21 Films Animated Feature Films Submitted for Oscars

Alright, here we go.  It's November and I'm pretty much going to start talking non-stop about awards season namely the Oscars from now on.  Did I mention how much I love the Oscars even though it inevitably disappoints me in some way or the other every year?  The anticipation frankly leading up to it is, hands down, the most exciting part of the race. Nothing beats it.  

Okay, so submissions have started for documentary films, foreign language films and my favorite, Best Animated Feature, a category I look forward to since its addition in 2001.  

21 films have been submitted for next year's Oscars including the usual suspects from Pixar (Brave), DreamWorks (Madagascar 3, Rise of the Guardians) and Blue Sky (Ice Age Continental Drift).  I'm pleased to see two Indian animation films, Delhi Safari and Hey Krishna (Krishna aur Kans) submit themselves although I'm surprised that Arjun: The Warrior Prince doesn't have its name up there.  

Here is the list of the films competing against each other for the nomination.

• Adventures in Zambezia   
• Brave
• Delhi Safari
• Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
• Frankenweenie   
• From Up on Poppy Hill
• Hey Krishna
• Hotel Transylvania    
• Ice Age Continental Drift
• A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
• Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted 
• The Mystical Laws
• The Painting  
• ParaNorman   
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits 
    
• The Rabbi's Cat
    
• Rise of the Guardians  
• Secret of the Wings    
• Walter & Tandoori's Christmas 
    
• Wreck-It Ralph
    
• Zarafa

Glad to see some different movies in the mix as well such as Frankenweenie, ParaNorman and the delightfully named French submission, Walter & Tandoori's Christmas.  We'll see which five eventually make the cut on January 10, 2013.

Casting Updates: Ice Age 4 and more tributes for The Hunger Games!

(Pics: Entertainment Weekly)

• More tributes news today, the nameless (so far) tributes from District 3 have been announced and the newcomers, again, are Ian Nelson and Kalia Prescott in the movie adaptation of The Hunger Games.  They were never named in the novels but I have a feeling they will given monikers for the movies.  
• In more The Hunger Games casting news, Paula Malcolmson (Caprica) was also added to the cast as Katniss and Prim's mother.  In the novels, she is never mentioned by name, just as their mother.  
• Ice Age 4: Continental Drift got a bit more crowded.  Joining Ray Romano, Denis Leary and company will be newcomers, at least to the voiceover biz, Jennifer Lopez, Jeremy Renner, Wanda Skyes, Keke Palmer, Aziz Ansari and rapper Drake.  Yeah, you know you've made it if you voice an animated character.  Personally, I'm really looking forward to what kind of wise-cracking animal Aziz Ansari's character will be.  Ah, the comedic possibilities!!!
• The Dark Knight Rises could be shooting soon in Jodhpur, India.  Hmmm, very cool.  What kind of nefarious activities could Bruce Wayne be up to here?  I'm afraid you won't get much mileage in the Batmobile on these Indian roads.  First Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol shot some car chase scenes in Mumbai and now Batman in Jodhpur, the action seems much closer now.  
• Yeah, I'll used to watch 21 Jump Street occasionally back when it was on TV.  Never a big fan, but I'm not against it being turned into a movie.  Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are starring in it and now comes word that Johnny Depp might cameo in the film.  Now I'm definitely tuning in.  

Scrat's Continental Crack Up!

Blue Sky Studios presents the next saga in the Ice Age series, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift with a clever new short featuring the hapless acorn hoarder, Scrat.  His determination and insistence to chase after the acorn is very admirable and it never gets old to watch.

Presenting Scrat's Continental Crack Up!



The movie is set to release July 13, 2012.