Oscar Animated Preview: The Year of 'Ratatouille'
- By Tracy Garcia
- Published 02/24/2008
- Reviews
- Unrated
Tracy Garcia
Tracy is a fairly animated character who reads, writes, but can't draw. This has lead to a life storyboarded in sticky notes, and performed to the soundtrack of 'What's Opera, Doc?'
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The controversy isn't in the nomination of 'Ratatouille', but in who made the initial short-list with it. 'Beowulf', a 3D CGI movie by Robert Zemeckis, stirred up debate when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences thought it should get a shot at being nominated for Best Animated Feature. Sounds fine, right? The difference is that 'Beowulf' was all motion capture. In other words, the actor makes the motion, not the artists -- hence the 'Ratatouille' note.
In the interest of explaining the furor: motion capture is the industry equivalent of a fan-artist tracing someone else's work. Does it qualify as an artistic achievement? What about using references or technical shortcuts? We know how the Pixar team feels about it: from the 2D credits to the animators' cooking classes, there were few if any cut corners.
Since AMPAS defines animation as "performances created using a frame-by-frame technique", perhaps tightening the wording would help.
On the other hand, last year's 'Happy Feet' took home the Oscar, 'Monster House' got a nomination, and 'Beowulf' was short-listed this year -- motion-capture all. With new technology and the whims of the industry, the issue can only grow more complex. With the financial advantage of an Oscar tag, the talent pool of animators certainly wants to know AMPAS's priorities.
This is a young category for a long film tradition. Whatever the status of the format, it's the story which makes the film. Without animation, would it be possible to appreciate all the angles of a story about a rat controlling a human? 'Ratatouille' and its fellow nominees show how animation can access new ways to tell the universal stories of love and family and fulfillment. Try all three; you might like it.
In the interest of explaining the furor: motion capture is the industry equivalent of a fan-artist tracing someone else's work. Does it qualify as an artistic achievement? What about using references or technical shortcuts? We know how the Pixar team feels about it: from the 2D credits to the animators' cooking classes, there were few if any cut corners.
On the other hand, last year's 'Happy Feet' took home the Oscar, 'Monster House' got a nomination, and 'Beowulf' was short-listed this year -- motion-capture all. With new technology and the whims of the industry, the issue can only grow more complex. With the financial advantage of an Oscar tag, the talent pool of animators certainly wants to know AMPAS's priorities.
This is a young category for a long film tradition. Whatever the status of the format, it's the story which makes the film. Without animation, would it be possible to appreciate all the angles of a story about a rat controlling a human? 'Ratatouille' and its fellow nominees show how animation can access new ways to tell the universal stories of love and family and fulfillment. Try all three; you might like it.