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Up, Pixar's latest masterpiece, is a lock for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.
Leading up to this year's Academy Awards on March 7, critic Christopher Kelly discusses which films and actors he thinks deserve to take Oscar gold in the major categories.
Today: Best Animated Feature
The nominees: The Princess and the Frog (John Musker and Ron Clements); Coraline (Henry Selick); The Secret of Kells (Tomm Moore); Up (Pete Docter); The Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson)
If Chris chose the winner: Up
When I walked out of the funny and heart-piercing animated comedy Up last April, I couldn’t imagine how I would see a better film all year, whether for grown-ups or children. Alas, it turned out to be a very good year. Still, I’d cheer loudly if Up proved to be the surprise victor in the Best Picture category.
For one thing, the Best Animated Film Oscar -- which Pixar has dominated for the past decade -- is a ghetto that makes it too easy to dismiss the achievements of animated filmmakers as something “lesser.” For another, Pixar’s work since 1995 -- from the Toy Story picture, to Finding Nemo, to The Incredibles, to Ratatouille -- has been so groundbreaking, so original and so consistently wonderful, that it’s high-time to acknowledge the studio with the biggest Oscar prize of them all.
