"WALL-E" to get Best Picture Nomination?

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:19am

I read this interesting article, and was wondering what everyones opinions were on this issue. My thoughts...Wall-e was the best damn picture I saw this year, and overall one of the best films i've ever seen.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:23am

Thanks! That means a lot. I worked really hard on WALL-E.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:24am

Seriously? Man, i guess it's just me but I HATED it.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:39am

I'm with ya, Chrysanthemum. But I didn't so much hate it as I wasn't "wowed" by it. I finally watched it last night (after having read rave reviews and seen it on everyone's Top 10 lists) and it didn't live up to the hype for me. I thought the animation was astounding, but, frankly, it seemed like an overblown animated short. In brief, I wasn't impressed by the film and can't understand all the praise and laurels it's received. It was an enjoyable enough movie, but not Best Picture material, IMO. I watched RATATOUILLE on Sunday and found that to be a more enjoyable movie and the better film.

Updated On: 1/3/09 at 01:39 AM

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 10:06am

I haven't seen it. But we do have the Wall-E game for the Wii, and it's confusing as all get out. I can't figure out what the point is.

[clever name]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 10:08am

I just saw it last week for the first time and loved it. It was the sweetest movie I ever saw!!

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 10:42am

WALL-E was a strange movie for me. Some aspects, I absolutely loved. But I was really turned off by the moralizing of it, if that makes sense. I mean, all Disney/Pixar movies have a moral, but the fact that it's basically turning up its nose at mass-merchandising and commercialism seems really weird seeing as it's DISNEY. Buy-n-Large was basically Disney mixed with McDonald's. It made me feel kind of cold inside.

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 10:44am

I haven't really enjoyed an animated film since the heyday of Disney with Aladdin, The Lion King, etc. Although I do find a certain magic in films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, etc., they just don't resonate with me the same. My friend Rebecca is a schoolteacher and suggested Wall-E, saying it's such a great film. I watched it and, quite honestly, I was floored. It's just so nice to see a movie, a big, huge, for-kids Blockbuster that actually thinks. I mean, there's little to no dialogue the first half of the movie. And it has such amazing heart. Although they have recently created the tedious Best Animated Feature award, I don't believe an actual animated film has been nominated for Best Picture since Beauty and the Beast. That being said, I truly think Wall-E should at least be nominated for such an accolade.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 12:45pm

Is it eligible? I thought that when they added the Animated Feature category, they said no more animated films would be eligible for Best Picture. Is that correct?

If it is eligible, I would love to see it nominated. The best movie I saw this year, by far.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 12:52pm

After having now seen the majority of the year's Oscar contenders, I can safely say that Wall-E is still the best picture of the year by a longshot. Hardly a mere children's movie, Wall-E will easily live to be a classic film. It is vivid, thoughtful, meticulous, and intelligent storytelling, and frankly, how many other American films this year can claim that?

I hope that it can overcome that silly category and get a Best Picture nomination, but I wouldn't bet on it.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 12:58pm

Yes, an animated film can be nominated for Animated Feature Film and/or Best Picture, just like non-English foreign films can be nominated for both Foreign Language Film and Best Picture. In fact, two already have (i.e. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL), but both lost Best Picture yet nabbed Foreign Language Film. A consolation prize of sorts I guess.

The end result is, even if an animated film is nominated for Best Picture (as well as Animated Feature Film), most likely it won't win the top prize since the Academy probably figures it already has its own special category. It's unlikely that they'd reward it twice.

Updated On: 1/3/09 at 12:58 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:01pm

So, because I was bored, I looked up the official rules. And, it turns out, Wall-E IS eligible for a Best Picture nomination, based on this rule:

Films submitted in the Best Animated Feature Film category may qualify for Academy Awards in other areas, including Best Picture, provided they comply with the rules governing those categories.

It is also on the list of eligible films (albeit, there are 281 of them), so it could be nominated, in theory.
Eligibility rules

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:13pm

Beauty and the Beast was nominated (and should have won) for Best Picture.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:25pm

JB2, I think the question was: Can animated films be nominated for Best Picture even though they've now got their own category? When BatB was nominated (1992) there was no Best Animated Feature Film, so there was no issue. As it turns out, there still isn't, so the answer is yes.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:31pm

Incidentally, however, voice actors are not eligible for consideration for any of the acting awards.

I remember this becoming an issue when people wanted to nominate Ellen DeGeneres for her work in Finding Nemo.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:43pm

Robin Williams for ALADDIN, too. I think the Golden Globes gave him a special award that year.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:46pm

I loved Ellen DeGeneres in Nemo!

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 2:44pm

I have to say that Wall-E is still the best movie I've seen this year and it'll be one of the better Best Picture nominees, if it gets it.

I thought Wall-E was better than Ratatouille (which I enjoyed but thought was overrated) and joins Finding Nemo and the Incredibles and Toy Story 2 as one of Pixar's best.

Many people complain that the Best Picture winners always seem to be these niche market (elitist type) movies with limited appeal that ignores the masses. I don't necessarily agree with that mentality because I think the Oscars should really be more about awarding quality rather awarding what's popular, but if they wanted to award those sorts of film, they need to recognize Pixar a lot more because Pixar is the only studio that is CONSISTENTLY making films that hit people emotionally and yet still have enough to stimulate views on an intellectual level.

Plus, I think the Oscars nominate BOTH Wall-E and the Dark Knight for Best Picture, ratings would go up because to see a summer blockbuster action, comic-book SEQUEL fighting off a movie that could very well be the first animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture would be too much for many to resist watching.

BTW, Disney/Pixar already did their contradictory message when they did Cars. I think Wall-E did it much better and even though it may not have been as subtle as most people may have liked, but I think it had to be that way because people don't get subtlety any longer.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 2:50pm

a movie that could very well be the first animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture would be too much for many to resist watching.

As mentioned before in this thread, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture. That was before the Best Animated Film category was introduced.
I had no idea people wanted to nominate Ellen DeGeneres for FINDING NEMO, I think she should have gotten a nod indeed, it was a fantastic comedic performance.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 2:57pm

It's just all about that fifth spot. You've got BENJAMIN BUTTON, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, MILK, and FROST/ NIXON all as lock. (Although FROST/ NIXON needs to step up its "buzz" campaign... it's getting lost.)

So, you've got quite a few great films trying to get in- WALL-E, THE READER, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, DOUBT, THE DARK KNIGHT, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, and THE WRESTLER.

It will be a difficult year for an animated film to get in, especially because of the films just listed who would like to get that fifth spot, many will be nominated and most likely win in acting categories. And WALL-E doesn't have the fortune of being nominated for Best Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes. However, if it would have been nominated in that category, I have no doubt it would have won.

I'd be shocked- and unhappy- if it gets nominated. I would much prefer THE READER getting a nomination over this. WALL-E was great, but, for me, the reader was spectacular.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 3:40pm

I meant the first animated film WINNING Best Picture. I knew Beauty and the Beast was nominated in 1991 and lost to Silence of the Lambs.

[Parks]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 3:45pm

Put me in the group that didn't get why Wall-E was so amazing...

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 3:52pm

Because to some, it was the most authentic movie out there.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 3:52pm

Curiously, its screenplay was not on the WGA(E) list, and it couldn't be voted on by writers -- a liability? I'm confused about these matters -- animation screenwriters -- but they are never nominated, are they? Not covered by my union?

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 3:53pm

I think Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille were all nominated for Best Screenplay.