Best Animated Feature Film - The Wind Rises
Nominees: The Wind Rises, Frozen, Despicable Me 2, The Croods, Ernest & Celestine As it is ostensibly his final film, the Academy may feel compelled to award Hayao Miyazaki the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar. If not, Frozen could take it home. I haven't seen The Croods, but something tells me that won't be one that Wind Rises or Frozen have to worry about.
Second Most Likely Winner: Frozen
Best Animated Short Film - Feral
Nominees: Feral, Get a Horse!, Mr. Hublot, Possessions, Room on the Broom The animated shorts are pretty cool every year, and this year is no exception. The animation in Feral is shadowy and brooding, while the more detailed animation of Possessions and Mr. Hublot lends a sense of realism to the pieces. Ultimately, Feral was the one I enjoyed the most, and it deserves the nomination and the win.
Second Most Likely Winner: Possessions
Best Sound Mixing - Inside Llewyn Davis
Nominees: Captain Phillips, Inside Llewyn Davis, Gravity, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Lone Survivor No music nominations, but at least Inside Llewyn Davis gets a nod for Best Sound Mixing. The film deserves to win, as it managed to make the background music feel like dialogue within the film and to have a seamless transition from stage to street. Gravity, for putting us inside the helmets of the astronauts, is the one that could pull ahead at the end.
Second Most Likely Winner: Gravity
Best Live Action Short Film - Just Before Losing Everything
Nominees: That Wasn't Me, Just Before Losing Everything, Helium, Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?, The Voorman Problem The best film of this bunch is the intense Just Before Losing Everything (Avant Que De Tout Perdre), and hopefully it will end up winning the category. Upsetter could include The Voorman Problem, which has the star power of Martin Freeman going for it, and That Wasn't Me (Aquel No Era Yo), which deals with decidedly more serious issues.
Second Most Likely Winner: The Voorman Problem