MovieBob's 2014 Oscar Handicap

[Grace_Omega]

I know it wasn't mentioned in the article, but I really want Frozen to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar. I loved it when I saw it and my love for it has only increased since then.

I'm just worried that The Wind Rise's status as (supposedly) Miyazaki's last movie might draw votes. In fact if he hadn't won previously for Spirited Away (which deserved it, no doubt) I'd say it would be a near certainty that he'd be given the award as one of those "he deserves it and this is his last chance" deals.. As is I could see it going either way.

(But seriously, Frozen should win).

 

[Szabolcs Fekete]

So, on animated features:

I liked Brave a lot. I didn't love it. I felt it was missing something. Maybe it was the buildup, but I felt like Brave really should have been a very epic movie. Instead it was concise and nuclear, oriented at a family drama. On subsequent viewings, I find I like it more than I did previously, but I have never truly loved it. I love Merida. I think it's great that she's both a bratty kid and a decent role model for young girls (not necessarily a bad combination, mind you). I just feel that the story could have had ... more. I cannot come up with anything more objective. (still like it!)

That said, I am not a Disney fan or fanboy. I liked a few movies in the '90s animation revival a lot: Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (honestly, you should be condemned to hell for not liking anything Tony Jay has done... f you, if that's the case). I am not a fan of typical Disney princess girls beings damsels BS like The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas. I didn't like Hercules because, despite James Woods semi-awesomesauce, the movie was one big mis-interpretation of Greek drama into a modern religious and contextual sentiment that not only didn't work for me, but flat out appalled me (and I normally liked the "En Vogue" (and countless predecessors) style).

However, Frozen should win this. Hands down.

I love Miyazaki. I think Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away are two of the best and most thought provoking films of all time. I love alot of his other films, with Kiki's Delivery Service and Howl's Moving Castle as other amazing stand outs.

I have not yet seen The Wind Rises though I'm really anticipating it. I hope it's truly awesome, though I'm getting a strong Grave of the Firelfies (truly great movie) feel from it.

Still, Frozen actually (finally!) destroys traditional female role-portrayal for western mainstream animation. Both Elsa and Anna completely break away from the "true love's kiss" bullshit and "someday my Prince (a boy, obviously) will come" crap, that has been dominant in our culture and, if for nothing more than that, they really deserve recognition.

I have a 3 year old daughter and this is really relevant to me. She adores Elsa, for which I am very grateful. She also loves Cole and Jay from Lego's animated Ninjago series and all of the Mane 6 from MLP: FIM (all of which I'm really grateful for). Elsa and Anna are strong role models for American girls, compared to (fucking awful) Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, and (the worst of the bunch) Sleeping Beauty (whatever her irrelevant name is).

For this alone, set aside the fact that the movie is both really well done and, finally makes a comedic sidekick that isn't another Jar Jar, I would give a huge nod to Frozen.

Also, Let it Go is Defying Gravity done correctly. It has proper song structure (Defying Gravity is great, but it's not a single song, more of a series of semi-related song-vignettes), good melody, and an absolutely masterful performance by the (currently incomparable) Idina Menzel. Even Lea Salonga (a truly elite tier superstar voice) can't stand up to her on this.

I agree with most of what you said, especially that Frozen should have won. On the other hand, I think you are way too harsh on Ariel, Snow White, etc. The really old ones came out in an age when there were barely any leading women in movies at all, and at the time, Ariel was celebrated as the most pro-active, independent and energetic Disney heroine ever. All of these were really progressive at their times, just like Frozen is now.

And besides, while in their most literal interpretation Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora may not be the best role models, their stories, their movies have several values that are timeless and can still captivate people's mind today.

 

[person427]

I'm still too disappointed about Pacific Rim not being nominated for special effects to really care about the other categories too much =P

 

[Baldry]

For best picture i've only seen Wolf, 12 Years and Her and out of the three I most want Her to win. It just seems, overall the best film, everything works for it and it's original and talks about something that could be relevant in the future.

 

[vagabondwillsmile]

I admit I would like to see Miyazaki get best animation. If not it, would be really cool if he got a lifetime achievement award. He's been holing down 2D pencil and paper animation (which is basically dead in the U.S. for feature-length film now) longer and better than anybody else.

Why the hate for Brave? This seems to be pretty common, but I can't figure it out. I took a date to see it and we both loved it and laughed a lot - she saw it again the next day with her mom and said they cried their eyes out. It doesn't have musical numbers or a sidekick (Mother Bear notwithstanding). But what Brave didn't have is part of why I really liked it. It felt concise, focused, and effective as a script; and everything it did, it seemed to do really, really well. The main character was strong and cool too. If I was a little girl I would have been nuts about her, and would have immediately sought out archery lessons. Wreck-it-Ralph was awesome too (I never saw Paranorman). Side by side, it seems like a difference between what a person subjectively likes more rather than one being objectively inferior to the other. So is it just a matter of taste? Is it a division between Disney musical theater style and standard screenplay animation? Why didn't you like it (this is the first time I've bothered asking someone - so I'm asking out of genuine interest and not be snarky)?

Anyway, I just hope Gravity doesn't get best picture. I remember seeing the preview for the first time and gripping the arms of the seat and feeling genuinely frighted by the solitude and vastness of space (a girl behind us in the theater shouted, "Nope!" at the screen after the preview Hehe). Then I saw the movie and there was someone to talk to every five minutes, three space stations within walking distance, expository explanation of EVERYTHING!, a random (though admittedly beautiful) emptily metaphorical shot of the main character back-lit and floating in the pod bay with her tether conveniently crossing the silhouette to her navel so she looks like child in the womb (trailer shot if I ever saw one), a third act that turns into schlock, and not a fraction of the fear and foreboding I felt from the preview. It was spectacle - bloody impressive spectacle, mind - but nothing else.

Miyazaki should get a life time achievement award. Unless Disney decides to use the tech it developed for Paperman its not likely we'll get a legit 2D animated film until someone years later down the line has the balls to make one.

Its not so much as hate as utter disappointment. While I don't think my feelings for it are as bad as Moviebob's on say Man of Steel I do have to say that I liked it less and less as time when on. It looks gorgeous. Hell Pixar rebuilt their animation program from scratch to make it. I saw it with my mom the first time. I liked it. I honestly did but I felt kind of I don't know, empty I guess when I left the theatre. Like there was a space I had made for it to fill inside and it just didn't. Yes it is funny and yes it is touching in parts but this might be the case of the marketing for this movie being just a bit too good. The marketing seemed to build up an epic quest to change her fate. Something along The Lord of the Rings style though maybe not quite that big. I think for a lot of people it was just profound disappointment on how small the story was I guess. Its not a division between the Disney musical theatre or anything like that. Wreck-it-Ralph wasn't a Disney musical. I thought Wreck-it-Ralph was a better movie because it had a more memorable villain, a more interesting conflict/conspiracy going on, and actually delivered more on its marketing than Brave did. In short I didn't like Brave because it was built up into something it actually wasn't and what it was wasn't exactly something we've never seen before or a particularly interesting take on it for me. I"m actually a little miffed that Merida has been officially made a Disney Princess even though she a Pixar character. Yes I know Disney owns Pixar but people seem to forget that Disney has two animation studios with Walt Disney Animation Studios being its main one.

As for Gravity I wouldn't mind if it won. It seems this year in terms of Oscars there really aren't that many snubs. Save one and that is that Lone Ranger got nominated for best visual effects over Pacific Rim. WTF?! Doesn't matter because Gravity will most certainly win that one. For me that I had a different experience with Gravity then you. Sure the rebirth metaphor was kind of hokey but it did what it needed to do and that was give me a near anxiety attack for the whole damn movie. My brother said his heart was beating rapidly long after we left the theatre. I doubt it will win Best Picture but I'm just glad we don't have a King's Speech or whatever that movie was that beat out Inception a few years back to deal with. The kind of safe, not quite provocative or exciting material that seems to be this years crop. For me the well directed "safe movies" need to stop winning. We need more 12 years, Inceptions, and Wolfs winning. Who knows maybe Jupiter Rising or Interstellar will take it come next year.

Ah - I see! Thanks for taking time to respond. I totally understand now. Yah, expectations have the power to make or break a movie. With Brave I never saw a single preview. A friend of mine showed me her character design quite some time before realease, so I went into the theater only knowing that I thought her design was really cool. So the simple, small story was sweet and I could really focus on the characters' personalities and the world of the film - and her personality was a nice change of pace. I'm a little miffed that she is a catagorized as a princess too (perhaps for different reasons?). The list of discriptive words I could use for her character is so much larger than what I could use to describe the other princesses (except maybe for Ariel - I don't know about the Frozen characters as I haven't seen it yet). And the movie bucks the usual love story formula. But yah, it was a small story about little more than family dissagreements, the need for strong communication, mother / daughter relationships, hierarchy, and self-reliance. So I can totally understand now how people expecting a sweeping tale and an epic adventure would be dissappointed at the smallness(?) of it - despite how much I personally liked it. Definitely.

Just like how the preview for Gravity had me expecting some methodical, high-concept scifi (the preview did for me what the full film did for your brother I guess) and themes of loneliness, fear of the unknown, helplessness, silence, distance, etc. set my expectation to on the exact opposite end of the dial to what the film was. Of course, it wasn't the film's fault; and I will freely admit I was projecting my own expectations on what the preview offered. I completely understand why other people really loved it. I do think it should win special effects for sure. And yah, the snubbing of Pacific Rim is sad. Still no academy love for genre scifi (not really since Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssy, anyway). I wanted Sam Rockwell to take best actor for Moon (also snubbed, but so good) a while back. Maybe there should be an Acedemy category for that genre? If you happen to watch the awards show, I hope you will enjoy it!

 

[KazeAizen]

Ah - I see! Thanks for taking time to respond. I totally understand now. Yah, expectations have the power to make or break a movie. With Brave I never saw a single preview. A friend of mine showed me her character design quite some time before realease, so I went into the theater only knowing that I thought her design was really cool. So the simple, small story was sweet and I could really focus on the characters' personalities and the world of the film - and her personality was a nice change of pace. I'm a little miffed that she is a catagorized as a princess too (perhaps for different reasons?). The list of discriptive words I could use for her character is so much larger than what I could use to describe the other princesses (except maybe for Ariel - I don't know about the Frozen characters as I haven't seen it yet). And the movie bucks the usual love story formula. But yah, it was a small story about little more than family dissagreements, the need for strong communication, mother / daughter relationships, hierarchy, and self-reliance. So I can totally understand now how people expecting a sweeping tale and an epic adventure would be dissappointed at the smallness(?) of it - despite how much I personally liked it. Definitely.

Just like how the preview for Gravity had me expecting some methodical, high-concept scifi (the preview did for me what the full film did for your brother I guess) and themes of loneliness, fear of the unknown, helplessness, silence, distance, etc. set my expectation to on the exact opposite end of the dial to what the film was. Of course, it wasn't the film's fault; and I will freely admit I was projecting my own expectations on what the preview offered. I completely understand why other people really loved it. I do think it should win special effects for sure. And yah, the snubbing of Pacific Rim is sad. Still no academy love for genre scifi (not really since Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssy, anyway). I wanted Sam Rockwell to take best actor for Moon (also snubbed, but so good) a while back. Maybe there should be an Acedemy category for that genre? If you happen to watch the awards show, I hope you will enjoy it!

No problem man. Brave was a good movie just an ultimately disappointing one to many and so I think the blow just happens to be a bit harder since it was also Pixar behind the wheel. As for the Frozen characters you could probably use more to describe them then her and do yourself a favor. GO SEE FROZEN OR RENT IT FROM REDBOX IMMEDIATELY! Brave was a bucking of the traditional princess trope but it was also the usual son or daughter misunderstanding father trope. It usually does it with the dad and rarely the mother daughter to my knowledge. She is categorized as a princess because the film was a hit and even though it was a different studio that studio was still under the Disney umbrella. Ergo they decided to make her an official Disney princess which they apparently have like a little coronation for them and such. If the film isn't a major success or hit then they don't. That's why you don't see Kida from Atlantis in the official line up.

And it did last night. I'm waiting for the day when genre film sweep more awards than just the special effects or editing. I think the last time one did was Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. I'm not sure who the Academy is but Bob keeps describing them as almost ancient which I can see. Also they just denied Leo yet another Oscar. Genre films are slowly becoming legitimate master works. I mean Gravity isn't exactly a genre film but it is the closest thing we got this year to one that actually had a chance at several of the more prestigious awards. Last time that happened was Inception I think. Hell I'm miffed Frozen didn't get nominated for best picture. I think the only time animated flicks have done that Beauty and Beast and Spirited Away. As much as I would like a category for that I don't think they should do that. However I do think they should bring back an award they used to have which basically was like biggest box office draw or some kind of popularity award. Essentially an award movies like The Avengers, Pacific Rim (in other countries because Grown Ups 2 can kiss my ass), and other genre films could take. Hell Jason Statham has apparently been trying to lobby for a stunts academy award for either stuntmen or the actors that do their own stunts. Quite frankly guys like him and Jackie Chan way back when at least deserve an honorary Oscar almost killing themselves on a regular basis while making movies.

 

[Monsterfurby]

Wow, so much horse-racing lingo.

 

[vagabondwillsmile]

Ah - I see! Thanks for taking time to respond. I totally understand now. Yah, expectations have the power to make or break a movie. With Brave I never saw a single preview. A friend of mine showed me her character design quite some time before realease, so I went into the theater only knowing that I thought her design was really cool. So the simple, small story was sweet and I could really focus on the characters' personalities and the world of the film - and her personality was a nice change of pace. I'm a little miffed that she is a catagorized as a princess too (perhaps for different reasons?). The list of discriptive words I could use for her character is so much larger than what I could use to describe the other princesses (except maybe for Ariel - I don't know about the Frozen characters as I haven't seen it yet). And the movie bucks the usual love story formula. But yah, it was a small story about little more than family dissagreements, the need for strong communication, mother / daughter relationships, hierarchy, and self-reliance. So I can totally understand now how people expecting a sweeping tale and an epic adventure would be dissappointed at the smallness(?) of it - despite how much I personally liked it. Definitely.

Just like how the preview for Gravity had me expecting some methodical, high-concept scifi (the preview did for me what the full film did for your brother I guess) and themes of loneliness, fear of the unknown, helplessness, silence, distance, etc. set my expectation to on the exact opposite end of the dial to what the film was. Of course, it wasn't the film's fault; and I will freely admit I was projecting my own expectations on what the preview offered. I completely understand why other people really loved it. I do think it should win special effects for sure. And yah, the snubbing of Pacific Rim is sad. Still no academy love for genre scifi (not really since Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssy, anyway). I wanted Sam Rockwell to take best actor for Moon (also snubbed, but so good) a while back. Maybe there should be an Acedemy category for that genre? If you happen to watch the awards show, I hope you will enjoy it!

No problem man. Brave was a good movie just an ultimately disappointing one to many and so I think the blow just happens to be a bit harder since it was also Pixar behind the wheel. As for the Frozen characters you could probably use more to describe them then her and do yourself a favor. GO SEE FROZEN OR RENT IT FROM REDBOX IMMEDIATELY! Brave was a bucking of the traditional princess trope but it was also the usual son or daughter misunderstanding father trope. It usually does it with the dad and rarely the mother daughter to my knowledge. She is categorized as a princess because the film was a hit and even though it was a different studio that studio was still under the Disney umbrella. Ergo they decided to make her an official Disney princess which they apparently have like a little coronation for them and such. If the film isn't a major success or hit then they don't. That's why you don't see Kida from Atlantis in the official line up.

And it did last night. I'm waiting for the day when genre film sweep more awards than just the special effects or editing. I think the last time one did was Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. I'm not sure who the Academy is but Bob keeps describing them as almost ancient which I can see. Also they just denied Leo yet another Oscar. Genre films are slowly becoming legitimate master works. I mean Gravity isn't exactly a genre film but it is the closest thing we got this year to one that actually had a chance at several of the more prestigious awards. Last time that happened was Inception I think. Hell I'm miffed Frozen didn't get nominated for best picture. I think the only time animated flicks have done that Beauty and Beast and Spirited Away. As much as I would like a category for that I don't think they should do that. However I do think they should bring back an award they used to have which basically was like biggest box office draw or some kind of popularity award. Essentially an award movies like The Avengers, Pacific Rim (in other countries because Grown Ups 2 can kiss my ass), and other genre films could take. Hell Jason Statham has apparently been trying to lobby for a stunts academy award for either stuntmen or the actors that do their own stunts. Quite frankly guys like him and Jackie Chan way back when at least deserve an honorary Oscar almost killing themselves on a regular basis while making movies.

I didn't know that about the whole Disney induction ceremony. That's interesting. A popularity type award could be cool but I wouldn't risk giving anymore legitimacy to anything like a Grown Ups 2. Maybe if was between a set of movies that are generally well respected but are known not to win any other categories? I'm sure there would be a way to make work somehow. The stunt crew idea is awesome! That would be really cool. I was really excited when Zoe Bell (Uma Thurman's pimary stunt double in Kill Bill) got her own starring role in Death Proof. Yeah the stunt actors should get some Academy limelight for the work they put in.