The Academy Awards is famously slow to change. So when the show added a new category in 2002, fans were understandably excited. Now two decades have passed since Best Animated Feature joined in the fun. And the 2022 Oscars have perhaps one of the most competitive slates of nominees in the category’s history. Naturally, Disney and Pixar are both in the mix, but could both animation studios lose out? Let’s take a look.
5) ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’
Considering how famous Disney is for its animated films, the studio’s track record in this category isn’t as strong as some might think. Sure, its collaborations with Pixar win more often than not (more on that in a moment). But Walt Disney Animation Studios has only won Best Animated Feature three times in the past 20 years.
Unfortunately for Walt Disney Animation Studios, Raya and the Last Dragon likely won’t be joining Frozen, Big Hero 6, and Zootopia in that list of winners. The movie is a rousing adventure with gorgeous animation and flawless voice work. But it just hasn’t lingered in the cultural zeitgeist as most of its competition at the 2022 Oscars has.
4) ‘Luca’
Since the Oscars introduced the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, no single studio has dominated the category like Pixar. In the first 20 years, Pixar landed 11 wins and 16 nominations. So whenever a Pixar Animation Studios release makes the cut, it’s often considered the film to beat. But that’s not the case this year.
While Disney and Pixar’s Luca earned strong reviews and performed well on Disney+, the movie hasn’t inspired the same level of acclaim as previous Pixar movies. And unlike last year when Pixar’s Soul won the award, the category is a lot more competitive in 2022. That said, Pixar’s latest, Turning Red, already has a jump on next year’s race.
3) ‘Flee’
Easily the most obscure of these nominees, Flee is also the only one that isn’t particularly family-friendly. If it wins the Best Animated Feature 2022 award, it will be the first PG-13 animated movie to do so. But that isn’t the only reason it’s unlikely to win this category. After all, it has two other shots at winning an Academy Award.
Flee — now available to stream on Hulu — made history by at the 2022 Oscars. In addition to Best Animated Feature, the Danish movie secured nods in Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature. Best Picture contender Drive My Car will likely win the latter, but Flee probably has the documentary category in the bag.
2) ‘Encanto’
If Best Animated Feature was going to the most popular nominee, then this Disney animated fan-favorite would take it without question. Truth be told, the smart money might still be on Encanto becoming the 12th Walt Disney Animation Studios production to take home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
But given how tight a race this category is this year, Encanto is far from a guaranteed winner. If anything, the film’s success — and that of its soundtrack — might give it an edge in the Best Original Song category for “Dos Oruguitas.” After all, that win would give composer Lin-Manuel Miranda the Oscar win many have waited to see.
1) ‘The Mitchells vs. the Machines’
Although some in Hollywood are resistant to awarding streaming releases, The Mitchells vs. the Machines could sneak a win in Best Animated Feature. The film received near-universal acclaim from fans and critics. And it builds on the goodwill from not only Sony Pictures Animation but also producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
Lord and Miller previously won this category for 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. And The Mitchells vs. the Machines — while snubbed by the Golden Globes — has a similarly energetic tone and freshness to it. Disney is still the studio to beat for Best Animated Feature, as always. But this Netflix animated hit could pull a last-minute victory.
Source: Read Full Article
