I don’t think that Up deserves to be nominated for Best Picture for the Oscars.
Don’t get me wrong, now – it’s a good movie. But honestly, the only thing that I really, truly loved about it was its first ten minutes, where we learn what Carl experienced in his life, explaining why he is such a grumpy old man.
It is incredibly moving, a real tear-jerker…and then, there’s the rest of the movie.
And it’s, well, ok. Not as amazing as the beginning, in my honest opinion. You have this great build-up and you end up with not as big a pay-off.
Copyright Disney/Pixar
Then you look at Beauty and the Beast, the only other animated film to ever be nominated for Best Picture, back when there wasn't even a category for feature-length animated films. The movie never drops its momentum…it continues to build, the action really swells, you feel emotionally connected to all of the characters – and the ending makes it feel whole. The music, animation, story and talent were superb and just created an amazing story. Beauty and the Beast truly deserved its nomination.
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Don’t get me wrong. Up is not a bad movie – it’s cute. But I am just not convinced that it deserves to stand alongside Beauty and the Beast in this category.
If any Pixar film deserved a Best Picture nod, it was WALL-E.
Now there was a spectacular film. Visually astounding (sorry Up fans, but you have to agree that the animation in this film blows Up out of the water), emotionally moving, and social commentary (even though Stanton denies that he intended to do so). The film had Disney heart and intelligence.
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I remember when the Oscars were approaching after the film had been released…there were rumors of WALL-E being nominated for Best Picture. But that didn’t happen.
Maybe it didn’t because The Academy was afraid that it might have actually won.
Here’s my theory: the Academy is using Up as their way of undercutting the argument that there is a strong bias against animated films. “Hey, there’s no way anyone would expect Up to beat Avatar – and no one will remember our history with turning our noses up to animated films!”
It’s no secret that the Oscars can be bogus.
Up is – well - up against some really big films. I’m not fully convinced that Avatar should win, but I think it will.
At least Avatar didn’t end up as a Best Animated Feature Film nominee (as I heard some suggest that it might).
And what about The Princess and the Frog? Won’t it just be a real kick in the Disney jewels if the film doesn’t win for Best Animated Feature Film? Oh sure, the Disney company would not be upset to lose to itself if Up won…but let’s think about the long-term ramifications of all this. The Princess and the Frog was supposed to (hopefully) kick-start the new classic animated Disney Renaissance, much like The Little Mermaid did in its day. Unfortunately, with the economy being what it was/is, while the public still opened its arms to the film, it didn’t get the type of box office numbers the big wigs were hoping for (though I think they need to keep in mind that the film grossed plenty of money in its previews in California and New York, and has done amazingly well in terms of merchandise sales)…and now rumor has it that the Disney company is shying away from princess films (don't believe me? Tell me why marketing decided to change the upcoming Rapunzel film from Rapunzel to Tangled - apparently by eliminating the word "princess," they believe they will attract more men to see the film)...they might be even re-thinking the classic animation revival.
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That’s the sad truth of all of this, folks. By withholding those ten dollars and instead watching an illegal copy of The Princess and the Frog online, you are potentially killing any hope for classic Disney animation to survive. And then we’ll be stuck in a CG animated world forever, because the Disney Company got the stupid idea that that was what made an animated film popular. They might still have those thoughts, or they might be coming back.
Remember those dark ages when Disney released CG films without the aid of Pixar? Disastrous. The company failed to acknowledge that while Pixar had a unique look, it also stuck to great story-telling. And while I have criticized Up here, it is also a great illustration of that.
I just really hope that John Lasseter can keep everything in perspective for Disney. And maybe he will re-think trying to “shake up” the Disney Princess formula when it comes to music…but that discussion is for another time. Maybe for a certain upcoming Blu-Ray critique, perhaps?
As for the Oscars, I guess we will see what happens in a couple of days.
Thoughts?
Not only do I think Up should be nominated, but I think it should win.
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Yeah, and I think you're WRONG WILDER SHAW!!!
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