What Did I Miss?

Copyright 2008, Disney/Pixar

So, two days off the blog (I'm making up for it today, though), and what do I miss last night? The Annies, the annual awards ceremony for animation, gave out their awards last night, and I know what you're thinking: you're thinking that WALL-E won lots and lots of gold, especially since it had 7 nominations, right? And it's also gotten the most critical acclaim of any major feature in 2008, so it's totally going to win, yeah? Of course not. Couldn't you tell from my snide sarcasm that it actually got shut out completely to the inferior Kung Fu Panda, which had received 17 nominations (17!) and won 11 Annies. In fact, the only reason why it didn't win those other six is because the movie was nominated multiple times in the same category. The Jack Black movie won each of its categories. Even more, the short film that went along with Kung Fu Panda, Secrets of the Furious Five, got 4 Annies from 8 nods.

What's the deal? Join me, won't you, on my walk down the road of naivete, as I assume foolishly that the awards should go to the film that deserves it most by its merits, by its quality. Which was the best? I don't presume to know much about the intricacies of computer animation, so let's just focus on the Best Animated Feature nominees, specifically the big two. Now, Kung Fu Panda got a lot of praise when it was released; many (myself included) considered it Dreamworks Animation's best offering to date. Of course, when you consider that their other films include Shark Tale, Madagascar, and Over The Hedge, it's not a battle to be the best. And, though the Shrek series are certainly huge moneymakers, the quality of the films is on a sliding scale. Sorry, Justin Timberlake fans.

So, yeah, Kung Fu Panda is a good movie. In 1993, it's a great movie, but in 2008, it's just good. A movie about an ordinary character who discovers that he or she can be extraordinary has been done before. Yes, the animation is impressive...for Dreamworks, which has still not entered the 21st century of animation. Watch the first 30 minutes of WALL-E. The animation is so clear, so pure, so realistic...well, maybe that's why it didn't win, it should have looked more cartoonish. Overall, I know the Annies don't matter in the grander scheme, but seriously....what a shame. Why are the two biggest movies of 2008, why are Batman and WALL-E getting the shaft left and right? What curse do these films have on them?