The Secret of Kells?

Surprised to see "The Secret of Kells" nominated for Best Animated Feature over "Ponyo" at the Annie Awards?  Yeah, me too.  Ever hear of this film?  Me neither.  Thankfully one Bing search showed me this trailer for the film:

I must admit that I'm intrigued.  Now the only question is why does it qualify for the Annie's this year and not next year when it's supposed to open?

37th Annie Award Nominations

And here are the nominations for the Annie Awards (this isn't looking good for "Ponyo"):

Best Animated Feature

• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — Sony Pictures Animation
• Coraline — Laika
• Fantastic Mr. Fox — 20th Century Fox
• The Princess and the Frog — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The Secret of Kells — Cartoon Saloon
• Up — Pixar Animation Studios

Best Home Entertainment Production

• Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas — Universal Animation Studios
• Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder — The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
  
• Green Latern: First Flight — Warner Bros. Animation
  
• Open Season 2 — Sony Pictures Animation
  
• SpongeBob vs. The Big One — Nickelodeon

Best Animated Short Subject

• Pups of Liberty — Picnic Pictures
• Robot Chicken: Star Wars 2.5 — ShadowMachine
• Santa, The Fascist Years — Plymptoons
• The Rooster, The Crocodile and The Night Sky — Barley Films
• The Story of Walls — Badmash Animation Studios

Best Animated Television Commercial

• Goldfish: In The Dark — Blur Studios, Inc.
• Idaho Lottery “Twiceland” — Acme Filmworks, Inc.
• McDonald's Nutty Trade — Blue Sky Studios
• Spanish Lottery “Deportees” — Acme Filmworks, Inc.
• The Spooning — Screen Novelties /Acne Media

Best Animated Television Production

• Glenn Martin, DDS — Tornante, Cuppa Coffee Studios & Rogers Communications
• Merry Madagascar — DreamWorks Animation
• Prep and Landing — ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The Simpsons — Gracie Films

Best Animated Television Production for Children

• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse — Disney Television Animation
• SpongeBob SquarePants — Nickelodeon
• The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack — Cartoon Network Studios
• The Mighty B! — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
• The Penguins of Madagascar — Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES___________________

Animated Effects

• Scott Cegielski “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• Alexander Feigin “9” — 9 L.L.C.
• Eric Froemling “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Tom Kluyskens “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation
• James Mansfield “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Television Production

• Mark Donald “B.O.B.'s Big Break” — DreamWorks Animation
• Mark Mitchell “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Kevan Shorey “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Tony Smeed “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Phillip To “Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space” — DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production

• Andreas Deja “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Eric Goldberg “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Travis Knight “Coraline” — Laika
• Daniel Nguyen “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Bruce Smith “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Television Production

• Bryan Arnett “The Mighty B! - Catatonic” — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
• Ben Balistreri “Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Craig Kellman “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Bill Schwab “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Feature Production

• Daniel Lopez Munoz “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Shane Prigmore “Coraline” — Laika
• Shannon Tindle “Coraline” — Laika

Directing in a Television Production

• Pam Cooke & Jansen Yee “American Dad: Brains, Brains & Automobiles” — 20th Century Fox/Fuzzy Door/Underdog
• Rob Fendler “Popzilla” — Animax
• John Infantino, J.G. Quintel “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack: Candy Casanova” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Bret Haaland “The Penguins of Madagascar - Launchtime” — Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation
• Jennifer Oxley “The Wonder Pets: Help The Monster” — Nickelodeon/Little Airplane Productions

Directing in a Feature Production

• Wes Anderson “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox
• Pete Docter “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Christopher Miller, Phil Lord “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation
• Hayao Miyazaki “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli
• Henry Selick “Coraline” — Laika

Music in a Television Production

• Michael Giacchino “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Kevin Kiner “Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Weapons Factory” — Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
• Guy Moon “The Fairly OddParents: “Wishology-The Big Beginning” — Nickelodeon

Music in a Feature Production

• Bruno Coulais “Coraline” — Laika
• Michael Giacchino “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Joe Hisaishi “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli
• John Powell “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” — Blue Sky Studios

Production Design in a Television Production

• Mac George “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Andy Harkness “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Janice Kubo “Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends” — Cartoon Network Studios

Production Design in a Feature Production

• Christopher Appelhans “Coraline” — Laika
• Ian Gooding “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Tadahiro Uesugi “Coraline” — Laika
• Christophe Vacher “9” — 9 L.L.C.

Storyboarding in a Television Production

• Sunil Hall “The Mighty B!: Catatonic” — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper
• Robert Koo “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Brandon Kruse “The Fairly OddParents: Fly Boy” — Nickelodeon
• Joe Mateo “Prep and Landing” — ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios Kite Productions
• Adam Van Wyk “The Spectacular Spider-Man: Final Curtain” — Culver Entertainment

Storyboarding in a Feature Production

• Sharon Bridgeman “Astro Boy” — Imagi Studios
• Chris Butler “Coraline” — Laika
• Ronnie Del Carmen “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Tom Owens “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• Peter Sohn “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios

Voice Acting in a Television Production

• Danny Jacobs - Voice of King Julien - “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Nicky Jones - Voice of Chowder - “Chowder: The Dinner Theatre” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Tom Kenny - Voice of SpongeBob - “SpongeBob SquarePants — Truth or Square” — Nickelodeon
• Dwight Schultz - Voice of Mung Daal - “Chowder:The Party Cruise” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Willow Smith - Voice of Abby - “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production

• Jen Cody - Voice of Charlotte - “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Dawn French - Voice of Miss Forcible - “Coraline” — Laika
• Hugh Laurie - Voice of Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. - “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• John Leguizamo - Voice of Sid - “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur” — Blue Sky Studios
• Jenifer Lewis - Voice of Mama Odie - “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Writing in a Television Production

• Daniel Chun - “The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX” — Gracie Films
• Kevin Deters, Stevie Wermers-Skelton - “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Valentina L. Garza - “The Simpsons: Four Great Women and a Manicure” — Gracie Films
• Billy Kimball and Ian Maxtone-Graham - “The Simpsons: Gone Maggie Gone” — Gracie Films
• Billy Lopez - “The Wonder Pets - Save the Honey Bears” — Nickelodeon Productions/Little Airplane Productions

Writing in a Feature Production

• Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach - “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox
• Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy - “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Timothy Hyde Harris and David Bowers - “Astro Boy” — Imagi Studios
• Christopher Miller and Phil Lord - “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation

JURIED AWARDS__________________________________

Winsor McCay Award — Tim Burton, Bruce Timm, Jeffrey Katzenberg

June Foray — Tom Sito

Ub Iwerks Award — William T. Reeves

Special Achievement — Martin Meunier and Brian McLean

Certificate of Merit — Myles Mikulic, Danny Young and Michael Woodside

And Then There Were Five (Finally)

Big news for the Best Animated Feature award: For the first time since 2001 (the year Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" won) there will be FIVE nominees for Best Animated Film!  This is the list of eligible films, I've highlighted the ones that I feel have the best shot at a nomination:

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”
“Astro Boy”
“Battle for Terra”
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”
“Coraline”
“Disney’s A Christmas Carol”
“The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”
“Mary and Max”
“The Missing Lynx”
“Monsters vs. Aliens”
“9”
“Planet 51”
“Ponyo”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”
“A Town Called Panic”
“Up”

Right now the favorite to win is "Up."  Mainly because it looks like Pixar has a good chance at (finally) getting a Best Picture nod with that film, and ask any person who tracks the Best Foreign Language Feature race how that usually goes.  Once in awhile a foreign film will get nominated for Best Picture.  It usually shows up in Best Foreign Language Film too.  The Academy will always go the conservative way and give the foreign film Best Foreign Language Film whether it deserves Best Picture or not.  This is an easy way to "spread the love around," so if "Up" does get nominated don't be too surprised if that fact alone makes it an automatic winner in this category.  Still, competition looks stiff, so it's going to be interesting what happens.

P.S. While I would love to see "A Christmas Carol" nominated over "Coraline" chances are the Academy will pass since they showed little love for Zemeckis's previous animated outing "The Polar Express."

The Sound of Animation

We've had a great year for animation, but one aspect of these animated films that are rarely being discussed is the music.  Believe it or not, not ONLY has animation managed to one-up many of the live action movies this year in terms of quality, but the soundtracks are also more memorable then most of the live action films.  Of course Michael Giacchino looks like a shoo in to get a nomination for his (yet to be released on CD) score for "Up," but let's face it: That nomination - while justified - will be there just to rack up the nominations for Pixar.  Below are some of the OTHER animated scores that deserve to recognized by the Academy (but most likely won't):

Astro Boy

Coraline

Ponyo

Up

Personally, if I had to award an Oscar to a score this year, it would be for "Ponyo."  Thankfully the score of "Ponyo" IS available on CD...for those willing to play the import game.  For those who WANT to play the import game but don't know how, here's a good place to start.

Cloudy With A Chance of Oscars

Well folks, I personally didn't care for "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" much.  You can read my review here, but I thought that the movie - while funny - wasn't something worth remembering.  That said the movie does hold a 86% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes and was a surprise number 1 hit at the box office, so at this point anything is possible.  I'm still not sure if we're getting three nominated films or five (I'm guessing three), but Sony's animated underdog (in the sense that Sony needs this film to succeed...badly) might just squeeze into the nominees at one point.  If we get stuck with three nominees they should be:

• Ponyo
• The Princess and the Frog
• Up

If we get five nominees they should be:

• 9
• Coraline
• Ponyo
• The Princess and the Frog
• Up

I would hate to see 'Cloudy' sneak in on either of those lists (but if we have five, nudging out "9" for a slot would be a lesser offender since that was a movie with lots of style but little substance).

More "Ponyo" Trailers

We've got an additional two trailers for Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo." One bragging about the voice talent and the other one actually selling the film on it's own merits. And while it may be premature to say this, I think "Ponyo" may actually be a hit. It seems like Disney is finally getting behind this movie. With Miyazaki visiting the states, the 800 screen release, and for the first time Disney has made more then one trailer for a Miayazaki film and they don't totally suck. Who knows, but I think this is the perfect oportunity for the world to discover Miyzaki. Here's hoping they do.

"Ponyo" Trailer

Disney has finally graced us with the trailer for Hayao Miyazaki's latest film:

While it certainly is better then the Japanese one, I'm a little disapointed that they have so little faith in this film that they have to make it look like a second rate action film. Oh well. August 4th. Mark your calanders.

Poster For "Ponyo"

As we get nearer and nearer to the American release of Hayao Miyazaki's next masterpiece (which is bound to be a let down for fans of "Princess Mononoke"), Disney has graced us with a poster...

...which looks very nice. I like how they push the voice talent (though putting them in alphabetical order wielded some funny placements this time around). The MPAA has also given it a rating: G. So parents, make sure to take your kids to this. You can thank me later.

I've Been Waiting For This: 'Ponyo' Gets Dated

As mentioned above, this is the announcement I've been waiting for:

Walt Disney Pictures has announced the U.S. release date of Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, PONYO, a story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale THE LITTLE MERMAID. Fans of the animation master will only have to wait until Aug. 14th to see what is already a hit in Japan.

The story of a young and overeager goldfish named Ponyo (voiced by Noah Cyrus) and her quest to become human. The voice cast includes Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White and Frankie Jonas as Sosuke, a young boy who befriends Ponyo.

Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall are producing the English-language dub with Steve Alpert. Exec producers are Miyazaki and John Lasseter, who also exec produced the English dubs of Miyazaki's SPIRITED AWAY and HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE.

The English screenplay was written by Melissa Mathison.

As you can read above Disney has dropped the overlong "Ponyo On A Cliff" title for the shorter "Ponyo." Maybe that will help and maybe it won't. It's hard to tell at this point. But good news is good news: "Ponyo" is coming to America!

"Coraline" Opens Big

Some of you may be worried that I'm jumping the gun a bit, but in my eyes "Coraline" has solidified it's status of being an early contender for the Best Animated Film Oscar for this year. The movie has opened to great reviews (88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.com) and good box office (close to $5 in it's first day). Considering we live in a world of computer animation and fart jokes, this is pretty impressive. I wrote about the project when I first heard about it, and despite being in a position where I'm supposed to be agnostic about a films prospects, I had a good feeling about this film. The combination of stop-motion master Henry Selleck and graphic novel genius Neil Gaiman sounded like a recepeit for instant magic. I haven't seen the film yet. I was supposed to see it last night but there was a problem and I couldn't go. Now that word-of-mouth is out on how good this film is I feel more mad that I didn't get to see it last night.

I also feel "Coraline" is the first horse in a race that hasn't been interesting in years. I love Pixar as much as the next person, but it's frustrating to see them win every year. Of course, the only reason this is the case is because the competition normally doesn't step up to the plate to offer any real competition ("Persepolis" aside). This year we have "Coraline," we have the Tim Burton produced "9," we have the latest from Hayao Miyazaki "Ponyo On A Cliff," we have Disney's return to traditional animation "The Princess and the Frog," etc, etc...let's just say that Pixar's "Up" has some serious competition this year. Which is a good thing. Far too long the animated feature race has been too predictable and boring. This year it looks like animation is going to come fully swinging as something to be taken seriously. And who knows: Maybe "Up" will even receive a Best Picture nomination.

Update 2-8-2009: Well the numbers are in, and "Coraline" opened at number 3 with about $16 million dollars in it's first weekend. It made more money then "The Pink Panther 2" (which many predicted to be the number 1 movie this week), and judging on good word-of-mouth this movie should do very well in the coming weeks.

9

This is the trailer for the upcoming animated film "9," directed by Shane Acker and produced by Tim Burton. Oh, and the movie has an all-star cast including Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Academy Award winner Martin Landau, and many more. I know that we're already predicting that Pixar's "Up" is next years front-runner for Best Animated Feature, but looking at "Ponyo On A Cliff," "Coraline," and now "9," all I have to say it...woah, next years looks to be a very interesting year for animation.

What Happened To Ponyo?

Hey everyone, sorry about the lack of updates I've been...well, I've been in Japan. Enjoying a bit of the world. I enjoyed myself so much I'm looking into moving there for a period of time in a few years. But the real reason I bring this up is because while in Japan I had the good fortune to be able to catch Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, "Ponyo on a Cliff," in theaters...

...and considering this movie was considered by many people (myself included) to be "Wall•E's" biggest competition I felt it only fitting to comment on it. Now, as we found out a week ago this movie will not be elidgible for the Best Animated Feature category this year (most likely because the movie won't be released domestically until next year). However, this doesn't upset me too much. In fact, I think this is a good thing because while this movie is good, it was NOT going to beat "Wall•E" (unless, of course, the Academy votes for another movie just because Pixar wins too many awards these days)! Now I have to admit that my Japanese is not the best, but "Ponyo on a Cliff" was simplistic enough that I was able to follow it with little trouble. This film has more in common with "My Neighbor Totoro" then "Spirited Away." That basically means it's a movie made for small children.

This is not a bad thing though as Miyazaki makes some of the most magical and charming children's movies out there, and Ponyo is no different. With pure handdrawn animation (no computers), vibrant watercolors, and Joe Hisaishi's best score since "Princess Mononoke," "Ponyo on a Cliff" may be simple, but it's darn difficult not to be won in by it's charms. The fact that it's more of a charming film then an important film could have hurt it's Oscar chances this year, so it being in next years race will bode better for it's chances at a win. That said, is there any movie that can upset "Wall•E" at this point? Well, yes, now that I think about it. There are two in fact. The is "Waltz with Bashir"...

...which could win on the grounds that it's an important, adult oriented film. The Academy has yet to award an adult animation an Oscar in this category though, and the category is still looked at as, more or less, Best Family Feature. Which means the biggest competition "Wall•E" has at this point...

...is Disney's own "Bolt," which has won critics over and completely surprised the public. Here is a movie that is family friendly, looks to make a lot of money, and didn't look all that interesting until people actually watched it. It also has the advantage of being released by Disney who, despite pioneering animation in feature film, has yet to win an award in this category. This could be the make-up award from the Academy should Pixar fatique set in. Either way the animated category is looking the most competitive it's been since "Spirited Away" and "Lilo & Stitch" duked it out in 2002. Should be an interested year for animation come Oscar time.

My Friend Says Ponyo Was "Personal"

So I have a friend who is studying in Japan this year and he got to see Hayao Miyazaki's new hit "Ponyo on a Cliff" in a Japanese theater. This is cool because I feel that watching a Japanese movie in a Japanese theater would be a fun experience. He couldn't understand everything that was going on, but he did comment that it was a more personal film then his last couple. In fact, here's the part of his e-mail where he mentions the film:

The art style was very different and welcome - it looked like a large part of it had been done with coloured pencils, tho it's still recognisably a Ghibli film. It's not a very epic movie, like most of Miyazaki's previous works; it's more of a personal narrative like "Totoro" with fantasy added in. Oh, and the villain kind of reminds me of Howl. Good movie. I hope to see it again when subtitles are available!

Well, if it's still in theaters when I go to Japan this year I want to see it too. Oh, and I also can't wait to see Disney's dub of the movie early next year. I normally frown on dubs but Disney does theirs right.

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).