Oscar Noms Critique - Best Animated Feature

*WARNING: This is gonna be a long one.*

Firstly...

"Hi."

Secondly, I have a question for you. Do you have the same opinions as me? No?

If you do, great!

On the 10th of January 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 85th Academy Awards. As a teenager, I have only watched one of the films nominated for Best Picture, but on the other hand, I have seen all the films nominated for Best Animated Feature (and some animated films which weren't). Partly because you don't really need to think too much while watching an animated film, and partly because animation is my favourite movie genre.

As I have mentioned before in a previous post, I've watched both Pixar's Brave and Dreamworks' Rise Of The Guardians, and found Brave to be Pixar's most boring movie ever and Rise Of The Guardians to be the most beautiful film ever.

So the main topic for this post is: Why wasn't Rise Of The Guardians nominated for an Oscar? And why isn't it winning the awards that it has been nominated for?

The biggest example would be the Golden Globes, which Brave won. Jon Cozart (a.k.a. Paint) had a similar reaction to that result as I did. I mean, the visuals and animation in Brave were stunning, but the story really lacked a certain something which just made it plain boring. 45 minutes into the movie, my brother took out his game console and my father decided to take a nap. I hung on to the hope that it was going to get better. It didn't. And when it was finished, I was left with a feeling of immense disappointment.

Maybe the trailer left me with too high expectations, but I had even higher expectations for Rise Of The Guardians and that film exceeded my expectations. I expected good from Brave, I only got a not bad. I expected great from Rise Of The Guardians, and I came back with phenomenal.

Some say that the animation for Rise Of The Guardians is not as visually stunning as in Brave, my answer to that is: have you seen the sand?

THAT SAND.

The sand alone makes up for any other animation flaws (if any) in the movie. And the story! Studio Ghibli has taught us that in animation, the story is just as important as the animation. Without a compelling story, it doesn't matter how beautiful the animation is, the audience is still going to leave the theatre dissatisfied.

Regarding the Golden Globes, I won't be able to say anything about Frankenweenie, since I have yet to watch it. But I'd much rather that or Wreck-It-Ralph (which according to my brother was good, but not as good as Rise Of The Guardians) win than Brave. As my brother said, "at least their trailers weren't off topic." I agree because for Brave, I don't think the question should be:

If you had a chance to change your fate, woodjeh?

I think the real question should be "If you had a chance to change your mother's fate, woodjeh?" Because in the end, Merida didn't change at all, her mother did. My dad says I should just be grateful that Hotel Transylvania (Oh gawd) didn't win.

AND NOW, moving on to the Academy Awards. For Best Animated Feature, the nominees are: Brave (No surprises there), Wreck-It-Ralph (as usual), Frankenweenie (ditto), ParaNorman, and . . . 

(Here I began chanting "Rise Of The Guardians, Rise Of The Guardians, Rise Of The Guardians...")

. . . Pirates! Band Of Misfits.

I beg your pardon?

I'm sorry?

Say that again?

What.

Whaaaaaaaaat?

No.

No.

No.

Gah.

You have got to be kidding me. The Sandman is not pleased.

And when it finally sinked in, I started shouting and throwing pillows at the television set (this is not an exaggeration, by the way).

Agreed.

I didn't do this but . . .

. . . I wanted to.

My parents were asking me what's wrong and at first I was like . . .

Thank you, Darren.

And then I started getting even more emotional and upset. It wasn't pretty.

*SOBS*

Despair.

Sorrow.

Depression. But I didn't do this . . .

. . . I did this.

Why.

Tears stream down your face, when you lose something you cannot replace.

So, you're telling me that the most beautiful film ever lost out to a creepy B&W, 2 stop motions that no one watched, Disney's whatever, and the biggest letdown of the year????????

Exactly.

Seriously . . .

Are you kidding me?

Congratulations AMPAS, a job well done indeed.

See what I did there?

Did the voters even watch any of these movies? And to those idiots who say that Dreamworks is all pop trash unlike Pixar which is so deep blah blah blah.

Why, you ask?

You have no idea what you're talking about, and if you still think your opinion is logical, click here and then come back and say it again to my face. Sure, Dreamworks had some trashy movies (e.g. Madagascar), but it is wrong to assume that all of them are like that (How To Train Your Dragon, anyone?). And whoever says that Pixar only has deep movies obviously hasn't watched Cars 2.

According to my dad, this is called the "halo effect". When something/someone/whatever does something good for a period of time, everyone assumes that whatever else that follows will also be good. (Did that make sense?) Pixar has a lot of amazing movies, which is why people would naturally assume that Brave is a good movie and defend it, just because it's Pixar. Before I watched Brave, I was pretty defensive and biased towards it to0, because it was Pixar. But then I actually watched the film, and that changed its fate. (Pun intended.)

By the way, I'm not the only one who put their 2 cents on Rise Of The Guardians being nominated and subsequently winning that Oscar. To those people who thought the same as I did . . .

LET ME LOVE YOU.

To the critics who stated that Rise Of The Guardians lacks depth and feeling:

Let's be nice for a second. Now.

Don't you dare say that again . . .

. . . Or else.

Just shut up, kay?

Or you will activate monster rage mode. 

And get your face punched.

We will not be amused.

The Beifongs will come knocking.

And no one will be spared.

This will be the final blow.

You do not know what you are talking about unless you can tell me you know what it's like to feel completely alone and invisible. When a character has lived their life as though they did not exist, and one day, someone finally gives them some recognition and believes in them, maybe it's not very "deep" but won't you feel for that character? I did. And I was happy for that character. Dam it, I was so happy I CRIED. And you know what?

Seriously.

That face.

That smile.

THAT SMILE.

Thanks to this movie, I once again believe in all the things that I have forgotten as I grew up.

Hope.

Magic.

Wonder.

Fun!

And dreams.

And in case you were wondering, this was the scene that made me tear up.

"You can see me?"

*Nods*

There are very few films in this world that would make you cry because the situation is so sad and touching, rarer still are the films that would make you cry because you're filled with joy. And unfortunately, too common are films that make you feel nothing. AMPAS WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?????

How on earth do you people vote?

And are you really sure that you got the nominations right?

If you did, I must say:

Thanks, Tenzin.

Well, I guess an Oscar doesn't deserve Rise Of The Guardians.

Frustrated Snape.

Right now, this is me now whenever someone mentions Awards Season.

UGH. Don't talk to me.

GET OUTTA MY WAY.

This one in particular.

And even if you don't agree with me, animation is a genre largely aimed at children, they are not meant to be picked apart by your adult scepticism. You're supposed to watch animation as if you were a child, not an adult! Animation is supposed to help you get in touch with your inner child! And you're not helping it!

Sandy.

By the way, you might be thinking this right now: Do I hate Pixar?

I love Pixar, it's just Brave that I don't like.

I know the Golden Globes are over, and there is nothing that can be done about the Oscar nominations. Right now, it's almost as if Rise Of The Guardians doesn't exist, which is sad, because it has the makings of a classic. But there's still the Annie awards, and I think it's about time that this beautiful film received some recognition in the world of animation.

Well, I'm done. If you have managed to make it this far . . .

Thanks for taking the time, I appreciate it.

If you agree with everything I said above . . .

Right?

How do I feel about making you suffer through this long and possibly dull post?

Hey, it's your life. Go do whatever you want with it. 

And yes, I still regret nothing.

To all my fellow ROTG fans:

You're welcome.

To everyone else:

Ciao, in case we never see each other again.

Lastly, I hope the Sandman sends you a dream that will help your wishes come true.

Dreamsand Miracles.

And because some of us still have to attend the hell that is called school, I may not post for another eternity so . . . till next time!

Note: All GIFs stolen from Tumblr without permission.

Update: (29th January 2013)
Right now, I'm being accused (mostly on Tumblr) of "bashing" on the other movies. So, now. *SIGH* I am going to attempt to clear up any issues (i.e. defend myself). *Rereads own blog post* Okay, I don't see much (any) hate on this post, but maybe there were a few sentences which might suggest otherwise if one was a little sensitive.

And here we go...

1. Calling Brave Pixar's "most boring ever" isn't bashing, it is merely a statement made by an overly opinionated, biased, think-she-knows-it-all-but-actually-doesn't-know-anything, bratty teenager.
2. I did not say that Brave was bad, I only said that it was disappointing and I felt that the other movies deserved the award more.
3. I said that Merida didn't change, I did not say anything about her fate. If you chose to misinterpret what I said, that's your business.
4. If you somehow managed to think that I was bashing on Hotel Transylvania. Fine. I was bashing on Hotel Transylvania.

5. If you thought that this post wasn't worth reading, that's your problem. I already asked you at the very beginning whether you shared my opinions, and if you didn't I was going to ignore you. (But I didn't, because I cared what you people have to say.)
6. I can see and understand how one might find the "creepy B&W, 2 stop motions that no one watched, Disney's whatever, and the biggest letdown of the year" sentence as bashing, offensive and completely insensitive to the wonderful people who devoted their hearts and souls into the making of their films. I apologise most sincerely to you if you are one of these wonderfully and amazingly talented people. But this is how I feel, and I have already mentioned above that I am an overly opinionated and biased brat who doesn't know what she's talking about and just overreacted because she didn't get what she wanted. But you have to admit, being a Tim Burton, Frankenweenie is a B&W which is a little creepy and that hardly anyone (except the film critics and the hardcore animation fans) watched ParaNorman and Pirates. I called Wreck-It-Ralph "Disney's whatever" because I don't know what else to call it (3D-computer-animated family-action comedy film doesn't exactly have a nice ring to it), and I have already mentioned that Pixar has a lot of amazing movies, however Brave is a letdown.
7. If I was bashing on anyone in this post, it was the people who voted (the richy-rich-club, according to the only commenter on this post) for these awards.
Hopefully, I have addressed all the issues regarding this post. Au revoir!

Update: (3rd February 2013)
I just watched ParaNorman and Frankenweenie, and I give 4.3 stars to ParaNorman and 3.4 to Frankenweenie. (To be fair, ROTG only got 4.9 stars, the only movie I rated 5 stars was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 because I have watched it so many times and have yet to get tired of it, and it still gives me the same feelings as always.)
Between ParaNorman and Frankenweenie, I agree that ParaNorman is better. Frankenweenie had a few touching moments, but ParaNorman was way more enjoyable to watch. AND THE DETAIL IN THE PUPPETS. *Mindblown*
Frankenweenie had a few touching moments but it was just so disturbing most of the time (unlike ParaNorman, which was definitely not as creepy except for the dead body bit). The only issue I had with ParaNorman was: WHERE ARE THE GHOSTS WHEN YOU NEED THEM? And they did the blinding-white-flash-of-light three times. But that's about it.
Currently hoping that ParaNorman (or maybe Wreck-It-Ralph, withholding judgment until I watch it) wins that Oscar.
A bit of predicting here...
If AMPAS judges the films based on:

• The trailer: Brave will win. Definitely.
• Animation: ParaNorman should win.
• Story: Tie between Frankenweenie/ParaNorman/and possibly Wreck-It-Ralph.

Honestly, I have nothing against a certain studio winning the awards every single time. I just don't think it's fair if the win is not deserved.

Last Update: (6th March 2013)
It is official, I have watched every movie that was nominated (except for Pirates, and I don't plan to, ever). Finished off with Wreck-It-Ralph today.
Um, I guess I'm not surprised that Brave won after all. We all know that Pirates was never going to win, and the other three all had well, let's admit it, slightly disturbing aspects in them.
Though hilarious, adorable and occasionally touching (not enough to make this girl shed a tear though), Wreck-It-Ralph had that really sinister scene with the King Candy/Turbo/Cybug thing going on, which I'm probably going to have nightmare of tonight...
But I really liked Vanellope and Ralph, they were really adorable together. And Fix-It-Felix was really cute too, he was my favourite, and his crush on the character voiced by Jane Lynch (I can't remember her name, Calhoun?) was just so adorable.
Touching and really intense scenes: When Ralph was willing to sacrifice himself and when he said that pledge... WHEN HE WRECKED VANELLOPE'S KART BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE WAS SAVING HER THAT WAS JUST SO INTENSE.
On a side note, King Candy when he's King Candy reminds me a lot of The Mad Hatter.
Verdict: Way more interesting and engaging than Brave. But I like ParaNorman, cause ParaNorman didn't have a real "bad guy", but it handled the "no bad guy" thing much better compared to Brave. I think Brave won because it probably stood out from the others, you know, not having any creepy scenes involved. And also because it's Pixar. Pixar wins everything. Almost.

P.S. Update: (24th December 2013)
I watched Pirates! It sucked.

- Fin -