The academy showed its independent streak this morning by nominating a pair of indies for best animated feature.
The nominees for Best Animated Feature are:
- Big Hero 6
- The Boxtrolls
- How to Train Your Dragon 2
- Song of the Sea
- The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
In the visual effects category, nominees are:
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Interstellar
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
The omission of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is sure to cause some consternation.
The nominees for the best animated short feature are:
- The Bigger Picture, Daisy Jacobs, director, and Christopher Hees, producer (National Film and Television School)
- The Dam Keeper, Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, directors (Tonko House)
- Feast, Patrick Osborne, director, and Kristina Reed, producer (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
- Me and My Moulton, Torill Kove, director (Mikrofilm in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada)
- A Single Life, Joris Oprins, director (Job, Joris & Marieke)
The winners will be announced Feb. 22 in a gala ceremony at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles and televised live on ABC.
We’ll have more coverage later today, including reactions, on www.animationmagazine.net.