5 Reasons the Academy Overlooked ‘The LEGO Movie’ It’s the morning that the Academy announces its Oscar nominations, and “The Lego Movie” is on the ballot. Thing is, “Lego” landed just one mention — in the song category for its infectious “Everything Is Awesome” anthem — but not in the animated feature category, where many were predicting that the toon blockbuster might win. That oversight comes as a total shock to Oscar pundits — arguably the year’s biggest snub, alongside the fact that “Selma” placed in only two categories (for which theories abound). From the point of view of the animation community, however, there was always a risk, and here’s why. 1. Animation professionals pick the nominations. At this stage in the Oscar race, it’s the die-hard animation pros who decide the noms. “The Lego Movie” may have been the year’s top animated movie in the public’s eye, earning more than $257 million and placing second highest on Rotten Tomatoes’ (adjusted) best-reviewed list of 2014 with a 96% fresh rating, but that doesn’t mean it represents the kind of artistry that the industry wants to celebrate.
2. A record number of eligible toons means tougher competition. Back in 2001, when the Academy first added the best animated feature category, it wrote in a rule that in a year when fewer than eight toons opened in theaters, the prize wouldn’t be awarded at all. In retrospect, that seems laughable, considering how the medium has boomed, resulting in an all-time high of 20 Oscar-qualifying submissions fighting for five slots in 2014. 3. Voters watch all 20 contenders, so the best rises. Unlike normal audiences (or the Academy at large, who often pick a widely seen film to win), the animation branch is obliged to screen all eligible contenders. Each film is scored on a 10-point scale, and the five that receive the highest score go on to be nominated. That means each toon is considered on its own merits, and for this group, technique is perhaps the most important. In other categories, nominations go to the five films that received the most first-place votes, resulting in a diversity of choices, but in this category, it’s literally the five movies the branch likes best.
4. The animation branch loves handmade movies. This is the second time popular “Lego” directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have been edged out of the Oscar race by a pair of tiny toons most moviegoers haven’t heard of: The same thing happened in 2009, when “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” got shut out in favor of “The Secret of Kells.” While the “Lego” team licks its wounds, the folks no doubt celebrating today are New York-based indie distributor GKids, which released two of the nominees: “Song of the Sea” (a dazzling, highly stylized 2D toon from “Kells” helmer Tomm Moore) and “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” (a career-crowning hand-drawn beauty from Japanese animation maestro Isao Takahata). Also celebrating today is Portland-based Laika Studios (“Coraline,” “ParaNorman”), which earned its third nomination for its third feature, “The Boxtrolls.” Industry pros love stop-motion. It’s by far the most painstaking form of animation there is, whereas the computer-animated “LEGO” was cheekily designed to parody bad stop-motion.
5. Traditional forms and classical storytelling win out. “Song of the Sea,” “Princess Kaguya” and “Boxtrolls” were always going to be nominated. That left just two slots open for the remaining 17 movies. The very same reasons the general public loved “Lego” — its jokey tone, quick pace and irreverent sensibility — probably worked against it with that group. After all, how often does that kind of movie get rewarded in other Oscar categories? By contrast, “Big Hero 6” and “How to Train Your Dragon 2” are both relatively traditional, well-told stories hailing from studios (Disney and DreamWorks, respectively) with a long tradition of Oscar support. “Lego” fans shouldn’t conclude that the Academy doesn’t like that movie; it’s just that they respected five films more. Account/Project Coordinator (Ad Agency) Executive Director, Aspen Film Associate Director, YouTuber & Gamer Partnerships More Film News from VarietyEverything was not awesome for ‘The Lego Movie,’ which was a surprise snub for a best animated feature nomination at this year’s Oscars.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Oscar-nominated animators felt like something was missing at the film academy’s annual celebration of the best animated films: Their colleagues from “The Lego Movie.” The most popular animated feature of the year failed to earn an Oscar nod. “It’s tough, because we love those guys,” “Big Hero 6” producer Roy Conli said of the film’s directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. “And we love their movie,” added “Big Hero” co-director Chris Hall. The makers of “Big Hero 6,” “The Boxtrolls,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “Song of the Sea” and “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” gathered at film academy headquarters in Beverly Hills, California, Thursday to discuss their nominated films. The animation community is relatively small and pretty tight. Many nominees said they know or have worked with “Lego” filmmakers Lord and Miller. So why no nomination for their movie? “I think some people hadn’t seen the film in the Academy, and they said, ‘Lego Movie’?
It’s a toy advertisement!”’ said Anthony Stacchi, co-director of “The Boxtrolls.” Tomm More, an academy member who directed “Song of the Sea,” said: “The only thing I can imagine is members on the committee all presumed that all of the members were voting for ‘Lego’ (so they voted for something else). That’s the only thing I can imagine, ‘cause I thought it was a great movie.” “Big Hero 6” co-director Chris Williams and “How to Train Your Dragon 2” producer Bonnie Arnold said the slight for “Lego” could just come down the year’s slate of quality animated features. Some years, there are only enough initial submissions for three features to end up as nominees. This year, there are five. While virtually all of the night’s attendees asked about the “Lego” snub said they were fans of the film and its creators, none seemed heartbroken for them. The film, which according to the Box Office Mojo website was produced for $60 million, has grossed some $468 million since its release a year ago.