This will be a short post -- the Academy had to dig deep to find nominees this year. There are two foreign nominees in the Best Animated Feature category ("A Cat in Paris" sounds intriguing), and the fifth slot was filled by "Kung Fu Panda 2" (say what?). I hope "Puss in Boots" wins (because it is the only one I've seen), but I suspect the award might go to "Rango," or a wildcard like "Chico & Rita."
The Animated Short Film category was a real disappointment this year: I paid $12.50 to see 58-minutes worth of 'cartoons' of varying quality. The absolute worst of the five is the British import "A Morning Stroll," a deplorable, disgusting piece of crap that is a disgrace to the memory of Walt Disney. The two Canadian imports are masterpieces by comparison: the visual artistry in "Dimanche/Sunday" and "Wild Life" are quite good; the stories are both a bit disjointed, however.
Of course, Disney/Pixar has a nominee, but this year the slick production values that are this partnership's hallmark might be a drawback for the clever but not particularly inspired "La Luna," in comparison to the free-wheeling originality of MY choice for this category (I both want it to win, and think it will win): "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." A product of that animation hotbed of Shreveport, Louisiana (!), this unique and imaginative tribute to the magical power of books it utterly original in concept, animation, and story. Three cheers for Louisiana animation!
