The Oscarologist: 'Up' Will Be In, But Not on a High

Critics who have been promoting Pixar's animated summer blockbuster 'Up' for a Best Picture Oscar nomination are likely to get their wish on Feb. 2, when the nominees are announced. But it won't be the kind of justice they've been demanding.

Ever since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences created a separate Oscar category for Animated Features in 2001, fans of animated films have worried that winners like 'Shrek,' 'The Incredibles,' 'Happy Feet,' 'Ratatouille' and last year's 'WALL-E' were being treated like second-class Oscar citizens.

In fact, the Academy was trying to right an old wrong. Before 2001, only one film in the storied history of animation -- Disney's 1991 CGI gem 'Beauty and the Beast' -- had landed on a Best Picture ballot, and the Academy understood why. Actors make up by far the largest bloc of Oscar voters and they tend not to vote against their interests. That is, they don't want to award movies whose performances are created by the hands of animators, whether leaning over drawing boards or moving mouses in front of computers.



Sure, there is voice work for actors on those films. But the majority of the lead voice roles go to actors with familiar voices -- stars! And those same stars often play more than one part. In the current 'A Christmas Carol,' hog of hogs Jim Carrey plays Scrooge at four different ages, as well as the three ghosts who come to visit him.

I commended the Academy for adding a separate Best Animated Feature award and -- despite the snorting and foot-scraping of angry critics -- thought that would be the end of it. But then the Academy made another decision, to expand the Best Picture field from five to 10 nominees for this year, and that changed everything ... for the worse.

The Academy, desperate to improve sagging TV ratings, was hoping to get its approximately 6,000 voting members to include popular hits on their expanded Best Picture ballot, movies like last year's critical and commercial success 'The Dark Knight.'

'Up,' the third highest-grossing movie of 2009, certainly qualifies as a popular hit, but it won't help the show's TV ratings. It's already certain to play a role on stage, as the favorite for Best Animated Feature. And putting it on the Best Picture ballot won't make its role any larger. It will not have acting or directing nominations to go with it, no more big names to put in headlines.

And being one of 10 movies nominated for Best Picture is not even half as prestigious as being one of five. Whatever the Academy's 10 Best List turns out to be, there will be movies on it that no one would have ever considered "Oscar-worthy" before. Take a look at the current list of 2009's top money-makers and tell me what besides 'Up' has a gnat's chance at a Best Picture nomination.

As much as you may love 'Transformers,' 'Star Trek,' 'The Hangover,' 'X-Men' or 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop,' Academy members won't vote for them. Their mandate is to pick the "best" movies, not the most popular. That's for the People's Choice Awards.

Finally, there's the problem facing voters. Nominations for Best Animated Feature are made by committees who view the eligible films on the big screen. Nominations for Best Picture are made by all Academy voters, whether they see the movies in theaters or on DVD. Or not at all. The final ballots are voted on by everyone and much confusion will reign. With 'Up' on the Best Picture ballot, should you vote for it twice or consider giving another film a shot for Best Animated Feature?

We'll talk more about the mischief done by the Academy's expanding the Best Picture category as we move farther down the Oscar trail. In the meantime, it represents good and bad news for 'Up,' an outstanding movie that deserves whatever it gets, and only bad news for the other 19 eligible animated films (see the entire list here) whose fate as also-rans of an also-ran may already be set.