No academy award nomination for animated feature film. -TLM

tamamahm

This is actually considered a fairly large surprise and big miss. Some of the sources I read considered TLM to be a favorite to win this category, but instead not even a nomination....

LostInTranslation

Epic fail, Academy. Not even a nomination?
I was truly looking forward to an acceptance speech by Lego Batman...

Infinityman

Well... now I have no reason to care about the Oscars!

RevBlues

I'm much more stunned that Nolan didn't get a best director nomination for Interstellar. What does the guy have to do to get a nod from the Academy? But I digress.

Shib

Especially with animated films, the Oscars tend to favour the artsy type films over good commercial successes so I'm not at all surprised at all.

Gooker1

Not surprised either, but definitely bummed

monkey_roo

Big omission, I think that it could have been nominated in original screenplay as well as the animated film category and that is speaking as a film fan not just a lego fan.

Oh well... to digress as well, I think there are some other surprises in the list, No best Oscar for Ralph Fiennes seems odd, especially in light of the number of nods the film got overall, I agree with @RevBlues‌ , gutted for Nolan and I think Tim Spall can be a bit disappointed, I thought he might have had an outside chance at a shout out.

timinchicago

Hard to believe that "How to Train Your Dragon 2" won the Golden Globe over TLM.

madforLEGO

I'm not surprised, it is not Disney, or Dreamworks, so it will not be nominated. The Oscars are nothing more than a popularity contest with an exclusive club that you buy your way into.
It not being nominated makes me want to watch it again.

Tufted_duck

Considering the technical quality of TLM that is a bit of a snub. Perhaps not too much of a surprise though. Regardless of quality or box office success Lego is a commercial product and TLM is an extension of that. Trying now to think of another film that would be in a similar situation but usually 'toy advert' movies are awful (transformers for example)

cheshirecat

I'm not sure it deserved to be really, the story lines pretty weak and the twist at the end is akin to a primary school kid finishing a story with 'and then they woke up'. That it was a 2hr long advert for a toy probably didn't help either.


As shib said its not about the best Kids film or the highest grossing animation, it's the best animated film. Just like the best picture award , otherwise it would go to some dross like marvel transformers batmen unite.

tamamahm

Yes, there were definitely a few surprising misses of folks not being nominated, especially in best film/director categories.This one was a very obvious miss, though. From an artistic standpoint, TLM really also had that going for it. The entire look/feel was such a different type of animation look than people had seen before. Of course, every year there are some major misses. Maybe it doesn't win, but to not even be nominated is quite surprising.

RevBlues

cheshirecat said:

I'm not sure it deserved to be really, the story lines pretty weak and the twist at the end is akin to a primary school kid finishing a story with 'and then they woke up'. That it was a 2hr long advert for a toy probably didn't help either.


As shib said its not about the best Kids film or the highest grossing animation, it's the best animated film. Just like the best picture award , otherwise it would go to some dross like marvel transformers batmen unite.

I wanted to say all this earlier, but you've got more guts than me. ;o)

I was also annoyed by the anti-business attitude from two behemoths of capitalism in their respective industries: Warner Bros and The LEGO Group!

cheshirecat

madforLEGO said:

I'm not surprised, it is not Disney, or Dreamworks, so it will not be nominated. The Oscars are nothing more than a popularity contest with an exclusive club that you buy your way into.
It not being nominated makes me want to watch it again.

Sometimes you do talk rubbish - TLM released by Warner Bros. Warner Bros. who were the biggest winner last year at the Oscars, claiming ten awards – more than every other major studio combined. Yep, clearly they're not part of the exclusive club :neutral_face:

CCC

I've seen Song of the Sea at a film festival, and it was rather good. I'm not surprised it is nominated. Although I haven't seen TLM so cannot really compare.

RevBlues

cheshirecat said:

Sometimes you do talk rubbish - TLM released by Warner Bros. Warner Bros. who were the biggest winner last year at the Oscars, claiming ten awards – more than every other major studio combined. Yep, clearly they're not part of the exclusive club :neutral_face:

To be fair, I think he was talking about attitudes towards animated films - hence him quoting the perceived leaders in that sector. But certainly no need for the intemperate language.

The Academy is very well-known for having its favourites, and a long list of people and studios to whom it offers very little favour. Just ask Tom Cruise.

Kevin_Hyatt

I was pleasantly surprised by TLM; great cast, good acting and beautifully animated. Thought it should have gotten a nomination.

Gooker1

timinchicago said:

Hard to believe that "How to Train Your Dragon 2" won the Golden Globe over TLM.

I didn't find it hard to believe that Dragon 2 beat TLM. It was a really good movie. I loved TLM, but Dragon was better imo

RevBlues

Gooker1 said:

I didn't find it hard to believe that Dragon 2 beat TLM. It was a really good movie. I loved TLM, but Dragon was better imo

Possibly a bit of confirmation bias going on with regard to TLM! :wink:

BuriedinBricks

I think it's ridiculous. Just from a technical perspective, TLM was an amazing accomplishment. The animation was so good, people had a hard time telling whether or not it was done with real bricks.

The song is a nice nod, but there's no chance it wins. It's very at odds with what typically gets nominated and wins in that category. Seems more reminiscent of the year "Blame Canada" got a nomination.

CCC

iccarus said:

I think it's ridiculous. Just from a technical perspective, TLM was an amazing accomplishment. The animation was so good, people had a hard time telling whether or not it was done with real bricks.

Although the award is not for the correct physics of motion, quality of rendering and the accuracy of the computer models compared to the real life counterparts.

Whereas in The Song of the Sea, the characters do not physically look like realistic people. The locations and weather are much more dreamy than in real life.

I don't think not being able to tell if it was computer rendered or real really comes into the decision. For an animation, I have to admit I prefer the more cartoony approach.

SuperTramp

Philip Lords reaction to the news

https://twitter.com/philiplord/status/555729488164569089

Shib

The academy are actually pretty well known for ignoring technically brilliant visuals and have turned off mics on people bringing up industry issues on the subject.

graphite

Gooker1 said:

I didn't find it hard to believe that Dragon 2 beat TLM. It was a really good movie. I loved TLM, but Dragon was better imo

Agreed. I liked TLM but more from being a fan than from it being a great movie. It was good but there are other animated movies I thought were better and are much more likely to watch more times like both Dragon movies.

tamamahm

CCC said:

I've seen Song of the Sea at a film festival, and it was rather good. I'm not surprised it is nominated. Although I haven't seen TLM so cannot really compare.

I just saw a trailer for this, and desperately want to see this. The sheer look/animation alone was amazing. I am also not surprised at all that this was nominated, and that is only based on seeing a 2 minute trailer.

Xefan

I'm amazed people even pay attention to the Oscars, it's primary use is as a list of films not worth your time watching. With that in mind TLM should be proud not to be in it.

cody6268

That seems to be the way the Academy awards are. I never watch them, but I've noticed their nominations were films that never even made the top tens, and were really "special interest".

CCC

Are realistic visuals that big a deal now though? It is 20 years since Toy Story. That was ground-breaking animation, with life-like computer generated toys running around. Has TLM really moved on since then? From what I've seen of it (mainly the trailer), not much.

Captain_Eyebrow

In a year that has been pretty light on quality animated fare it seems very surprising that The Lego Movie has nor been listed. The message of the story being about creativeness has never been more important and whilst HTTMY2 was very pretty I felt it lacked some depth in comparison.

I would like to see The Boxtrolls win myself as it was nicely 'scrungy' and a very pleasant surprise when I saw it following a glowing review from Mark Kermode on 5Live.

RevBlues said:

I'm much more stunned that Nolan didn't get a best director nomination for Interstellar. What does the guy have to do to get a nod from the Academy? But I digress.

Your not wrong RevBlues, despite some problems with the story telling it was moving and beautiful and deserves more than some technical nods.

Shib

CCC said:

Are realistic visuals that big a deal now though? It is 20 years since Toy Story. That was ground-breaking animation, with life-like computer generated toys running around. Has TLM really moved on since then? From what I've seen of it (mainly the trailer), not much.

Actually it really is quite surprising to watch toy story directly after a modern film animated in the same way.

madforLEGO

cheshirecat said:

madforLEGO said:

I'm not surprised, it is not Disney, or Dreamworks, so it will not be nominated. The Oscars are nothing more than a popularity contest with an exclusive club that you buy your way into.
It not being nominated makes me want to watch it again.

Sometimes you do talk rubbish - TLM released by Warner Bros. Warner Bros. who were the biggest winner last year at the Oscars, claiming ten awards – more than every other major studio combined. Yep, clearly they're not part of the exclusive club :neutral_face:

I'm sorry, typing too fast, and not thinking enough this morning, I meant to refer to winners in the animated category actually (Dreamworks and Disney seem to own the category). And was not thinking clearly and got impulsive in my response when I responded to the OP.

I am actually a bit surprised that it did not get at least nominated. So in that regard (with WBs clout) it is surprising they did not get at least the nomination for TLM, but it also depends on how much WB pushed to get it nominated. Though I do not think it had much of a chance to beat the 'big boys' had it been included.

typocorrecto

Biggest Oscar travesty since Dances with Wolves won over Goodfellas...

GIR3691

CCC said:

Are realistic visuals that big a deal now though? It is 20 years since Toy Story. That was ground-breaking animation, with life-like computer generated toys running around. Has TLM really moved on since then? From what I've seen of it (mainly the trailer), not much.

...You think computer animation hasn't improved since Toy Story?

CCC

No, I didn't say that. But I don't think it has improved significantly at any stage. There have been very small incremental changes every year. And definitely not enough to overcome a lack of a good storyline. Saying it should be nominated due to the realism of the animation is like saying a film should be nominated for best film based on it's special effects.

ACWWGal2011

timinchicago said:

Hard to believe that "How to Train Your Dragon 2" won the Golden Globe over TLM.

Why? HTTYD2 at least is something original and not essentially an hour and a half long advertisement for a toy with a plot twist that belongs in the 90's!

monkey_roo

The academy does have a long history of making odd decisions, or certainly odd to the average punter. That said they are extremely valid as a body and studios, actors etc. aspire to be Oscar winners and for that matter over here in Blighty the BAFTAs now carry a lot of weight.

Warner and others will take it on the chin they haven been nominated, they are big boys but underneath I am sure they are a little miffed because it was a good film. Personally I also loved Dragons and think that is the front runner, but Boxtrolls? It was fun but as a film TLM was a better film, but that's life.

BuriedinBricks

@CCC I was not making the argument for a nomination based on the quality/technical aspects of the animation alone. I fully realize the Academy is looking at other issues in their decision making process.

Honestly though, there are so many background factors that go into picking nominees, it's probably impossible to discern why it was left off. There are so many good films and performances each year that get overlooked for even just the recognition of a nomination. I highly doubt the lack of an Oscar nod is going to dissuade the creative talent behind TLM.

playwell

ACWWGal2011 said:

timinchicago said:

Hard to believe that "How to Train Your Dragon 2" won the Golden Globe over TLM.

Why? HTTYD2 at least is something original and not essentially an hour and a half long advertisement for a toy with a plot twist that belongs in the 90's!

Sorry but some of you are talking out your covered butts. How to train your dragon 2 was not original, the cue is in the 2. The first one was original the second was good. There were not that many great animated films this year so whatever you think of it the Lego movie should have been there. I think it should have won look at imdb or tomatos and see what other people think too.

CCC

Both those sites are "common people" sites though. Films that do well with the common man tend to win the financial prizes - box office takings.

The Oscars are not meant to be representative of box office success, or the ratings of the common man.

playwell

Yeah fair point but there was not a long list of great animated films and Lego movie did try and be different even if you dont think it worked.

Jern92

cheshirecat said:

I'm not sure it deserved to be really, the story lines pretty weak and the twist at the end is akin to a primary school kid finishing a story with 'and then they woke up'. That it was a 2hr long advert for a toy probably didn't help either.

You do realise that the entire story was created by the little boy in the film right? It was all in his imagination, and it can't be overly complicated considering how young he is. The whole movie was pretty much a kid playing with his Lego, and we see what's going on in his head.

Normally I hate corny movies, but TLM does it to just the right amount and never hesitates to poke fun at itself and the company in general.

cheshirecat

Yes I did, hence the twist. I liked it, my kids loved it but its miles away from being a great film. Acting in animations is always hard to judge, but it seemed OK, the story was weak and it was exceedingly commercial. It was a good summer blockbuster but thats not normally an Oscar winner.

binaryeye

Jern92 said:

You do realise that the entire story was created by the little boy in the film right? It was all in his imagination, and it can't be overly complicated considering how young he is. The whole movie was pretty much a kid playing with his Lego, and we see what's going on in his head.

Yet the movie follows the "hero's journey" quite closely. I don't recall adhering to formulaic plot archetypes when I played with LEGO as a kid.

RevBlues

binaryeye said:

I don't recall adhering to formulaic plot archetypes when I played with LEGO as a kid.

I just nearly choked to death on my tea.

tamamahm

I think it is going to be impossible for a movie about a toy not to be commercial in some sense. Having said that, I'm not sure many of these big company cartoons were any less commercial. Big Hero 6 and How to Train Your Dragon toys were out long before the movies even opened. Those seem as commercial to me as the Lego movie was.

CCC

So the twist is essentially the same as Bobby Ewing appearing in the shower in the end of season show in Dallas about 30 years ago?

BrickDancer

I guess the Academy doesn't like block people after all =(

RevBlues

BrickDancer said:

I guess the Academy doesn't like block people after all =(

LEGOCollector2504

As my school's resident TFOL, I spent the day having my friends constantly inquire as to what my reaction to the Oscar snub was ("Megablock you, Oscars!"). IMO, the sheer ingenuity of the film's visuals, anarchic satirical subtext of its jokes, and the fact that a film many expected to be a glorified toy commercial turned out to be one of the biggest box-office earners and highest rated films of the year makes the Academy's snub baffling. There is some talk that the film's live-action bits may have detracted from oscar consideration (some rule that the film has to be "at least 75% animated") and I haven't done the math on the Will Ferrell live action scenes, but I don't think that was the Academy's rationale. Phil Lord's reaction was, however, incredibly classy.

LostInTranslation

I see TLM did win the Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature :-)

And another great Twitter reaction from the directors, which I can't seem to link to on my phone (Lego versions of themselves celebrating with a bottle of bubbly).

SuperTramp

^Was going to post that, here it is

https://twitter.com/chrizmillr/status/555947993094823937