by Nathaniel R
It seems almost cruel to begin a new year of Oscar punditry with Best Animated Feature since the hot trailer of the moment is Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, which probably won't be eligible. The film combines live action with its endearing stop-motion and that's mostly a no-no. The only film we remember that's been deemed eligible that did that was The Lego Movie though it's live-action section was extremely brief (and it's worth noting that it was a surrprise snub in the end).
Already in the year one possibly major Oscar contender has emerged with Pixar's Turning Red though it will face stiff in-house competition with the release of Toy Story prequel Lightyear in the summer. After the jump a preview of Animated Features coming our way in 2022. Which of them will delight the Academy...
LISTED BY RELEASE DATE
But release dates are forever subject to change
April 22nd THE BAD GUYS
Dreamworks latest is about criminal animals who decide to become heroes.
May 27th BOB'S BURGERS: THE MOVIE
The only thing we know about this one is that the Belchers are trying to save their restaurant from a sinkhole forming in front of it. The series is often endearing and hilarious. But Oscar gives the side-eye to movie spinoffs of TV series or specials even when they're hits or acclaimed like The Simpson's Movie of Peanuts Movie.
June 17th LIGHTYEAR
Oscar voters have never failed to honor the Toy Story franchise so this is the safest Oscar nomination bet sight unseen. Finding Dory's director Angus Maclane helms this spin-off feature which is a prequel about Buzz Lightyear's adventure. Chris Evans takes over the voice duties from Tim Allen who voiced Buzz from 1995 through 2014.
June 24th MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON
From A24. But will it be eligible or will it have too much live-action? If you've never seen the original short film which introduced Marcel to the world, you must. Jenny Slate again voices our tiny thoughtful lonely shell.
July 1st MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU
This franchise has been very successful for Illumination and Universal but only one of them has landed an Oscar nod (Despicable Me 2). There's little reason why they'd change their tune on a sixth entry in the franchise in a 13 year stretch.
July 8th THE SEA BEAST
First announced four years back this feature comes from Chris Williams who won his Oscar for Big Hero 6 (2014). He's co-directed four different nominees in this category (though strangely he has only two nominations himself) so they may well like this one.
© Paramount
July 15th PAWS OF FURY
A trailer for Paramount's Paws of Fury, which was originally titled Blazing Samurai, is due on April 11th. It's loosely based on Blazing Saddles and is about a dog becoming sheriff (Michael Cera's voice) in a town populated only by cats and run by evil cat (Ricky Gervais). The samurai of the original title is an giant orange tabby voiced by Samuel L Jackson.
July 29th DC LEAGUE OF SUPER PETS
Originally announced for May this was pushed back to end of July. Krypto the Super-Dog (Super-Man's best friend) leads a team of animals to rescue the Justice League.
© Apple TV+
Aug 5th LUCK
This feature comes from Skydance animation (where John Lasseter moved after being ousted from Pixar) for Paramount and Apple TV+. The director is Peggy Holmes who has previously helmed direct to video films about the Little Mermaid and Tinkerbell. The concept sounds fun as its about secret societies that control the good and bad luck in the world. Jane Fonda voices the dragon you see in the image above. (Lot of dragons in animated movies lately!)
Sept 23rd PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH
A sequel no one asked for eleven whole years after the original? Well, okay. Why not. Antonio Banderas returns to voice Puss.
October 7th SPIDER-MAN ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE PART 1
The original film took everyone by surprise with its fascinating mishmash style of CG mixed with more linear comic book art and graphic design sensibilities and it ended up winning the Oscar. This one will have to work much much harder to be a "surprise" in any way. Oscar tends to be finicky about animated sequels outside of the Toy Story franchise so it's not a sure bet. The three directors of Into the Spider-Verse aren't here this time and the directing falls to: Joaquim Dos Santos (The Legend of Korra), Kemp Powers (Soul), and Justin Thompson (directorial debut).
© Apple TV+
Nov 11th SPELLBOUND
This one is a magical princess musical but it's not from Disney. Vicky Jenson directs this feature for Apple TV+ and Paramount. Jenson previously co-directed Shrek (2001) and Shark Tale (2004) though she hasn't directed another animated film since up until now! The big selling point here, before we have a trailer, is that Rachel Zegler is voicing the princess.
© Disney
Nov 23rd STRANGE WORLD
Disney vet Don Hall won his Oscar for Big Hero Six (2014) but was nominated this past season again for Raya and the Last Dragon. He returns with another action adventure fantasy this one about a family of explorers. Disney has generally had less success with this genre than their princess musicals or comic animal pictures but they're trying again.
December PINOCCHIO
Guillermo Del Toro's stop-motion version of the classic tale will be released in December (though no specific date has been named). One problem it might have is Pinocchio overload since Robert Zemeckis's live action version of the oft-filmed story arrives in September. Pinocchio, like Peter Pan, is in the public domain which is why there are so many wooden boys dreaming of being the real thing. Del Toro's sensibilities seem like a great match for both this story and for the stop-motion style so we hope it's wonderful.
Currently their release dates are unknown
MY FATHER'S DRAGON
Cartoon Saloon has never missed a nomination when they've made a feature (though there's only been four of them to date) so this is one to keep a close eye on. The director is Nora Twomey who helmed The Breadwinner. The Irish animation house specializes in traditional animation and their taste level in terms of aesthetic is truly remarkable. This one is based on the bestselling children's books by Ruth Stiles Gannett. No promotional images have surfaced but Cartoon Saloon is partnering with Netflix for the first time for this one.
WENDELL & WILD
Another stop motion adventure. So nice to have more variety in animation styles this year. This movie comes from the great Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas). A few noisy teases have made their way online like the snippet above (which is mostly just samples from the soundtrack). Keegan-Michael Key & Jordan Peele reunite to voice the titular duo who are demon brothers. Another film that Netflix hasn't dated. One assumes they're trying to decided which animation films goes where based on which film they think will be their Oscar ticket next season.
Other animated films?
That's only about 17 possibilities. But the eligibility list is usually around 25+. The international titles are harder to track because they have to get US distribution first and/or manage qualifying runs. One major possibility is the fantasy epic called The Deer King which GKids will distribute in the US, a directorial debut for Masashi Ando who worked on animated classics like Princess Mononoke and Paprika. More possibilities are listed on the chart as well...