‘Brave,’ ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ among 21 vying for animation Oscar

Twenty-one films, including Pixar’s “Brave” and Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph,” will compete in this year’s animated film race for the Academy Award. The number is significant as any amount over 16 triggers a five-picture Oscar race. Less than 16 and only three animated features would have earned nominations for the statuette.

Besides “Ralph,” which opened nationwide today, and “Brave,” which is currently the highest-grossing animated film of the year, the other big commercial hits looking for Oscar gold to accompany their box office coin include DreamWorks Animation’s “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” Universal’s “Dr. Suess’s The Lorax,” 20th Century Fox’s “Ice Age Continental Drift,” Sony’s “Hotel Transylvania,” Focus Features’ “ParaNorman” and Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie,” also a Disney release.

GRAPHIC: Oscars and Golden Globes contenders

“Rise of the Guardians,” which Paramount Pictures releases on Nov. 21, has also been submitted.

There are also a slew of smaller films looking for Oscar recognition, including the new 3-D film “A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman,” which uses 17 animation styles to visualize recordings of the Monty Python member who died in 1989, and the anime title “The Mystical Laws,” which Los Angeles Times reviewer Mark Olsen called “a strange mix of action-adventure and religious sermon.”

GKids, the small New York-based animation house that surprised Oscar watchers last year with two nominees in the five-picture race, has three eligible films in this year’s race, including “Zarafa,” “The Rabbi’s Cat” and “From Up on Poppy Hill.”

The rest of the list includes “Adventures in Zambezia,” “Delhi Safari,” “Hey Krishna,” “The Mystical Laws,” “The Painting,” “The Pirates! Band of Misfits,” “Secret of the Wings” and “Walter & Tandoori’s Christmas.”

According to the academy, several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying runs.

Oscar nominations will take place Jan. 10. The Academy Awards will be announced Feb. 24.

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