Animated Thoughts: 2015 Academy Award Nominees

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The 87th Academy Award nominees have been announced.

The nominees for the 'Best Animated Feature' category are:

• Big Hero 6 (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
• The Boxtrolls (Laika)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 (DreamWorks Animation)
• Song of the Sea (Cartoon Saloon)
• The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (Studio Ghibli)

I'll be seeing The Tale of the Princess Kaguya this weekend at the Detroit Film Theater but unfortunately I'll have to wait until the first weekend in March to see Song of the Sea. I could watch it earlier, but I don't want to make a nine hour round trip to either Toronto or Chicago in order to watch a feature that I'll get to see in March where it'll be playing an hour away from my house. The gas prices are at record lows, so I am tempted to make a road trip... but, no. I'll exercise some patience and support a local theater--hopefully, they'll be encouraged to bring in more animated features. :)

While this years animated features are pretty strong I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed to see that neither Cheatin' by Bill Plympton nor Rocks in my Pockets by Signe Baumane got nominated. To be sure, independent animated features are a bit of a long shot with the Academy, but both films were strong contenders in their own right. It would have been wonderful to see either of them get acknowledged.

Given their wide theatrical releases, I'm assuming at his point everyone has seen Big Hero 6, Boxtrolls, or Dragon 2. So if you're in the Michigan area and you want to see either The Tale of the Princess Kaguya or Song of the Sea, here's where they'll be shown:

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
This film will be playing at the Detroit Institute of Art's Detroit Film Theater.

Friday, January 16, 2015 - 7:00 PM

Saturday, January 17, 2015 - 3:00 PM

Saturday, January 17, 2015 - 7:00 PM

Sunday, January 18, 2015 - 2:00 PM

Sunday, January 18, 2015 - 4:30 PM

Monday, January 19, 2015 - 7:00 PM

Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - 7:00 PM

Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 7:00 PM

NOTE: Check the DIA/DFT website for this event before attending as some of the screenings are English dub and others are Japanese with English subtitles. The DIA/DFT link for this film is here.

Song of the Sea
This film will be playing at the Historic Howell Theater from March 3rd until March 8th. As it's about a month-and-a-half away, they haven't released any show times yet. But you can learn more about this film and watch trailers here while you're waiting.

The nominees for 'Best Animated Short' category are:

• The Bigger Picture (National Film and Television School)
• The Dam Keeper (Tonko House)
• Feast (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
• Me and My Moulton (Mikrofilm/the National Film Board of Canada)
• A Single Life (Job, Joris & Marieke)

I caught both Feast, and Me and My Moulton at the Ottawa International Animation Festival last year. I don't recall seeing the other three there, however, we'll all have the chance to watch all five nominees at the Detroit Film Theater's annual screening of all the animated short films.

As I've mentioned in the past, each year before the Academy Awards ceremony, the Detroit Institute of Art's Detroit Film Theatre shows a program with all the animated short film nominees. Additionally, Shorts International usually sells a digital download on iTunes with all the animated short film nominees. So there should be ample opportunities to view all the shorts before March and pick my favorite.

Event details for the Detroit Film Theatre can be found here and the schedule at the DIA/DFT is as follows:

• Friday, January 30, 2015 - 7:00 PM
• Saturday, January 31, 2015 - 7:00 PM
• Sunday, February 01, 2015 - 1:00 PM
• Sunday, February 01, 2015 - 6:00 PM
• Wednesday, February 04, 2015 - 7:00 PM
• Thursday, February 05, 2015 - 7:00 PM
• Friday, February 06, 2015 - 7:00 PM
• Saturday, February 07, 2015 - 7:00 PM
• Sunday, February 08, 2015 - 1:00 PM
• Sunday, February 08, 2015 - 6:00 PM
• Friday, February 13, 2015 - 7:00 PM
• Saturday, February 14, 2015 - 7:00 PM
• Sunday, February 15, 2015 - 1:00 PM
• Sunday, February 15, 2015 - 6:00 PM
• Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - 7:00 PM
• Thursday, February 19, 2015 - 7:00 PM

The awards ceremony will be broadcast on Sunday, February 22, 2015. Until then, more coverage can be seen on the following websites:

Animation Magazine

Animation Scoop 

Cartoon Brew

Congratulations to all the nominees and to all the filmmakers who submitted their films for consideration.

* The Academy Awards and the Oscar are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.