Disney Receives 13 Oscar Nominations
Walt Disney received a special Oscar for Snow White.
Yesterday the Academy released the Oscar nominations, giving Disney only two nominations for their own productions, but thirteen total including their distributed films.
Disney's only real nomination this year was for the incredible song from the Muppets Bret McKenzie’s “Man or Muppet.” The song features Jason Segel, his Muppet persona, his Muppet brother Walter, and a human version of Walter, played in a cameo appearance by Jim Parsons, made famous by his leading role in “Big Bang Theory”. This year their is only one other song in the category “Real in Rio” from “Rio.” Everyone on the web, Disney, and the creators behind the Muppet movie are all hoping for a surprise performance by the Muppets during the Oscars.
The reason I said that the only true nomination for Disney was for the song was because the second nomination is for a short film that hasn't even been released to the general public. Disney's second nomination is for La Luna witch is to be released in front of Pixar's Brave.
Even though Pixar did receive a nomination they are lacking a nomination for their film Cars 2. This is the first Pixar film to not receive an Oscar nomination. I was shocked when I heard the news that it hadn't received a nomination I was even more shocked when I saw the other nominations. The animated movies nominated for the category include “Rango” “A Cat in Paris,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Puss in Boots,” and a Disney-distributed film called “Chico & Rita.” I didn't see any of these movies, and some I hadn't even heard of.
Disney's other nominations are all from the DreamWorks films they distributed: “The Help” (Best Picture, Leading Actress for Viola Davis, Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer, and Supporting Actress for Jessica Chastain), “War Horse” (Best Picture, Cinematography for Janusz Kaminski, Art Direction for Rick Carter and Lee Sandales, Music – Original Score for John Williams, Sound Editing for Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom, and Sound Mixing for Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Stuart Wilson) and “Real Steel” (Visual Effects for Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor, Swen Gilberg).
“Cars 2” is the worst reviewed film of PIXAR’s entire career (scoring a 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, well below the Fresh Mark). I am not at all surprised it did not get nominated and am very happy it did not. It was sub-par (at best). It had no heart unlike most from PIXAR’s cannon. “Arthur Christmas” and “Winnie The Pooh” both got robbed (not Cars 2). I have seen all of the animated films and I can tell you they are all superior to “Cars 2”. Rango will win, but it is not the best animated feature this year, that distinction belongs to “Arthur Christmas”.
Puss in Boots and Kung Fu Panda 2 are actually both very good. They are not like the other garbage DreamWorks releases every year. While they are not quite on the scale of “How to Train Your Dragon” they are on the better side of the DreamWorks lineup.
I know that Cars 2 was very badly reviewed, and may be considered Pixar’s only flop, but it was a great film and was much better than the first one.
“Puss-in-Boots” is definitly one of the funniest and most entertaining animated movies I have seen in recent times. Its not perfect by any means, as some parts seem to drag and at times the movie felt a bit too long for its own good, but on the whole it made for a nice viewing.
This movie has all that, a compelling story, a good message, funny characters and a lot of humour, including a healthy dose of those “in-jokes” intended for the adults in the audience, in most cases the parents who tag along with their kids to watch the movie. That makes it a truly good family viewing because not only will the children have a good time, but there is plenty for the adults to enjoy too.
The story is fun as it is about who Puss in Boots was before he met Shrek and Donkey. The five main characters were all well developed and well played. The visuals in this film are stunning. The animation was spectacular as the scenery is amazing. The music is great as it feels part spaghetti western, part modern day swashbuckling tale.
As for a family movie… the kids will enjoy it. The parents will be able to sit through it and enjoy a good story for themselves. Even those who are not kids or parents, like myself, will enjoy watching this film.
Thanks,
Candy