The Alternative Animated Oscars Pt. 2

Wednesdays and Sundays in December I will be looking at the Animated Oscars. What was nominated, what was overlooked, and what would be my nominations and winner?

This process of looking over each year has been surprising to me. First of all I have been surprised how often I agreed with the best animated winner. Only 11 times did I disagree, and only twice did I feel the winner did not deserve to be nominated at all. I would often find myself thinking of the cultural impact or the effect on animated films historically, so it isn’t always my favorite. For instance in the Part One I would be much more likely to rewatch Monsters Inc. than Shrek, but believed Shrek to be the more impactful film. With that in mind, here are my opinions on the Oscar races from 2007 to 2009.

2007

The three movies nominated in 2007 were Surf’s Up, Persepolis and the winner was Ratatouille. 

Surf’s Up  is... better than you think it will be. Following the previous year's nomination of Happy Feet, Surf’s up rides the wave of the mid 2000’s Penguin-mania. Surf’s up is the better movie mostly because it realizes how ridiculous it is and heightens the humor and absurdity. Having it be a mockumentary is a crucial benefit to the narrative, and mixing CGI with live action helps it stand apart from the other 3D films flooding the multiplexes. It’s little more than a pleasant distraction, but it’s worth some chuckles.  

Persepolis is based on Marjane Satrapi's memoir. This autobiographical film follows Marjane as she comes of age during the Iranian revolution and follows her through her life traveling to Vienna and back to Iran. The art mirrors the black and white style of the comic and it striking. The story is unafraid to show Marjene's complete personality, scars and all. This includes homelessness, suicidal attempts, and mental illness. She’s also quite rebellious and admirable. It's ultimately a story of survival and a great film.  

Whenever I see Ratatouille I am surprised how simple and elegant the story is. Director Brad Bird is a master at creating little moments and understanding how to connect the characters to the audience. Whether its rat Remy cooking a little omelet, Chef Alfredo slumping his shoulders, or critic Anton Ego reverting to his childhood, we recognize the personality at the center of this fantastical story. By now it was already easy to take the technical wizardry of Pixar for granted, but what Bird creates is magic.   

For Your Consideration (Not nominated, but deserve a look) 

5 cm per second is an early feature by Makoto Shinkai, and he is starting to develop the tropes of his work that would become his signature. Made up of three smaller stories roughly based around the theme of coincidence and one central character, 5 cm per second is romantic, tragic, and sublime. It did win some major awards in Asia, and is interesting in retrospect, but the three stories are uneven in quality. I think it is better than most movies here, but still an early work and mostly interesting because it showcases undeveloped qualities Shinkai would develop in later movies. 

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone is a retelling of the first 6 episodes of the iconic Evangelion T.V. show, and the first part of a retelling of the Evangelion saga (also known as the Rebuild series). It is difficult to imagine seeing this without the original series, however it is a fantastically animated movie that delves into the psychology of its protagonist and explores issues of trauma and fear. The original movie The End of Evangelion was a punishing, angry, extreme case study made by an animator in turmoil. This movie is comparatively more straightforward entertainment, but it does go to strange places later. It might be an interesting nomination just to acknowledge its place in animation history, but it is also too eccentric for the academy.      

It’s difficult to get over the dated CGI of Meet The Robinsons, but if you can then you will find a story of surprising depth and quirkiness. The criticism of the animation was completely fair. It looked terrible in 2007 (a reminder this was the same year as Ratatouille). The punchiness of the script is the reason to watch this movie. The inventiveness of the science fiction and the way the movie builds to stranger and hilarious levels is why people keep rediscovering this movie.  

The complaint about The Simpson’s Movie is that it’s just a pretty good longer episode of the show. The justification about The Simpson’s Movie is that it’s just a pretty good longer episode of the show. Both opinions are correct. 

Sword of the Stranger is an epic and violent Ronin story with parallels to Lone Wolf and Cub (If cub was an older child). It’s strange that there aren’t more samurai anime given how spirited and thrilling this movie is. It gets murky with some of the political intrigue and there’s a 5-star film in here if they edited out some of the flabbier bits.  Those are minor quibbles in a tremendous entertainment. Any fan of action or samurai films should search this one out, and it’s the sort of movie the academy should honor. 

My Nominees and Winner (from least to most deserving)  

5 cm per Second 

Meet The Robinsons 

Sword of the Stranger 

Persepolis 

While Persepolis would also be a worthy winner, I agree that the Oscar should go to the insanely enjoyable Ratatouille. 

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2008 

The Three movies nominated this year are Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, and the winner is Wall-E. 

One really needs to wonder what academy members saw in Bolt that made it stand out from the pack. It has a pretty funny hamster sidekick I suppose, but by now 95% of American mainstream animation had the cute sassy sidekick, and the animation is serviceable, but while not terrible Bolt is generic and average in every way.   

Kung Fu Panda on the other hand raises the stakes and is far more ambitious than most mainstream animated movies at the time. It’s funkier, funnier, tighter, and has propulsive action set pieces. Jack Black is perfectly used as Poe, and the movie actually has a sense of danger appropriate for kids. Kung Fu Panda should not only be thought of as one of the great animated movies, but also one of the great action movies of the year. 

Wall-E is my favorite Pixar movie. It still looks incredible and the choice to go (mostly) wordless for the first half makes the film feel unique. There is a lot of discussion that the film becomes lesser during the second half because it becomes more generic. Maybe, but that second half is still completely engaging. Wall E and Eve are entirely charming and the environmental message of the movie only becomes sadly more relevant with each passing year.  

For Your Consideration (Not nominated, but deserve a look) 

$9.99 is a stop motion film based on several short stories by Israeli author Etgar Keret. It’s a very down to earth drama about a man who picks up a book for $9.99 that claims to give the meaning of life, and him spreading the word to other people in his apartment complex. The framing structure is really an excuse to tell several lowkey human stories. It would be on the edge of nomination for me; however, I appreciate the movie more than I enjoy it.  I found the stories too inconsequential and the message preachy. I am glad I watched it. 

Idiots and Angels is a film by the distinctive Bill Plympton, the independent animator who was a forerunner of the alternative animation era in the early 1990s (he was a regular fixture on Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt's  “Animation Show”). I do feel that his work is best in shorts and he suffers with long form narratives. His best films are often a series of shorts loosely tied together by the flimmsiest of plots.  Idiots and Angels is the best of his late period films, and I enjoy it in spurts, but I would recommend watching his wacky shorts or earlier movies like The Tune, or I married a strange person.  

Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa is a shocking improvement over the first movie, and the reason why is the animators just packed it with jokes. The jokes are constant and the hit rate is very high. Often there are several happening at once, and don't worry if one doesn’t work another one is on the way, and the variety of jokes – slapstick, puns, character moments – gives the movie momentum. The rest of the Madagascar series is average at best, but this one will delight you. It aims to do one thing and it does it well. 

Only in the career of Hayao Miyazaki could Ponyo be considered a minor effort. All hand drawn, often using colored pencils and crayons for the background, Ponyo is pure comfort food, almost like her favorite HAM! Adults who get hung up on the loose narrative or the ending need to watch this with a kid. Kids don’t get hung up on the logic and they get that little Sosuke and Ponyo love each other as friends or adopted siblings. This retelling of the little mermaid deserves a nomination.  

I know that there is some controversy and I profess some cultural ignorance, but to me Nina Paley’s Sita Signs the Blues is one of the totemic independent animations of this century. It combines the Ramayana with the story of Paley’s divorce, and she combines the personal with the profane with Bollywood and 1920s style musical numbers. Combining so many animation techniques and cultural references it makes Spider Verse look like Scooby Doo, the work of Nina Paley deserves further discussion.  

Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary and autobiography by Ari Folman. When Ari was a soldier at 19 he witnessed a massacre in the Lebanese war. He completely suppressed the memory due to post traumatic stress. This movie is him interviewing people about the war and about the massacre. This includes fellow friends and other soldiers, as well as psychologists who deal with PTSD. The movie shows their stories and illustrates their inner thoughts through animation. As you might imagine some scenes are disturbing. It's also personal in a way rarely seen in film.  It not being nominated is a stain on the academy. 

My Nominees and Winner (from least to most deserving)  

Ponyo 

Sita signs the Blues 

Kung Fu Panda 

Waltz with Bashir 

It’s a toss-up with Waltz with Bashir, but Wall E to me is the pinnacle of Pixar. I’d give the Oscar to Wall E.  

 2009 

The movies nominated this year are Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and The Frog, The Secret of Kells, and the winner is Up. 

Coraline is Henry Sellick’s best movie. It has a memorable central performance grounding a ghost story with just the right amount of menace. The art design is even more sublime than in The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s a modern sophisticated fairy tale for those willing to experience something slightly sinister.   

The Fantastic Mr. Fox manages to work equally as a mischievous Rohl Dahl story, a erratic stop motion film, and a wry Wes Anderson movie. Like all his movies every scene is immaculate, and the magic trick is the easiness the movie sustains. The Fox, voiced with oozing charm by George Clooney, is simultaneously bumbling and erratic, and this heist movie is always supported by a good gag or offhand joke.  

The Princess and the Frog is significant for several reasons. It was the first Disney film to star a black princess, and also the last Disney hand drawn film. Given the importance of both those things they gave the movie to co-directing legends Musker and Clements. The result is a fairly entertaining movie that was pretty much met with a collective shrug from the audience.  The movie is pretty good and since representation matters, I wish I thought it was better. The Jazzy and Bluesy soundtrack adds some extra oomph, but the story beats feel well-trodden. 

The Secret of Kells is the first of Cartoon Saloons Irish Folklore Trilogy. They are three independent movies linked by being strongly tied to Celtic folk tales. The first thing you notice is the design work referencing medieval manuscripts. Cartoon Saloon makes some of the most beguiling movies ever. There are some frightening scenes, but none more than Disney movies.  The biggest issue is the way the black monk seen in parts of the film is drawn. It looks like the blackface you would see in older illustrations in the early 20th century. It's shocking to see imagery like that in a movie made in 2009. In interviews I have heard the filmmakers apologize and seem genuinely contrite. If you can get past that then the rest of the movie is a loving tribute to storytelling itself. 

Up is a movie that is often criticized for having a powerful opening and a weaker second half. While there are effective scenes throughout the film I do feel the unevenness, especially some of the tonal shifts in the third act.  It’s still a wonderful film but it does feel cobbled together. In such a strong year it would not win my Oscar and this feels like a win out of habit and an academy that will always check off next to Pixar. 

For Your Consideration (Not nominated, but deserve a look) 

I love the spirit of 9, about a crew of ragdolls in a post-apocalyptic world trying to survive. It feels like fan fiction in the best ways, gloriously geeky and made for 30 million.  It’s too slight of a story to sustain its runtime. The 10-minute short is more successful. I know that director Shane Acker has continued to work in Special Effects, but it would be cool to see more worlds made by him.   

The closet aesthetic comparison to A Town Called Panic I can think of is Robot Chicken, but it is much less of an obvious satire. A Town Called Panic tells the frantic misadventures of plastic toys Cowboy, Indian, and Horse. It’s surreal and crazy and hysterical. The stop motion is purposefully janky in this gleefully absurd film. It’s a true do it yourself wonder. It’s a little slight for a nomination (it’s really several shorts put together) but if you are in the mood for something unique and enjoyable it is recommended.       

The academy ignoring Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will not be the most brazen disrespect the academy shows to Christopher Miller and Phil Lord over time, but this film deserved more attention from critics. Miller and Lord made a career of taking ideas that people felt would not work on paper and making dazzling original works out of them. Even in a competitive year, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs surprises with its wit and ambition.   

Mai Mai Miracle is a lowkey coming of age anime about a girl who befriends another girl and together they help each other grow up. She also imagines a princess from the same area a thousand years ago, which parallels her life. Some light drama happens but for the most part the movie is gentle and quiet. There are hints of serious issues that are dealt with on the periphery of the story.  I love that in a world of fantasy and talking animals, simple animations like this can also tell poignant stories.   

They needed to fill the movie Redline with so much awesomesauce that it bankrupted the studio. Awesome outer space car races, awesome alien fights, awesome explosions, awesome Pompadour on the hero's head. It does have kind of a lame story concerning the mob honestly but it doesn't last long. There's also a romance of sorts that doesn't really work, but by then most of your brain will be turned off anyways. Many of the women are heavily sexualized and in one scene one woman is needlessly topless through the scene. It’s really a movie about fights and explosions. 

Summer Wars is a captivating character-based movie that combines family drama with War Games. It is a very inventive film that builds to a ludicrous crescendo. The villain is a little cliche and the second act does lose some dramatic momentum before building to the crescendo, but this combination of family get together melodrama with science fiction intrigue is cracking entertainment. 

My Nominees and Winner (from least to most deserving) 

Redline 

Mary and Max 

Secret of Kells 

Coraline 

The amount of classic animated films in 2009 is astonishing.  The movies just outside my top 5 would easily be nominated most other years. I would give the award to Fantastic Mr. Fox. 

On Sunday December 15th we continue Oscar month exploring the years 2010 to 2012. Please consider subscribing.