Animation : The 93rd Academy Awards (2020 Nominees)
If there’s one thing that could be considered a sure thing at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, it’s that Soul will win the Best Animated Feature category. No disrespect to any of the other nominees, but if one of the other four films were to win that category, it would almost certainly be the upset of the evening, as Soul currently has an astounding ratio of wins versus nominations. Being a completionist, however, I decided to do my due diligence and watch the remainder of the nominees, so that in the rare event an upset occurs, I will be able to either see why or voice an informed opinion on why the Oscars got it wrong.
Editor’s note : Due to a lack of access to AppleTV, Wolfwalkers will not be covered in this article.
Onward (Disney/Pixar, dir. Dan Scanlon)
Why not use a little movie magic to tell a story about how the magic from the world can disappear if you let it? Using elements of fantasy like mythical creatures and magic in a more mundane, grounded and worldly context is definitely an interesting choice, and while it does put me in the mindstate of a film like Bright, the absence of humans in this world actually makes the story easier to get into (if suspension of disbelief is even a thing for animated films). The foundational element of parental love is easy to relate to, with the idea of a father and son estranged by death possibly getting a limited chance to meet immediately bringing intrigue to the table, and gets more palatable when issues are thrown into said limited opportunity. In terms of the animation, Pixar comes through again in all aspects, with the character designs looking great, the skin and hair textures exceeding the standard accepted limits of basic animation, the magic effects achieving a true film look and the continued tradition of Pixar’s amazing attention to detail. While the other Pixar film released this year is heavily favored to sweep all categories it is involved in, Onward is still an impressive achievement in itself, and continues to mark Pixar’s dominance in the world of computer generated animation.
Over the Moon (Sony Pictures Imageworks, dir. Glen Keane)
Timing is an extremely important element in the awards process that is often overlooked, and perhaps that is due to the fact that there are factors to it beyond the control of creators and distributors. Over the Moon may stand as an example of this as time passes… if taken in subjectively, this film is simply stunning… the film jumps the hurdle over the uncanny valley and sticks the landing in terms of skin texture, physical design, movement, lighting and shadows, and so on; the hair texture and movements are realistic, and the fur on the bunny is plentiful and bountiful while not looking exactly uniform; and most importantly, the mixture of animation styles used in tandem with the computer generated characters provides storytelling nuance and variety. The story is heartfelt, and the musical elements of the film are strong and expressive. That being said, for everything that Over the Moon does, Soul does in a grander capacity, and based on the timing of the releases, Over the Moon may fall victim to being overlooked and overshadowed. In a world where Soul was not released in 2020, Over the Moon may have had what it takes to beat out the historical prominence of Aardman Animations and Onward (Pixar’s other offering of 2020), but with Soul capturing the pure volume of New York City’s population while pushing the boundaries of skin textures, movement and film scoring, Over the Moon may have to take pride in simply being a part of the conversation.
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon (Aardman Animations, dir. Richard Phelan, Will Becher)
With nearly 50 years in the animation business, it seems that the British-based Aardman Animations has no intentions of letting up any time soon. They have a number of successes under their belt, including the iconic Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, which currently stands as the highest-grossing stop motion animated feature of all time, and the company looks to continue the streak with A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon. One of the few films of the year to actually see a proper theatrical run, the film is a masterpiece of stop motion mastery and narrative minimalism with its natural (and often exaggerated) movement, stunning sound design and unusually charming performances, photo-realistic lighting, visceral use of color and charm-filled orchestral score. On top of all this, the film throws us a nice narrative swerve that, in hindsight, was probably obvious, but while watching the film, it added an extra level of entertainment that was wholly unexpected. It feels like Aardman Animations will always have a space in the realm of animated entertainment, and a film like this one makes you wonder what they may be capable of in the future.