July 12, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal has joined the growing chorus of people calling for Disney to promote Wall-E as a Best Picture candidate at next year’s Academy Awards:
“WALL-E” isn’t just an animated feature; it’s a great motion picture by any measure, and has already been hailed as such — by critics who’ve called it a masterpiece (I’m one of them), by audiences who watch it in a state of enthrallment (which is one notch up from enchantment). In keeping with its singular distinction, Pixar’s latest gift to movie lovers should be a candidate for the most prestigious award, Best Picture, when Oscar time rolls around.
I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed, but you already knew that….
July 8, 2008 at 10:13 pm
TIME magazine asks a good question: Can WALL-E Win Best Picture? Needless to say, I’m rooting for it. But the article lays out the hurdles our little robotic hero will have to overcome:
- No animated movie has ever won Best Picture.
- Academy voters, especially actors, are biased against animated movies.
- Disney/Pixar may not want to spend the money promoting it for Best Picture, due to that bias.
WALL-E is far and away the most well-reviewed movie of the year so far, and it’s incredibly unlikely five other films will come along and get better overall critical reviews. WALL-E is also sure to be one of the highest-grossing movies of the year.
In other words, it has both critical and popular support.
But the Academy would much rather honor artsy-fartsy crap like No Country for Old Men, Crash, and Chicago — movies that appeal to Hollywood snobs much more than something like WALL-E ever will. And they wonder why the Oscars TV ratings are at an all-time low. The critics and people are voting now, and WALL-E deserves a chance at Best Picture.
June 18, 2008 at 3:24 pm
With Wall-E about to hit theaters in a little more than a week, Casa McGee is in Pixar mode. I’m excited, the kids are excited … not sure about Mrs. McGee, but I think she’s excited about it, too. I’m definitely the big Pixar fan in the family, but the kids love the movies, too, of course.
Last night at dinner I made the kids give me their Top 5 Pixar movies, and then I shared mine:
1.) Monsters, Inc. — I’m not ashamed to admit this is my favorite movie of all-time. I love everything about it, and the storyline never fails to make me cry. Maybe it was just perfect timing — a story about a little girl and monsters that came out with a year or two of having a daughter. It was too perfect.
2.) Finding Nemo - And here’s the heartfelt father-son story. Okay, so I’m a sucker for anything involving kids and parents (or parent-figures like Sully from Monsters). Plus, Nemo is just a non-stop animation tour de force and the colors are a joy to watch. (I sound like Ebert, don’t I?)
3.) Cars - I actually didn’t like this one on first viewing. Well, I liked it but it wasn’t all that. On many repeated viewings, though, I’ve become a bigger fan. Wonderful characters (Mater is the best Pixar character ever) and funny cameos from people like Bob Costas. This one has aged well.
4.) Ratatouille - This is where I had trouble making my list. But I chose Ratatouille because I like the story a lot, and the kitchen animation is stunning. It’s the only time I’ve ever wanted to eat the food right off the screen.
5.) The Incredibles - By far the most violent of all Pixar movies, which is both good and bad. I chose it over Toy Story because I think it’s a very good action/adventure movie, and the animation is better than Toy Story. That said, there are some slow sections in The Incredibles. I still like it, but don’t need to see it again anytime soon.
So, now the big question is … where will WALL-E fit into this list after next week?
If you have any favorite Pixar movies, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
