And the Oscar Nominees are…. (updated)
The Oscar Nominees have been announced and Disney and Pixar have several chances to win the prestige award in several categories (…and for sure Disney is happier whit these nominees then the one of the RAZZIES).
Cars has the chance to win Best Animated Feature of the year. Just as at the Golden Globes the Pixar animation is up against “Happy Feet” and “Monster House”. My predictions are that Cars will be taking the Oscar home… In addition the song “Our Town” written by Randy Newman for Cars and performed on the soundtrack by James Taylor is in the running for Best Original Song (side note: it was the only song rerecorded German for the release in Germany), but is up against three songs from Dreamgirls which might stand a very good chance after that movie, even so dubbed a “sure bet” has been left out of the race for “Best Picture”.
Pirates of the Caribbean; Dead Man’s Chest could qualify for the Achievement for Art Direction Oscar. It is up against Pan’s Labyrinth, Dreamgirls, The Good Shepherd and The Prestige (which nets thereby another nomination for Disney). I think Pirates has a good chance to sail home with the statue.
Apocalypto is up for the achievement for Make Up but might have a hard time winning from Pan’s Labyrinth.
Other Nominees for Disney are in the categories for Sound Editing (Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest and Apocalypto), Sound Mixing (Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest and Apocalypto), Visual Effects (Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest) as well as Cinematography (The Prestige). But maybe the most noteworthy nomination is to be found in the category “Best Short Film - Animated” where the classical animated “The Little Matchgirl” from Disney is running against “The Danish Poet”, “Maestro”, “No Time For Nuts” and also Pixar’s “Lifted” directed by Gary Rydstrom which gives Disney / Pixar two opportunities to garner this specific OSCAR. You haven’t seen “Lifted” yet? Well, there is a free, exclusive clip (not the full short) available online as part of the 2007 AWN OSCAR Showcase (there are also clips from the other four contenders).
“The Little Matchgirl” is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Girl with Matchsticks,” and was the last of the Disney shorts created in connection with Fantasia 2000, even so it did not make the final cut to be included in Fantasia 2000. The short is set to a recording of Alexander Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2 in D Major: Third Movement: Noturno (Andante) and was directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King) with the support of producers Don Hahn and Baker Bloodworth as well as executive producer Roy Disney before his departure from The Walt Disney Company. It’s said to have been the last Disney animation project that utilized the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), the first digital ink-and-paint, compositing and rendering program for traditionally animated projects, developed by The Walt Disney Co. and Pixar. While storyboarding, design and post work for the short was done at Walt Disney Feature Animation in Burbank, large portions of the actual animation were done at Disney’s Paris Studio which in the meantime has been closed down. For more detailed information about the stunning short and some artwork I recommend the article The Little Matchgirl: A Matchless Watercolor Experiment by Bill Desowitz on VFX World - or just take a look for yourself. The short is included as a bonus feature on the DVD-release of “The Little Mermaid”.
And before we forget it: there are also 7 nominations which give Miramax, another studio owned by Disney an opportunity to win one or more OSCARS: 6 nominations for “The Queen” (Best Motion Picture, Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Directing, Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) as well as Original Screenplay) and one for “Venus” (Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role). A full list with all other nominees can be found on the Oscars site.
February 26th, 2007 at 10:54 am
[...] … not Disney. That might be the best way to sum up what turned out to be a disappointing night for Walt Disney Pictures in the Kodak Theater. Hopes had been high before the ceremony, after all Disney had netted 13 nominations plus an extra 7 ones for its Miramax label bringing it to a grand total of 20 nominations (for details, check our older post). In 4 categories there were even two Disney nominations competing against each other (Achievement in Art Direction with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and The Prestige; Achievement in Sound Mixing as well as Achievement in Sound Edition both with Apocalypto and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and finally Best Animated Short Film with Disney’s The Little Match Girl and Disney Pixar’s Lifted). But when Ellen said goodbye and the crowd moved on to the various after-show parties throughout Hollywood and LA Disney had managed to take home only two awards (which admittedly is still a respectable 10% of its nominations). One of the two OSCARS was the Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, which was handed to Helen Mirren for her performance in the title role of the Miramax release THE QUEEN. The other oscar went to PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST in the category Visual Effects. [...]