Comments on: A Year with Three Stop-Motion Oscar Noms?

By: Arvin Bautista

Arvin Bautista — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:13:39 +0000

I had completely forgotten about Coraline because it was released so early.

But Mary and Max stands to be my favorite animated film of the year… narration aside, the (perfect) last 15 minutes just about knocks out the (perfect) first 15 minutes of Up, a very similar movie that I think is way overrated on the whole.

I almost never cry in movies and I bawled at the end of Mary and Max (the Que Sera Sera scene). Almost makes me feel guilty that our film (My Suicide, for which I served as the animation director) beat it for the Crystal Bear at Berlin earlier this year.

It MIGHT be my favorite movie of the year.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:53:28 +0000

Quoting Amid from the National Post story:

“Films like Waltz With Bashir and Ponyo are becoming huge hits while Astro Boy and Planet 51 — which were CG, 3D and had celebrity voiceovers — completely flopped.”

Well, not quite.

While Ponyo was certainly a huge homegrown hit in Japan, it was a niche success at best in North America, earning $15 million. Waltz With Bashir did less than that worldwide: $11 million.

So far, Astro Boy has pulled in almost $19 million; Planet 51, $28.5 million. Certainly, they were much more expensive to produce and could therefore pose real financial problems for their studios, but the fact they flopped doesn’t mean those smaller movies were, by way of comparison, huge hits.

By: Tres Swygert

Tres Swygert — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:59:53 +0000

I haven’t seen Mary and Max, so I can’t say or anything…however, both Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox were great productions. They put Monsters vs. Aliens to shame in terms of storytelling. So I’m sure both those films will be nominated…I don’t know about Mary and Max, it has a fair shot seeing it’s wide open for the last two spots.

By: Seth Clark

Seth Clark — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:58:40 +0000

While I loved all three of these films, I doubt all three will be nominated. Princess and the Frog, Up, and Ponyo most likely will be nominated, thus pushing out on of the stop motion pieces. It would be a dream come true though if the 5 nominations when to Ponyo, Secret of Kells, Mary & Max, Coraline, and Fantastic Mr Fox.

By: Ken Priebe

Ken Priebe — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:40:55 +0000

Hmmmm, wouldn’t that be cool! All three of them are great films.

By: Mr. Semaj

Mr. Semaj — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:17:23 +0000

So far, Coraline has the best chance.

By: Elliot Cowan

Elliot Cowan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:48:18 +0000

A Town Called Panic is the best of the bunch, I think : )

By: Sylvain

Sylvain — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:45:21 +0000

May and Max was a fine film, and the touchy true story behind it is incredible. but doesn’t stand a chance against the other two. Narration is a screenwriter’s crutch, and to say that Mary and Max overused narration is quite an understatement.