Categories
Animation Awards Season

84th Academy Awards: Animated Feature

NOMINEES

  • A Cat in Paris  – Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
  • Chico & Rita – Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
  • Kung Fu Panda 2 – Jennifer Yuh Nelson
  • Puss in Boots – Chris Miller
  • Rango – Gore Verbinski

This is a relatively new category that was created in 2001 to reflect the growing artistic and commercial success of animated features.

The first winner was Shrek and, since the Best Picture nominees were expanded in 2009, both Up (2009) and Toy Story 3 (2010) have featured in both.

A CAT IN PARIS

From French studio Folimage, is this tale of a cat who lives a double life – pet by day and skilled thief by night. Notable for being hand-painted, its highly stylized, colour-saturated design makes it unusual in an age of computer animation.

Directors Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli talk with David Poland as part of his DP/30 series [36 mins]

CHICO & RITA

Directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal this is the story of a songwriter and singer chasing their dreams set against the backdrops of Havana, New York City, Las VegasHollywood and Paris in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The official UK site is www.chicoandrita.co.uk, the US site www.gkids.tv/chico and director Fernando Trueba talks with David Poland here.

KUNG FU PANDA 2

The sequel to the 2008 blockbuster sees Po and his friends battle to stop a new villain. The strong reviews managed to make this one of the better received sequels of the year and the darker than usual themes may have something to do with executive producer Guillermo del Toro.

Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson talks with David Poland for a DP30 interview and there are more materials at the DreamWorks awards season site.

PUSS IN BOOTS

The spinoff prequel to the Shrek franchise follows the character Puss in Boots and his sidekicks (Humpty Dumpty and Kitty Softpaws) as they take on Jack and Jill.

There are some similarities to its DreamWorks stable-mate Kung Fu Panda 2: it got good reviews, made a lot of money and featured Guillermo Del Toro.

More material is available at DreamWorks dedicated awards site and the director Chris Miller sits down for a lengthy DP/30 chat with David Poland.

RANGO

Although produced by Nickelodeon MoviesGore Verbinski and Graham King, this is the first CGI animation feature from Industrial Light & Magic, until now best known for their visual effects work.

A Western filled with references to movies and made like a theatrical production (instead of recording voice parts separately, the actors shared a soundstage) this is currently the hot favourite.

The Paramount Awards site has more material and director Gore Verbinski sat down for a DP/30 interview with David Poland.

Official Oscar site
Explore previous winners and nominees of Best Animated Feature

Categories
Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: Friday 9th December 2011

NATIONAL RELEASES

Puss In Boots (Paramount/DreamWorks Animation): Animated 3D spin-off form the Shrek series with the title character (Antonio Banderas) taking centre stage, whilst Kitty (Salma Hayek) is introduced as his love interest. Directed by Chris Miller, it explores his early years as he teams with Humpty Dumpty to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. [Nationwide / PG]

Another Earth (20th Century Fox): Indie sci-fi drama about an ambitious MIT student (Brit Marling) who crosses paths with a music teacher (William Mapother) after a car accident on the night a new planet was discovered. Directed by Mike Cahill, it was one of the big hits of Sundance this year and is a rare example of big ideas being executed well on a small budget. [Key cities / 12A] [Read our full review here]

New Year’s Eve (Warner Bros.): In what appears to be an unofficial sequel to last year’s Valentine’s Day, it follows a group of characters in New York on erm… New Year’s Eve. Directed by Garry Marshall, it stars Lea Michele, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Hilary Swank. [Nationwide / 12A]

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (Warner Bros.): Six years after their Guantanamo Bay adventure, stoner buds Harold Lee and Kumar Patel cause a holiday fracas by inadvertently burning down Harold’s father-in-law’s prize Christmas tree. Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, it stars Kal Penn, John Cho and Neil Patrick Harris. [Select cities / 18]

ALSO OUT

The Well Digger’s Daughter (Pathe): A father in pre-WWII France is torn between his sense of honour and his love for his daughter when she gets in trouble with the wealthy son of a shopkeeper. Directed by and starring Daniel Auteuil, it also features Kad Merad, Sabine Azéma and Jean-Pierre Darroussin. [Selected cinemas / PG]

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