Watch Out Wall•E: Here Comes Ponyo

Every year there is much debate about who will win what at the Oscars. Whether it be for actors, songs, or Best Picture, the debate goes on and on. One of the few categories that is pretty easy to properly predict every year is the Best Animated Film category. Not only is this award easy to predict because Pixar wins it most of the time, but also because there's rarely enough quality animated films to warrant getting nominated. Last year "Ratatouille" was a sure bet, and so far people are saying "Wall•E" is the sure winner.



I admit that I was one of the people who felt this way. I mean, once you see movies like "Space Chimps" and "Fly Me To The Moon" you don't exactly feel threatened by the so-called "competition." However I forgot about "Ponyo on the Cliff."



Now I have to admit something: I have no idea what this movie is about. Watching the trailer didn't help one bit (and it's not because of the language barrier). But it has something going for it: Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is one of the few giants in animation. Like Akira Kurosawa, his films are universally popular and people will watch his movies just because he made them. The thing about the movie is that I'm not sure which year it will be elegable for the Oscars. Chances are Disney will give the film a limited theatrical release near the end of this year. Or they can hold off on it until next year. Either way it goes, this film is likely to be one of the front runners for the Oscar race, and can prove another surprise (Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" beat out the far more popular "Lilo & Stitch" for the gold).