Awards Watch: Ah, Ma! Toons Again?

First things first: I swear this will be the last time I talk about the Animated Feature category until the Oscar nominations are announced. However, I do have good reason to broach the subject again, as the Academy recently released the short list for the category, which contains the twelve contenders who have made it thus far in the race.

All the usual suspects are present, from Disney (Meet the Robinsons, Ratatouille) to DreamWorks (Shrek the Third, Bee Movie) and everyone in-between (Surf's Up, The Simpsons Movie, Persepolis), plus one we've never heard of before and probably never will again. Tekkonkinkreet, anyone?

I've already discussed my predictions in the category (take a good look at the movies pictured above, because they likely won't be back come nomination day), but one thing needs to be said to clarify exactly what this list is. Unlike what some outlets (who should no better) have reported, this is not (repeat: not) an eligibility list. This is merely the twelve films that their studios submitted for consideration in the category. (Moreover, with twelve contenders, that means there will be only three nominees this year.) Any of these films could be disqualified for not meeting the criteria for nomination, such as if it does not contain at least 75% animation (like Alvin and the Chipmunks, which may suffer the same fate as last year's Arthur and the Invisibles) or even if it is indeed an "animated film". So I guess we'll finally know how Beowulf stacks up when it opens this weekend.

UPDATE: Alvin and the Chipmunks has indeed been deemed ineligible by the Academy. On the other hand, the controversial Beowulf is still in the running.

Links via Oscars.org, LATimes.com and Variety.com.