April Foolish Predix Pt 1: The Toons!
Thursday, April 16, 2020 at 10:30AM by Nathaniel R
Last year's animation race proved, just as we predicted, that the Academy's animated branch will only put up with a couple of sequels in any given year. For 2020 that wasn't going to be an issue as the scheduling wasn't sequel heavy. But then COVID-19 happened and there's a whole new set of issues. The release schedules of everything got pushed back -- the latest calendar shuffle is that Pixar's Soul is power-walking to Thanksgiving week where it will replace Disney's Raya and the Dragon, now pushed to 2021...
The latter is a good move for Raya given that that all-star Asian cast movie about a kid and a dragon was previously slated to go nearly head-to-head with Sony's Wish Dragon, another all-star Asian voice cast film about a kid and their dragon! That's great news for Sony, too, if Wish Dragon plays well.
Sony has only won this category once (for the deserving Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) so they're surely salivating for another triumph. Nevertheless Academy history proclaims that this race is always Pixar's to lose. They've won just over 50% of the time. Which means that Soul (co-directed by two-time winner in this category, Pete Docter) is already the movie to beat. We're hoping (sight unseen of course so who we're rooting for is subject to change) that this is the year when Cartoon Saloon can strike and finally win via Wolfwalkers. That Irish animation studio has, just like Laika (another perennial loser in the category), never missed a nomination and never achieved a win, despite all of their films being of very high quality.
"Soul" strolling to a November release.
But... again... COVID-19. Who knows what will even be eligible this year?
Though we haven't actually had a year with only three Best Animated Feature nominees in a full ten years (the last time was 2010 with three win-worthy contenders: The Illusionist and How To Train Your Dragon both lost to Toy Story 3), we're predicting for now that it's about to happen again. Sixteen eligible films will trigger a five-wide race but will we get there this year? At this juncture we're guessing no. But here are the predictions...
Reader Comments (9)
I know this is only tangentially related, but what do you think the roster of that "Princess-Vengers" thing Disney is clearly planning is going to look like? My expectation, chronologically:
Belle
Rapunzel
Vanellope
Elsa
Moana
Raya & Sisu
(And we have to know they're planning that: No way them releasing SEVEN PRINCESS MOVIES in a decade is just a coincidence. Now, I'm also hoping (if Disney, say, picks up Hazbin Hotel to replace the dead horse that is Family Guy over on Fox), that Charlie Magne has a place at that table.)
I actually thought Onward was top tier Pixar and think it would be a shame if it got snubbed.
I've been thinking about the fact that we'll probably see 3 nominees.
It's funny how much, no matter what the situation, a small part of my brain wonders how it will impact the Oscars.
Count me in the group of Onward's fans. Such a pleasant surprise. Funny and touching! It's a weird movie but cute!
Thank you for these April Foolish predictions Nat. For me, they are "normalcy" and when I saw the headline I got a little choked up (with happiness). These are a nice reminder that life goes on and so will we.
I'm with Travis. My yearly calendar revolves around Nate's April Foolish predictions and The Film Bitch Awards. Everything else can suck it.
The Academy will change the rules so that if five animated features get released this year, they can all be nominated!
Seriously, I think the Academy will allow eligibility for films released to streaming while cinemas are closed. Maybe that captive audience for TROLLS WORLD TOUR will boost it to a nomination!
I note also that the Sony trailer for CONNECTED boasts that it's from the 'visionary minds behind the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse'.
Travis & Drew -- awww. thanks guys.
You are so welcome. Once the next Smackdown and Seasons of Bette editions come out it will feel like the deepest freshest breath.