It’s Oscar Time! Animation Smackdown!
February 16th 2009 02:08
OK, I know that none of this year’s nominees for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature are animes, but you can’t expect me to pass up the chance to put in my own two cents, can you?
To recap, the nominees are: Bolt, WALL-E, and Kung Fu Panda. All have a lot going for them in terms of animation and story, but there can be only one winna.
Which one should win?
Bolt is a fun, heart-warming story. It’s somewhat unoriginal (the cute talking animals trying to make their way home), but the TV super hero angle is a nice twist. Kung Fu Panda is funny with an all-star cast and lots of action, although it is rather predictable (I mean, the scene where the Furious Five take on Tai-Lung was spectacular, but did anyone not know that they were going down?). WALL-E is fun, romantic, and creative. It takes some good writing to tell a story when the main character doesn’t speak, and the female lead only speaks in single words. Being an amateur writer myself, it really won me over. Add in the sci-fi element and the dual message of environmental awareness and (literally) standing on your own two feet, and WALL-E is the best, hands down.
Which one will win?
That one’s a little tougher. The smart money’s on WALL-E, but it is just possible that Kung Fu Panda will pull off an upset. The big winner at the Annie Awards (the Oscars for animation films) has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in almost every year since the category was first introduced, and this year’s big winner was … Kung Fu Panda. Both movies did very well at the box office, and Panda also had the more well-known cast, all of which make it competitive. On the other hand, the one time the Annies didn’t predict the Oscar winner was in 2007, the year the environmentally-themed Happy Feet won over Annie-winner Cars. This time, enough voters may (and probably will) once again vote for the message film to put WALL-E over the top. So, my prediction, with the aforementioned caveats? WALL-E rolls away with the gold.
To recap, the nominees are: Bolt, WALL-E, and Kung Fu Panda. All have a lot going for them in terms of animation and story, but there can be only one winna.
Which one should win?
Bolt is a fun, heart-warming story. It’s somewhat unoriginal (the cute talking animals trying to make their way home), but the TV super hero angle is a nice twist. Kung Fu Panda is funny with an all-star cast and lots of action, although it is rather predictable (I mean, the scene where the Furious Five take on Tai-Lung was spectacular, but did anyone not know that they were going down?). WALL-E is fun, romantic, and creative. It takes some good writing to tell a story when the main character doesn’t speak, and the female lead only speaks in single words. Being an amateur writer myself, it really won me over. Add in the sci-fi element and the dual message of environmental awareness and (literally) standing on your own two feet, and WALL-E is the best, hands down.
Which one will win?
That one’s a little tougher. The smart money’s on WALL-E, but it is just possible that Kung Fu Panda will pull off an upset. The big winner at the Annie Awards (the Oscars for animation films) has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in almost every year since the category was first introduced, and this year’s big winner was … Kung Fu Panda. Both movies did very well at the box office, and Panda also had the more well-known cast, all of which make it competitive. On the other hand, the one time the Annies didn’t predict the Oscar winner was in 2007, the year the environmentally-themed Happy Feet won over Annie-winner Cars. This time, enough voters may (and probably will) once again vote for the message film to put WALL-E over the top. So, my prediction, with the aforementioned caveats? WALL-E rolls away with the gold.
| 36 |
| Vote |



















