 1180-1185. The film turns on the blind biwa player Tomona and the deformed exile Inu-oh (voiced by Avu-chan, the lead singer of the Japanese band Queen Bee). The duo are teaming up to fight the repressive censorship-loving authorities by hosting thrilling, choreographed rock concerts that fit more closely to the modern arena than any venue that existed at the time.

In feature animation, there are few more prestigious honors than Annecy Crystal. But winning at Annecy rarely leads to success at the Oscars, and it seems that Little Nicholas–Happy as Be, last year's best feature winner, will do so again. Despite overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics around the world, the award's predictors have not given most of this year's shots.

Little Nicholas, co-directed by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre, is aesthetically one of the most true book-to-screen adaptations I've seen in feature animation, and the work put in by the artist deserves special praise. Starting in a cafe on a picturesque street in Paris between Montmartre and Saint・Germain・des・Prés, the film features an animated version of the real・life cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempe and writer René Gosigny, the creator of Little Nicholas's book back in the late 1950s.They bring their precocious new characters to life in sketches and stories. The fictional story of Nicholas is woven into the real story of how Sempe and Goshinny became friends and colleagues who delighted French readers for many years.

Special Effects Master Phil Tippett's Horror Stop-motion Feature Production of Mad God began in the 1990s, and while the final product is not as hard to digest as other prestige films fighting for this year's nominations that are worth the long wait, it's a virtue that something easy to watch deserves recognition. The film is violent, dark and terrifying, and the tactile nature of stop-motion makes its over-the-top gore more impactful.

The story of the Mad God is simpler, but less effective than its execution. In the film, the masked assassin takes on a mission to destroy a demonic world occupied by violent and malicious monsters. Forget the dialogue, Tippett will allow his animation to talk and have a great effect. Among the eligible features of the year the movie is not as outlier as Mad God, and it's one of its biggest strengths.1

More stop motion - Yes, please. Oink (Knor in its native language) is a fascinating Dutch/Belgian film about a nine-year-old girl and a pig named Oink who is gifted to her from her grandfather. Directed by Mascha Halberstad, Oink looks to the surface like a colorful movie for kids to watch with their parents as they collectively aww with adorable creatures and characters. But it can not fool you. The film has a dark side that makes Roald Dahl and the Brothers Grimm proud.

Babs, the film's vegetarian protagonist, is gifted a piglet from her absent grandfather, a disgraced butcher who appears out of nowhere for her birthday. As family relationships become increasingly strained and the knife comes out, the story is not hurt at all by the inevitability of the actions of some characters, but the film probably takes a predictable turn. Oink may not have the wider appeal of big budget English features like Pinocchio or Wendell & Wilde, but it's artistic ambition and qualification