Does Ratatouille have a lock on the Best Animated Feature Oscar?
Maybe not, according to Jeffrey Wells. Beowulf has just qualified as a contender in this category, and Wells thinks it deserves to win.
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Does “Ratatouille” have a lock on the Best Animated Feature Oscar?
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November 8th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
I have to say I disagree with Wells. One of the comments on his piece mentioned Ralph Bakshi’s use of rotoscoping. I have always felt the results of Bakshi’s rotoscoping were somewhat underwhelming. The movement of the characters seemed so unnatural as to be distracting. I feel the same way about mocap animation, at least in regard to POLAR EXPRESS and BEOWULF. The rendering is brilliant; absolutely superb. But there is an odd, unnatural look to the animation.
Animated cartoons fall into the same realm as comic books—the exaggerated look and movement of the characters is part and parcel to the form, and compliments the types of stories told. Cell animation and computer animation under Pixar and PDI follow the same paradigm. In mocap, everything is as fluid as a human being, which to me defeats the art behind animation.
But I will say this (like my opinion really matters, right?): I’ll go along with the idea of mocap animation qualifying for an Oscar as soon as a computer-generated character in a live-action film (re: Gollum) can have a shot too.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
I’m going to entrust my vote with Pixar again…not that my vote counts. :-)
November 8th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Well, I haven’t ever heard a public apology from Bakshi concerning his “Lord of the Rings” and that MUST happen first.
Is it just me, or does it bother anyone else that he screams “I AM BEOWULF” just like Leonidas … or am I over-reacting.