1. Frozen2. The Wind Rises3. Monster's University 4. The Croods 5. Ernest and Celestine(Alt: Despicable Me 2) The general consensus is the animated feature race is relatively weak this year, and given the lineup of possible nominees, I would have to say I mostly concur. It seems to be a forgone conclusion at this point that Disney's Frozen will walk away with award come March 2, but that's a shame if you ask me, because the likely runner-up, Hayao Miyazaki's supposed final film, The Wind Rises, isn't only the best animated film this year, but one of the best films this year period (and maybe even one of the best films of the decade). Beyond this two certainties, it's likely that category perennial Pixar will show up again with Monster's University, even if most agree it's not the studio's top tier work. I also expect Dreamworks' The Croods, which got decent if not outstanding notices, to find a place in the lineup. The last spot is a bit tricky. The smart money is probably behind Universal Studios and all their massive campaign money behind the mega-hit sequel, Despicable Me 2. However, the Academy past on the first Despicable Me, despite the popularity of that film, and indie animation studio GKIDS has found surprising success with the Academy in the past. For this reason, I'm going to take the gamble and say the fifth slot goes to GKIDS' Ernest and Celestine.
A film fanatic at a very young age, starting with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and gradually moving up to more sophisticated fare, at around the age of ten he became inexplicably obsessed with all things Oscar. With the incredibly trivial power of being able to chronologically name every Best Picture winner from memory, his lifelong goal is to see every Oscar nominated film, in every major category, in the history of the Academy Awards.
