Spirited Away Academy Awards Screener

Ghibli fan Molly DeWolff asks about this impressive little piece of Studio Ghibli memorabilia:

Hi! 

I found an academy screener copy of Spirited Away at my local library book sale and wondered if you could tell me a little bit about it? After relatively thorough google searching, your tweet about the same copy back in June of this year (though the one I found is NOT sealed) is the closest I came to finding anything like it. Is a copy like this collectible or worth keeping? Can you tell me where I can find more information on it? 

Thanks! I appreciate your help.

I shared some photos of this VHS Spirited Away screener on my Twitter page earlier this year. I found it on Ebay, which means one lucky Miyazaki fan now has this prized item in their collection. I'm a little envious, and I'm wondering right now why I never tried to buy it when I had the chance.

Movie "screeners" are commonly used in Hollywood during the awards season. Free copies are distributed to voters and judges, usually along with a nice gift basket, press kit or other promotional items. It is the same as any home video release, only without the endless commercials and with minimal packaging. Also, as this was distributed at the end of 2002, the Disney producers released on videotape. It's crazy to imagine that people were still watching movies on VHS barely only 16 years ago.

Right now, as I'm writing this post, a local Chicago TV station is broadcasting Mel Brooks' 1968 comedy classic The Producers. They're playing an old videotape. You can really hear the tape hiss in the background, the details are smudgy, the colors are bleeding everywhere, and the picture is cropped...but it still looks pretty good. I'm having a fun time. Heck, at this point, I'd feel very tempted to pop in this Spirited Away VHS and make a big bowl of popcorn.

Anyway, if you ever find any screener VHS tapes, hold onto them. They'll be worth something someday. Maybe. Whatever. Sentimental value is priceless.

My Oscar Night Impressions

As I get older, watching the Oscars every year feels more like sitting through a high school auditorium assembly. It's not a lot of fun, usually packed with hype that rarely delivers, is woefully predictable, but the occassional unscripted moments are enough to keep you holding on. And, needless to say, the whole pageant runs at least an hour too long.

The Oscars play out like a marathon, and a certain level of endurance is required. You can see this with Neil Patrick Harris, this year's host, who began bursting with energy on the stage, only to feel exhausted and almost overwhelmed by the end. I remember the terrific opening number and some of the impromptu zingers; I can't remember anything memorable in the final hour, aside from the "locked envelope" gag that fizzled in the end. By that point, it's past 11:00 pm, and we're all trying to get to bed. Today, I'm still struggling to wake up after two cups of coffee (which normally is enough caffeine to trigger existential panic attacks).

That said, this year's Oscars telecast was okay-ish. Pretty good. It had a few nice moments, one or two genuine surprises (provided you didn't catch the other awards shows or check the betting odds). Let's see if I can compile a short list of last night's show:

The Good:

1) The opening song number was very good, with Neil Patrick Harris singing and dancing through a pastiche of classic movies. The Jack Black cameo added a much-needed satirical bite and made me smile. Jack Black should host the Oscars; he has a manic, boundless energy that's infectious. He might actually last all twelve hours of the show without gasping for air by the end. Also, is it just me, or is he slowly turning into Orson Welles? He could pass for Citizen Kane's caffeinated grandson.

2) Birdman took the top honors (Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Original Screenplay), but Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel also scored four Oscars (Best Costume Design, Makeup, Production Design, Original Score). Whiplash captured three (Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons, Film Mixing and Sound Mixing). All of the top pictures came away with something, owing to the Academy's current goal of "fairness."

3) The "Everything is Awesome" number was terrific, and felt like a vindication for The Lego Movie's inexplicable snub this year. Bonus points for Will Arnet's Batman cameo. Double Bonus Points for Mark Mothersbaugh's Devo cameo, complete with the red "energy dome" hat. Did you also notice the "Lego" logo behind him was taken from the 1980 "Dev-O Live" album? This performance is packed with tiny, fleeting details that require multiple viewings on YouTube. Highlight of the show for me.

4) Congratulations on Citizenfour's Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. I expected the Academy, in its usual toothlessness, to avoid such a charged political movie. Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 is another solid win

5) Common and John Legend's "Glory" brought the house down. We all knew they'd win an Oscar as compensation for Selma's ignoble snubbing, but they still played their hearts out. The audience was moved to tears. Kudos to Common for highlighting the modern scandal of African-American men in prisons. The United States jails more of its citizens than any nation on Earth; something is clearly wrong with that statistic, and must be very critically examined.

The Bad:

1) My reaction over the Best Animated Feature Oscar on Twitter: "WHAT?!" Need I say more?  Most of us cynically expected Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon to win the award because we assume, with good reason, the Academy voters don't give a damn about animation, and only see it as The Electric Babysitter. Turns out we weren't cynical enough. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is an expressionist masterpiece of art; Big Hero 6 is a box of Cap'n Crunch.

2) The awards are too damned predictable. If you follow the awards ceremonies leading up to the Oscars, you'll have a virtual lock on all the major awards. The official odds on the winners were almost 100% correct, aside from Disney's Big Hero 6, which just blindsided everybody. Something needs to change; either schedule the Golden Globes and SAG Awards at different times of the year, or change the Oscar voting perameters, or expand the Academy membership for more (and younger) members.

3) The show ran an hour too long. Why did the main show begin at 7:30? Who made that call? A looong tribute to The Sound of Music seemed to drain all the energy out of the theater. Lady Gaga gave a good performance (her Kitchenware rubber gloves were thankfully lost). Julie Andrews looked fine. But the whole sequence just dragged, and coming after the "In Memorandum" sequence, just put me to sleep. I don't think the show ever recovered its earlier energy after this.

4) Only one Oscar for Richard Linklater's Boyhood, one for Selma, one for The Imitation Game? We'll have to check back in 15 years to see how badly those decisions have aged. The Oscars are notorious for snubbing the true classics. But, as the saying goes, it's good just to be nominated. Arguing the results is always the most fun part of any Oscar party.

Oscar Week's Animated Features - The Complete Program

On Thursday at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, the Motion Picture Academy celebrated its Oscar nominees for Best Animated Feature. This two-hour stage presentation included the major players from all five nominated movies, where they discussed their craft and their thoughts of the animation medium.

We posted a news article for this event on Friday. Today, we have the entire presentation available for viewing. As always, Thank God For YouTube. Isao Takahata's segment begins at 1:22:00.

A special thanks to Heinz Freyhofer, who has graciously served as Ghibli Blog's news "gopher" this week. He has supplied me with several of the news articles published on this site, and for that, I am extremely grateful.  Enjoy the Oscar Week presentation!

Disney's Frozen is a Lock For the Animated Feature Oscar

Obviously, as the creator of Ghibli Blog, I'm rooting for Hayao Miyazaki to win a second Best Animated Oscar for his final directorial feature, The Wind Rises, at this Sunday's Academy Awards.  But I think Disney's smash hit Frozen is a guaranteed lock on this year's Oscar.  A few quick reasons why:

1) Everyone Gets One Oscar.  It's an unspoken rule that the Motion Picture Academy will give you one award for your career, not just one film or performance.  And, most often, one must suffer several nominations and "earn their dues" before winning.  Hayao Miyazaki was already given his Oscar.  In the eyes of Hollywood, he's in the club.

2) Voters Haven't Seen Miyazaki's Film.  The Wind Rises only played briefly in New York and L.A. at the end of the year, in order to qualify for nominations.  Last Friday, Disney released the film to an extremely limited 22 theaters; wider release is this Friday, February 28.  That makes it unlikely that Academy voters even had an opportunity to see the picture.

3) Disney is Fighting For Frozen.  A decade ago, Miyazaki won his Oscar for Spirited Away because Pixar's John Lasseter fought tooth and nail on his behalf.  You need powerful players to carry your back in this game.  This year, Disney/Pixar has their own nominated movie to support.  Guess which movie that is.

4) Frozen Has Swept Awards Season.  A good gauge for who will win on Oscar night is the collection of awards shows leading up to the March 2 broadcast - Golden Globes, BAFTA, the Annies, American Cinema Editors, the various Film Critics Associations.  Disney has swept everything this year, making this an almost guaranteed lock.

5) Old Voters Fear Anime.  The median age of Academy voters is 62.  And male.  And white.  And what does the average senior citizen think of Japanese animation?  They're scared of it.  Scared to death.  "Anime" is this strange, alien beast, a nightmare world of naked strippers, giant robots, gratuitous violence, and buckets of blood.  Or, conversely, "anime" means cheaply-made, choppy cartoons like Astro Boy or Speed Racer.  They're not "real cartoons."

6) It's Disney's Turn.  Remember what I said about everyone getting one Oscar?  Disney has yet to win the Best Animated Feature category; it's usually Pixar's award most years.  But this year, Monsters U failed to even win a nomination, which clears the field.  And, thanks to John Lasseter's oversight, Disney Animation Studios have dramatically improved their output.  Wreck-It-Ralph was terrific, and the Planes franchise is a huge hit with kids.  Frozen feels like a triumph for the studio, a return to form not seen since The Lion King.

Frozen is a good movie, very solid, very skillfully made.  It is making crazy money at the box office, the songs are big hits on the pop charts, and we haven't seen a good Disney animated musical in 20 years.  This movie deserves its success and deserves to win its Oscar.  I don't see any reason for Ghibli Freaks to feel bummed.  Unless we're going to talk about Isao Takahata getting snubbed...oy, vey!

2011 Oscar Nominations: King's Speech, True Grit, Social Network

This morning, the 2011 Oscar nominations were announced.  "The King's Speech" leads with 12 nominations, while the Coen Brothers, our local heroes, surged into second place with "True Grit" and 10 nominations.  "The Social Network," the early runaway favorite, sits at third place with eight nods.  "The Boxer" and "Inception" also received eight picks, including Best Picture.  This could be an interesting battle for the top awards.

Christopher Nolan was ignored for a Best Director nomination, and this seems to be causing grief on Twitter.  If the Motion Picture Academy were wiser, Inception would be a stronger contender for the top awards.  They lament falling ratings for the Oscars, and yet they studiously avoid any movie that was a hit at the box office.  It would also help if they opened up Best Picture and Best Director to, say, comedies, documentaries, or animation.  Instead, it's the same dramas released late in the year.

Animation fans will be happy to see "Toy Story 3" nominated for Best Picture, but this is a ceremonial pick.  Academy voters are still struggling to fill ten Best Picture slots, and the second half, like last year, are throwaways.  Pixar will still be happy to have another feather in their cap.

I am surprised and happy to see Sylvain Chomet's "The Illusionist" nominated for Best Animated Feature.  Once again, spaces are reserved for Pixar Movie and Dreamworks Movie, and this remains a category that nobody in particular really cares about.  Pixar will walk away with the Oscar yet again, because it requires the least amount of time to think about.

Here are the complete 2011 Oscar Nominations:

Best Picture

‘Black Swan’
‘The Fighter’
‘Inception’
‘The Kids Are All Right’
‘The King’s Speech’
‘127 Hours’
‘The Social Network’
‘Toy Story 3′
‘True Grit’
‘Winter’s Bone’

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky, ‘Black Swan’
David O’Russell, ‘The Fighter’
Tom Hooper, ‘The King’s Speech’
David Fincher, ‘The Social Network’
Joel and Ethan Coen, ‘True Grit’

Best Actor

Javier Bardem, ‘Biutiful’
Jeff Bridges, ‘True Grit’
Jesse Eisenberg, ‘The Social Network’
Colin Firth, ‘The King’s Speech’
James Franco, ‘127 Hours’

Best Actress

Annette Bening, ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Nicole Kidman, ‘Rabbit Hole’
Jennifer Lawrence, ‘Winter’s Bone’
Natalie Portman, ‘Black Swan’
Michelle Williams, ‘Blue Valentine’

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, ‘The Fighter’
John Hawkes, ‘Winter’s Bone’
Jeremy Renner, ‘The Town’
Mark Ruffalo, ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Geoffrey Rush, ‘The King’s Speech’

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, ‘The Fighter’
Helena Bonham Carter, ‘The King’s Speech’
Melissa Leo, ‘The Fighter’
Hailee Steinfeld, ‘True Grit’
Jacki Weaver, ‘Animal Kingdom’

Best Animated Feature Film

‘How to Train Your Dragon’
‘Illusionist’
‘Toy Story 3′

Best Foreign Film

Mexico - ‘Biutiful’
Greece - ‘Dogtooth’
Denmark - ‘In a Better World’
Canada - ‘Incendies’
Algeria - ‘Outside the law’

Best Original Screenplay

‘Another Year’
‘The Fighter’
‘Inception’
‘The Kids Are All Right’
‘The King’s Speech’

Best Adapted Screenplay

‘127 Hours’
‘The Social Network’
‘Toy Story 3′
‘True Grit’
‘Winter’s Bone’

Best Art Direction

‘Alice in Wonderland’
‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I’
‘Inception’
‘The King’s Speech’
‘True Grit’

Best Costume Design

‘Alice in Wonderland’
‘I Am Love’
‘The King’s Speech’
‘The Tempest’
‘True Grit’

Best Original Score

‘How to Train Your Dragon’ John Powell
‘Inception’ Hans Zimmer
‘The King’s Speech’ Alexandre Desplat
‘127 Hours’ A.R. Rahman
‘The Social Network’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Best Documentary

‘Exit through the Gift Shop’ Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz
‘Gasland’ Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
‘Inside Job’ Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
‘Restrepo’ Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
‘Waste Land’ Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Best Film Editing

‘Black Swan’
‘The Fighter’
‘The Kings Speech’
‘127 Hours’
‘The Social Network’

Best Makeup

‘Barney’s Version’
‘The Way Back’
‘The Wolfman’

Best Sound Editing

‘Inception’
‘Toy Story 3′
‘TRON: Legacy’
‘True Grit’
‘Unstoppable’

Best Sound Mixing

‘Inception’
‘The King’s Speech’
‘Salt’
‘The Social Network’
‘True Grit’

Do I Really Have to Watch the Oscars?

Okay, we've all had our morning coffee and our cinnamon bagels, and the hangovers are wearing off.  What did everybody think of this year's Oscars?

I've been a fan of the Oscars for many, many years; it really is an event where the whole family sits down in front of the television set together.  So I suppose there's a degree of brand loyalty on my part.  That said, I've become increasingly bored over the past several years.  Either the show's producers are far too cautious and timid, and they've squeezed out all the spontanaeity and life, or I've figured out the "formula" by which the Motion Picture Academy hands out awards, or perhaps I've just outgrown it all.  Whatever the reasons, I'm getting very bored.

Was it just me, or were the jokes just falling flat?  Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin seemed like they could make a good team, and I like the idea of having a duo trade barbs and wisecracks.  In practice, however, it really didn't happen.  Either the writers weren't inspired this year, or Martin & Baldwin needed to work on their timing, I don't know.  I don't think they were on stage nearly enough.  Just what is the purpose of the Oscars MC?  They deliver an opening monologue and then disappear while other celebrities do all the heavy lifting.  Very strange.

The Academy's producers seem terrified that any unscripted events will happen, like Roberto Begnini standing on chairs, or Michael Moore denouncing the Iraq War, or that streaker who ran past David Niven.  But that's why I'm watching the Oscars!  I want to see something crazy and unexpected happen.  I want Jack Palance doing one-armed pushups!  I want Adrian Brody making out with Hally Berry.  I want Jack Nicholson drunk off his ass and making a fool of himself.

I want something, anything, that demonstrates these Beautiful People in show business are real human beings, and not animated robots.  I don't want an efficient machine.  Life is neither efficient nor a machine.  I want the excitement and passion of the movies.  I want the melodrama and the thrills and the spills.  I want Groucho Marx hitting on Margaret Dumont.  I want Nora Desmond begging for her closeup.  I am not interested in yet another boring acceptance speech that thanks family members and then shuffles off, in time for the next stupid commercial.

Maybe it's because I never watch television anymore.  If it weren't for the Nintendo and the DVD player, I wouldn't even own one.  My fab stereo system is the center of my living room.  Just listen to Miles Davis on the Sony turntable!  Listen to Beethoven!  It's amazing!  Why would you waste your precious lives on Jay Leno and reality shows when you could be immersed in great music?

So perhaps Marshall MacLuhan and Terence McKenna are right, and the media we consume skewer our sensory ratios.  Perhaps my brain has become wired against the passive drugged-out experience of television.  Even when there's something worth watching - Ken Burns' latest documentary, the Winter Olympics, Conan O'Brien's final Tonight Show - it feels like a compromise.  I'd rather see it in person, or hear it on the radio.  The idiot box just makes me cranky now.  It feels designed to make you stupid and numb.  It feels like an idiot narcotic to me.

So I sit down and watch the Oscars, and pass along my cranky grandpa rants to Marcee, who keeps me sane, and I pass along notes on Twitter for the sake of my readers.  It was okay.  It was sadly predictable, boring, lifeless, and always slightly off the mark.  Will I remember any of this in a week's time?  Will we remember anything next month?  Part of me fears that I'm losing interest in the movies.  I hope that is not the case.  There's so much strang and drum to muscle through, but there's always a surprise, a hidden gem, a truly great movie, if you are but willing to look.  When we lose curiosity, our spirit of exploration, that is when we truly grow old and die.  That is when the idiot narcotics win.

The Oscar Nominations Are In - Up is In, Ponyo is Snubbed

82nd Academy Awards Nominees

I'm sure everybody has had a chance to look over this morning's Oscar nominations.  It's a pretty good list overall, but I'm reminded of the Simpson's episode where Homer is recruited as a NASA astronaut and launched into space.  "Get the rating" seems to be the mantra.

And if Hollywood wanted an Oscar drama to bring in the viewers, hoo boy, they got it.  James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, divorced couple, in the lead for most nominations, for Best Director and Best Picture?  It smacks of calculation, but it just may work.  The expansion to ten Best Picture nominees was another attempt to attract viewers, and we can see an effort to pick movies outside of the art-house circuit.

Roger Ebert observes that the five Best Director films are the "serious" Best Picture nominees, the real contenders, and I'll have to agree with him.  It's not that I expected Pixar's Up to be a credible contender; we're just happy to be nominated.

I do think the push for Avatar speaks more for Hollywood's desperation to sell expensive 3D movies than anything.  Is Avatar really worthy of nine nominations?  Is it really one of the year's best movies?  I find that very hard to swallow.  In all fairness, I have to see this movie, but it's not the kind of movie I'd want to see.  Special effects blockbusters with video game graphics are not my thing.  I need more than sugar in my diet.  But I'll go watch one of these days and give it a fair chance.  Maybe it won't feel like an Xbox version of Dances With Wolves (ugh).

Now let's get to the Animation categories.  First, congratulations to Pixar for Up's Best Picture nomination.  Hollywood has now officially apologized for snubbing Wall-E.  I hope this bodes well for animation, and that it inspires studios to move beyond the safe boundaries of summer roller coaster rides and family formulas.

Now to Best Animation Feature.  Ponyo wuz robbed.  Boo!!  That's an unacceptable omission, and either reflects the Motion Picture Academy's ignorance of animation, or bias against foreign movies.  Perhaps they feel that Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli received their praises for the Spirited Away Oscar, and that's enough.  More "statement" awards.  I'm really tired of that.  It's as though everybody gets a nomination or a statue just for hanging around long enough.  This year, it's your turn.  Next year it's theirs.

I'll pull out this argument when Sandra Bullock wins over Meryl Streep.  Sorry, but some film artists simply dominate, and that should be acknowledged.

Nominations for Best Animation Feature: Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells, and Up.  Pixar is the easy favorite, as always.  There is a possibility, however, that the Academy will consider Up's Best Picture nod to be "their award" this year, and hand this Oscar to someone else.  I think Coraline could be a fan favorite, as it's a clever and charming movie that's skillfully hand-crafted.  Fantastic Mr. Fox is a critic's favorite, but its appeal is limited.  It's happy to be nominated.  Disney could win for Princess and the Frog.  That would be a plus for hand-drawn animation, but wouldn't that be a lazy win?  Will it be seen as a box-office disappointment, of an overlooked classic?

Secret of Kells is the real shocker.  I didn't expect this at all.  I'm not even sure if it played in the Twin Cities.  Another win for hand-drawn animation; in fact, this is a very solid collection of films.  It shows the diversity of the animation artform, its vitality and creativity.

Still, Secret of Kells snuck in like some lucky wild card team.  Ponyo deserved that spot.  Hell, Ponyo deserved a Best Picture nod alongside Up, but that's an old speech of mine, and it's all water under the bridge.  Life continues.

Up was also nominated for Music (Original Score), and I think they're the clear winner.  Michael Giacchino brought the film to life, especially the emotionally-charged opening act.  It's a beautiful score, reminiscent of Fellini's movies.  The only possibility of an upset is if Avatar sweeps everything - and remember, Hollywood is desperate to sell us on 3D movies and 3D televisions.  It's the battle between art and commerce.

Finally, Up received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and as a writer, I'm glad to see Pixar recognized for their work.  Far too many animated movies are nothing more than video game demos, roller coaster rides.  Pixar has wisely focused on the essentials of storytelling, focused on the craft of filmmaking, and that's why they're where they are today.  The competition is too fierce in this category, so I couldn't expect a Pixar win.  It's good to be nominated.

Don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to this year's Oscars.  This should be fun.  Just don't let Cameron walk away with everything.  Please let there be some surprises for once.

Golden Globe Nominations Announced

The Golden Globe Nominations have been announced, and Ghibli Freaks will be paying special attention to the Animation and Foreign Film categories.  Sadly, Ponyo did not receive any nominations.

The movies nominated for Best Animated Feature Film include Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, and Up.

While I would have been thrilled to see Miyazaki's Ponyo given a nod, it most likely would have to be in the Foreign Language category, and not the Animation Feature.  American movies take center stage in this venue, and this year has been excellent for the animation medium.  There's just a lot of competition this time around.

I have to say I'm happy to see Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox given nominations.  I wouldn't expect either to win (Pixar will wrap up the award once again), but it's very good news to see these more independent-minded (and inventive) films acknowledged.  I would like to see more films like those.  I'd like to see the medium expand and grow, and not merely rehash or mimic what Pixar has done.

I know it's a silly old cliche, but sometimes, it really is good enough just to be nominated.  The artists behind these films should feel proud.  And they should feel inspired to create more intelligent, original movies.  The animation medium is dependent on fresh ideas, not formula.  Let's hope some good comes from this.

The big question, for me, is what this suggest for the Oscar nominations.  The Golden Globes are often viewed as an early indicator of where the Motion Picture Academy will go.  That's probably truer for the major acting categories, and less so for the "minor" categories, but this does suggest where

Obviously, I think Ponyo deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Animation Feature.  Heck, I think it deserves a nod for Best Picture, and I've harped on that enough.  But it is quite possible that Hollywood will decide that Hayao Miyazaki has already been recognized for his achievements when he won the Oscar for Spirited Away.  The Golden Globe nominations suggest this.  We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Oscar's Animation Ghetto

Reader and Ghibli Freak Tim Maughan wrote an interesting comment that got me thinking today. I posted a couple replies in the comments section, but decided I should also throw it up on the main page.

Here's what Tim wrote:

"I have to say - with the exception of last year's Wall-E - I'm not much of a Pixar fan. Their stuff looks too plastic for me, and over-animated. Plus I was hoping Ponyo might get a look in for the Oscar next year, but no - I'm sure this will grab it for Pixar. Ah well."

This got me thinking about the Oscars and their Animation categories, and here are my thoughts on the matter, with a couple of edits and additions:

Yes, it's probably a foregone conclusion that Pixar will grab yet another Oscar for Up. The sorry ghetto of the "animation" category all but precludes it. Of course, if there was actually some worthwhile competition, maybe things would change.

I do expect Ponyo to be nominated, but given the usual politics of the Oscar Academy, Miyazaki has already been given his Oscar in honor of his prestigous career. His name is famous enough for his movies to be nominated, while great movies such as Persepolis, Paprika, Tekkon Kinkreet, Innocence and Mind Game were ignored.

The Best Animated Film category is a ghetto largely because of the Academy's prejudices. They've got better things to do with their time than watch a bunch of silly kiddie cartoons, especially those weird ones where all the people talk funny. Just give the damn statue to Pixar and be done with it.

Mind you, my criticism is with the Motion Picture Academy, not any of the nominees. It's the Academy that follows the same tired, predictable formulas, the same hackneyed "dramas" for the major Oscars, year in, year out. There are many great movies that have been shuffled off into ghettos - animation, documentaries, and foreiegn movies. I think all of these are worthy of the top honors.

My favorite movie of 2008 was Werner Hertzog's Encounters at the End of the World. I think some of this decade's best movies have been documentaries, and if you're lucky enough to live in a large enough city, you were able to see many of them in your local theater. All I can say is, thank goodness for DVD and Netflix.

As for animation, we already have seen Piece, Sita Sings the Blues, Bashir's Waltz, and Coraline. What are the odds those films will see nominations? Fat chance. The slots are already reserved for "Pixar Movie," "Disney Movie," and "Dreamworks Movie." There ain't no room left. Sorry. The Best Animation Short category might fare better, but it's a woefully overlooked and underappreciated category. If any class of movies deserved to thrive in the age of YouTube and iTunes, it's short films.

Oh, and just for the record, my favorite movie of the 2000's is....envelope, please...

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Discuss! Tawk amongst yourselves!

A Couple Quick Post-Oscar Thoughts

I wanted to throw together a couple random thoughts about last night's 2007 Oscars. I'll try to stick to the script, lest the orchestra boot me off stage.

I've been a fan of the Oscars for some time, and always tune in every year, rain or shine. But now, I'm seriously thinking of quitting the tradition. This was a dreadful bore. BORING! - And the problem is that it's been consistently boring for a number of years now. Change of hosts, change of movies, doesn't really matter, does it? The fun is still missing.

I miss the spontanaeity. I miss Jack Palance and his one-arm pushups. I miss Michael Moore's anti-war speech. Where the hell are all the political statements? The closest we got was Melissa Ethridge's mention of her wife. That and some Jerry Seinfeld cracks at the movie theatres. There's no more fun in this show. There's no scandal. There's nothing to really talk about the next morning.

There were a couple susprises, here and there. I'm happy to see that American Idol's reputation for spotting talent was exposed as the fraud it always was. Can we cancel that lousy show now? Bring back The Gong Show, dammit!

There's too much obsession over timing and getting the actors off the stage. Say your thanks, shut up, get off. Still, the show runs four hours. What's the deal with that? We were having fun and still staying up until 11:30 at night. What's the use? It's become so lifeless and dull that I'm praying for....Roberto Begnini. At least he knew how to have a good time.

On the animation side, the dancing penguins are probably going to be seen as a portent of doom from animators, fearing that their art will become obsolete in the name of cheap, assembly-line CGI mo-cap. There's probably a lot of truth in that; however, I wouldn't sound the alarm bell so soon. The problems with American animation run deeper than the toolsets. It doesn't matter how the movies are made if they're going to stick to the same tired, worn-out, marketing-dictated scripts. The medium, as I've always said, needs to grow up.

I spent the rest of the night catching up on my Heidi episodes, and dammit all to heck if this isn't a more compelling show than anything that was up for an Oscar. What's the story with that? Are we so timid? Are we so dependent upon cliches and safe profit streams - which is the real reason most of these animated cartoons get made at all - that we'll never try anything different? Heidi isn't exactly Igmar Bergman, folks; and, yet, it's still far more challenging, compelling, and emotionally honest than anything seen today. A television series from 1974.

Then again, I remind myself that the movies from 1974 were better than the crap today. Small world.

I'd also like to remind everyone hoping for a Disney renaissance, the dream that they will embrace traditional animation and lead the revival - those bastards buried Howl's Moving Castle. If given the proper exposure, Howl would have broken $100 million at the American box office. I'll bet money on it, and I've got the traffic logs to my website to prove it. That movie had a following, and it had legs.

And Disney buried it alive. Did they just want to snub a rival studio? Was it a casualty in the short-lived war against Pixar? Was it a calculated decision in light of their move towards CGI clunkers like Chicken Little? Doesn't do too well to have the public discover you made a major screwup like...oh, I dunno...abandoning classic animated movies when there's still a wide audience for it.

I'll always maintain that there is a greater audience for the movies we're getting, and that extends to animation as well. Someone just needs to drop the fairy-tale schlock and drop the sitcom schlock, and get to work on something better. The animated shorts awarded Oscars give us a good clue. Oscar doesn't want Cars. It doesn't want theme parks. It wants "All About My Father" and "The Danish Poet."

Finally, one reader to this blog asked about Goro Miyazaki's movie and why it wasn't nominated. I wouldn't worry here. Since Tales From Earthsea cannot be shown here in America until 2009 at least, that leaves a slot for Best Animated Feature off the table. There could be a slate for Best Foreign Film - and remember that Takahata's Pom Poko was Japan's entry into that category a decade ago - but the animation categories probably negate that option.

Also, remember that the Oscars very rarely bestow top honors for a first-time work, especially from the son of the world's most famous filmmaker. Goro needs to prove himself. Here's what will happen. If he continues to make movies - and this is still very questionable right now - he will eventually create a classic that makes his name. And then it will be snubbed by the Oscars, in favor of something hideous and painfully bad. Cough, Ordinary People, cough. Then, a few decades later, he'll finally get his long-overdue Oscar for some picture that's good, but not in the league of his greats. And we'll all be happy. Amen.