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2021 Animated Feature Oscar Analysis

2021 was not a particularly strong year for animation unfortunately and that was reflected on the Academy’s slate. Of the five nominees this year, only one is foreign. Not one of the movies is independent. That led to four big US flicks, of which only one isn’t Disney-Pixar with Disney taking two spots. Yes, it’s a list that lacks in diversity, but at least the movies themselves are quite different from each other plotwise.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

5. The Mitchells vs. the Machines

The Mitchells vs. the Machines is one of the better Sony animated movies. The central father-daughter fraught relationship is wonderfully realized, the characters are well developed, the humor is solid and the animation is even inventive in some effects and great comic-book touches. With that being said, the pacing was way too frantic for my taste while the message about the dangers of technology was very simplistically handled. The flick is charming and solid, but arguably ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’, another movie about technology released this year, dealt with this subject in a more enjoyable and sophisticated manner.

4. Encanto

Encanto really disappointed me. I’d expected amazing things from it judging by the reviews and the overall premise and the people involved, but the end result was just a solid Disney flick that is among the weaker in recent studio’s output. The characters are enjoyable, but only the main ones as the supporting players were underdeveloped to the sheer number of this cast. The colorful animation is gorgeous and the house is instantly iconic. Some songs are also pretty good, but overall the soundtrack is just medium. The same goes for its overly anti-climactic storyline that tugs at the heartstrings without being particularly adventurous or fantastical.

3. Raya and the Last Dragon

I loved Raya and the Last Dragon the first time I saw it back in the beginning of this year, but upon further reflection I don’t find it great now. It’s still quite strong, but the storyline overall is far from original and the entire third act felt very familiar to me, especially similar to ‘Frozen’. With that being said, this is still an epic fantasy tale that is fueled by a culturally authentic fictional world set in Southeast Asia. The animation is gorgeous and the action scenes are uniformly terrific. I also found most of the characters excellent. It is an adventurous movie fueled by great world building, but it just needed a bit more authenticity in its plot.

2. Luca

Pixar has never made a movie such as Luca for better and for worse. Undoubtedly, the lack of maturity and sophistication will bother the adult viewers and the movie’s leisurely pace and lack of suspense won’t be for everybody. But I personally found it to be great summer comfort food filled with lovable characters, incredible slice-of-life elements and gorgeous animation and score that both scream Italy in the best ways possible. This is the living and breathing embodiment of a charming Studio Ghibli coming-of-age movie and I was all for that myself. I am actually looking forward to more of these smaller-scale movies from Pixar.

1. Flee

Flee is this interesting Danish production that offers an honest, emotional look into the refugee experience through some intriguing animation techniques and powerful narration. The protagonist felt a bit removed and the movie is overall just good without being special at anything that it does, but it is very well edited, structured and animated with some intense sections being particularly well crafted visually. The movie was the first in Oscar history to be nominated not just in the animated category, but also for both best foreign and best documentary feature. It gets the first spot here by default, but the slate and the overall animated output this year wasn’t the greatest with the exception of one movie that wasn’t even nominated.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

Belle – By far one of the biggest snubs in the history of this category, the exclusion of Belle this year just proves how ignorant the Academy is toward anime. Mamoru Hosoda directed this movie with a lot of style to spare. The animation is brilliant as is the score, but the story is meaningful and thematically quite rich. It’s easily the best animation of 2021.

The Summit of the Gods – The Summit of the Gods is this interesting French movie about the first climber to Mount Everest. The movie is just a fascinating historical drama that benefits from strikingly artistic animation of the mountain itself while also featuring a great mystery at its core.

Ron’s Gone Wrong – A hugely underrated movie, Ron’s Gone Wrong was just so good. The characters are endearing, the robot is lovable and the animation is excellent. This is a film that actually deals with technology creep in a cleverly layered manner, portraying both its negatives and its positives, and for that alone it needed more positive appraisal.