And now for the remaining three animated features, with thoughts on two non-nominated animated features at the bottom:
1 nomination
- Animated Feature
Cast: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edibiri, Liza Lapira, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Lane, Paul Walter Hauser
Booooooo. I can't understand why we needed this film or why anyone liked it. Well, actually, no: I understand why people liked it, but I did not. This film repeats almost beat for beat the plot of the first Inside Out, and so I was, to put it mildly, completely bored. Worse yet, this movie purports to be about understanding teenagers, about exploring a teenager's emotional world, but it isn't about that. Instead, we don't follow the teenager at the center of the film or identify with her at all; we identify with a group of people trying to take care of that teenager, keep her out of trouble, make her happy, and turn her into a successful young person. In other words, the audience is asked to identify as her parents. The feelings that are supposedly the teenager's feelings are actually not hers at all; they're her parents'. I resent this bait and switch, and I am opposed to this movie; I think it's one of the worst of the year.
Will win: N/A
Could win: Animated Feature
My rating: #95 out of 98
1 nomination
Cast: Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Reece Shearsmith
Wallace & Gromit encounter AI. This is charming and cute, and it has some excellent jokes. That Gromit is the most lovable, expressive pup! He speaks no words but his cute little face says it all. This is a long-awaited new Wallace and Gromit feature, and we should all be glad we have it. I think this captures the magic of the previous W&G shorts and features, and the AI touch really makes things interesting. I also gotta say: I love that villainous penguin. He's so terrible but also so funny. Sweet, patient, longsuffering Gromit is the best thing in this, though. He's the star of the movie, but he's also... Well, listen. He's the mother we never had, the sister everybody would want. He's the friend that everybody deserves. Frankly, I don't know a better person. This can't win the Oscar. It's a strong year for animated films this year. But this is a worthy entry in the canon.
Will win: N/A
Could win: N/A
My rating: #53 out of 98
1 nomination
- Animated Feature
Cast: Sarah Snook, Jacki Weaver, Eric Bana, Dominique Pinon, Saxon Wright
I liked how sex positive this was—it's easily the most sex-positive of the five animated features, and maybe the most sex-positive of all the Oscar nominees this year—but mostly I thought Memoir of a Snail was rather dreary. It is an occasionally funny film, but overall this is a very depressing memoir. I was disappointed that this took the fifth Animated Feature slot, even though I expected it. The thing is, there were two other really wonderful animated features this year that got zero end-of-year press, and both were better than Inside Out 2 and Memoir of a Snail. Please go watch Mars Express and Chicken for Linda! The first is visually stunning with exquisite worldbuilding; Mars Express is a very smart movie about AI. It’s the kind of intelligent, generous, and humane exploration of AI that we need. But this movie is also a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants action–crime thriller that kept me guessing and surprised me constantly. It's great stuff; easily the second-best animated film of the year. The other movie I need to recommend is Chicken for Linda! This is absolutely beautiful while also very funny. It’s a madcap farce about dealing with death. And it’s a children’s movie that is actually from the perspective of the kids!—unlike so many US American animated films that purport to be about kids.
Will win: N/A
Could win: N/A
My rating: #79 out of 98
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