2011 Big Screen Animation Awards—Introduction

It can't be denied: 2011 was a unique year for animation. For the first time in ages, Pixar's release was not met with universal acclaim; live action directors Gore Verbinski and Steven Spielberg made waves with Rango and The Adventures of Tintin, respectively.

This month, I'll be sharing my picks for the best animation achievements of last year in the 1st Annual Big Screen Animation Awards. (I concede the nomenclature is a tiny bit megalomaniacal.)

Presented here is a list of the 2011 animated films I've seen (yes, there were a few I missed), from which winners will be drawn. Festival or limited releases during the calendar year are marked with an asterisk.

Features

The Adventures of Tintin 

Cars 2 

Kung Fu Panda 2

A Monster in Paris (Un monstre à Paris)*

Rango 

Rio

Winnie the Pooh

Shorts

Air Mater

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore*
Hawaiian Vacation
La Luna*

Pythagasaurus*

Sunday (Dimanche)*

Small Fry

Wild Life*

Six categories, and contenders in each, will be announced next Tuesday, February 7. After some rewatching, I'll reveal my final selections on Sunday, February 12.

Which films will win? And for what? The results may enrage you.

2011 Oscar Nominated Shorts Heading to Theatres

ShortsHD is teaming up with Magnolia Pictures to bring the 2011 Oscar nominated short films to over 200 screens across the United States and Canada beginning February 10.

The shorts will be divided up into Animation, Live Action and Documentary programmes. (Check with your local theatres in the coming days for dates and showtimes.)

Following the theatrical release, the films (no doubt excluding Pixar's La Luna) will be released on the iTunes Store on Feb. 21 in the US, Canada, UK, and other countries.

I've already seen all of the animated shorts online, except for A Morning Stroll, but I have my ticket to see them again on the big screen at the awesome TIFF Bell Lightbox here in Toronto. La Luna alone is worth the price of admission.

New Short: The Last Belle

The 2011 Oscars aren't even behind us yet, and we're already starting to see some of the 2012 crop of short films. One of them is The Last Belle, directed by Neil Boyle.

A rarity these days, every frame was hand painted on cels and shot on traditional film stock. Boyle is proud to point out that Belle was in production for a total of fifteen years, though it was squeezed in between his 'paid' work.

Boyle tells me that "the film was always a kind of holiday for us, done purely for the love of it. It felt like an antidote to the more hi-tech work we produce commercially."

After seeing the trailer a couple of weeks ago on Cartoon Brew, I asked the producers if there was a way I could see Belle early and they were kind enough to trust me with a DVD screener.

The story is simple enough: boyfriendless woman makes a date with guy she met—sans photo—online. Man is an unkempt, drunken idiot. He doesn't arrive on time, of course, and yet she still finds love.

To me, the real star of the short is its setting, London. The Tube stations, crowded DLR train, and drab buildings outside the city centre are all beautifully done and remarkably authentic.

This likely won't be the last time you hear about The Last Belle. The film is looking for distribution and will be entered into festivals worldwide this year. Announcements will be posted on the short's official blog.

84th Academy Awards Nominations

Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced this morning by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California.

The nominees for Best Animated Feature Film are:

• A Cat in Paris

• Chico & Rita

• Kung Fu Panda 2

• Puss in Boots

• Rango

Contending in the Animated Short FIlm category are:

• Dimanche (Sunday)

• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

• La Luna

• A Morning Stroll

• Wild Life

The Adventures of Tintin is nominated for Original Score, while "Real in Rio" from Rio is nominated for Original Song. (In the latter category, The Muppets is a lock to win for "Man or Muppet".)

The Academy's choices for Animated Feature this year are enormously wrong. I wouldn't have been surprised to see Cars 2 fail to make the cut (though it deserved the recognition), but to see Tintin ignored as well comes as a shock.

Something tells me that the members of the Animation Branch were none too pleased with the film's motion/performance capture technique. Poor Weta.

I would say that Rango has the best chance of winning now, but at this point nothing would shock me. In the animated short slot, nominees are less of a surprise. I've seen all but one of the films online—none should beat Pixar's La Luna.

The 84th Academy Awards presentation takes place on Sunday, February 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. It will be televised live on ABC in the United States beginning at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT. Check local listings for international broadcast schedules.

'Tintin' Takes Home Producers Guild Prize

Producers Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, and Steven Spielberg won the animation prize at the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards last night for The Adventures of Tintin.

The recognition from the Producers Guild of America comes less than a week the film's success at the Golden Globes. These two wins significantly boost Tintin's chances at the Academy Awards next month.

Oscar nominations will be announced this Tuesday at 8:30 AM ET. Check back here and @BigScreenToons on Twitter for the latest animation-themed coverage.