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Oscar Watch
Jan. 25th, 2005 11:23 am( Oscar rants... )
Gah, the only reason I would watch this year's show is to make sure that The Incredibles wins best animated movie. True, it has scant competition--I mean, Polar Express didn't make it up there and Shark Tale did? Aren't they both equally crap just one looks better? However, it's up against Shrek 2. I'm going to offend the Shrek fans here, but the Shrek movies are just substandard Pixar. Shrek was cute enough, but it's old-school Disney under a different name with a different look--get the mega-wattage voices of huge stars, make them adorable or adorably ugly animated characters, watch them dance and bring in the bucks. Shrek 2 was more topical humor, with the "look! ha-ha! Get it! We made stores you find in real life...ta-da! MEDIEVAL!" gags of just trying too fucking hard. I liked the whole 'it doesn't matter what you look like' blah-di-dee-dah, and Puss n'Boots is the most AWWWWW-worthy kitty ever to grace the screen, but the movie wasn't even as good as the first one, which I didn't think was that good to begin with.
What worries me is that Pixar's come away with the statue now, what, every time since they made animated films a separate category? I would hate to see Oscar, in its attempt to give statues to everyone who's ever deserved one, even when the role they're nominated for is crap, give the statue to Shrek 2. Whether you like Shrek 2 or not, you have to concede that The Incredibles is a better movie. Perhaps not as fun, not as funny, but better. Better animated, better style, better story. I'm still of the mind that The Incredibles hits too close to home to ever be a favorite of mine, and its seriousness can work against it, but I will defend it as probably one of the best movies ever made, let alone one of the best animated movies ever made. Definitely better than Shark Tale, at any rate.
It's actually pretty pissy that the Oscar for animated films is a separate category as I think Finding Nemo and DEFINITELY The Incredibles could have stood a decent chance for the Best Picture Oscar, especially as The Incredibles doesn't come up against any LOTR pictures. The Incredibles is so mature, so complex, so real it almost doesn't deserve to be relegated to the animated picture category. It makes it hard to appreciate the animated films that are films first, animation second. Like when Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture--I think it sent the message that animation is as serious as live action, with its own (forgive the pun) beauty, honor, acting, the works. It's basically harkening back to the days of radio, where a good actor made the scene come alive in the old radio shows. I wonder if they'll start giving Oscars for voiced characters, like Gollum (Andy Serkis, you were robbed!). The Incredibles, by pushing the story rather than the glamour of 'realistic' animation (like the fish in Finding Nemo, if not the people), does more for mainstreaming animation that is less kiddie-friendly and more adult. And no film that does that deserves anything less than full recognition as a cinematic best.
Gah, the only reason I would watch this year's show is to make sure that The Incredibles wins best animated movie. True, it has scant competition--I mean, Polar Express didn't make it up there and Shark Tale did? Aren't they both equally crap just one looks better? However, it's up against Shrek 2. I'm going to offend the Shrek fans here, but the Shrek movies are just substandard Pixar. Shrek was cute enough, but it's old-school Disney under a different name with a different look--get the mega-wattage voices of huge stars, make them adorable or adorably ugly animated characters, watch them dance and bring in the bucks. Shrek 2 was more topical humor, with the "look! ha-ha! Get it! We made stores you find in real life...ta-da! MEDIEVAL!" gags of just trying too fucking hard. I liked the whole 'it doesn't matter what you look like' blah-di-dee-dah, and Puss n'Boots is the most AWWWWW-worthy kitty ever to grace the screen, but the movie wasn't even as good as the first one, which I didn't think was that good to begin with.
What worries me is that Pixar's come away with the statue now, what, every time since they made animated films a separate category? I would hate to see Oscar, in its attempt to give statues to everyone who's ever deserved one, even when the role they're nominated for is crap, give the statue to Shrek 2. Whether you like Shrek 2 or not, you have to concede that The Incredibles is a better movie. Perhaps not as fun, not as funny, but better. Better animated, better style, better story. I'm still of the mind that The Incredibles hits too close to home to ever be a favorite of mine, and its seriousness can work against it, but I will defend it as probably one of the best movies ever made, let alone one of the best animated movies ever made. Definitely better than Shark Tale, at any rate.
It's actually pretty pissy that the Oscar for animated films is a separate category as I think Finding Nemo and DEFINITELY The Incredibles could have stood a decent chance for the Best Picture Oscar, especially as The Incredibles doesn't come up against any LOTR pictures. The Incredibles is so mature, so complex, so real it almost doesn't deserve to be relegated to the animated picture category. It makes it hard to appreciate the animated films that are films first, animation second. Like when Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture--I think it sent the message that animation is as serious as live action, with its own (forgive the pun) beauty, honor, acting, the works. It's basically harkening back to the days of radio, where a good actor made the scene come alive in the old radio shows. I wonder if they'll start giving Oscars for voiced characters, like Gollum (Andy Serkis, you were robbed!). The Incredibles, by pushing the story rather than the glamour of 'realistic' animation (like the fish in Finding Nemo, if not the people), does more for mainstreaming animation that is less kiddie-friendly and more adult. And no film that does that deserves anything less than full recognition as a cinematic best.
