2022 Best Animated Feature Oscar Race
The Academy Awards have revealed their nominations for the 2022 year in film. This includes Best Animated Feature, the award I pay most attention to every year. 5 films got the nomination, and they’re all great.
And I am glad they are because 2022 is not a good year for animation. For the sake of my mental health, and for your curiosity, we’ll get to that at the end.
Let’s start with the films that made this year brighter.
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio
I sometimes forget that Pinocchio is a dark story. A wooden boy that can seemingly live forever becomes a tool to be taken advantage of by the world around him. It is a scary position to be in. Especially since Pinocchio seeks one persons love above all else, and it becomes the hardest task of all.
What sets this apart from every other Pinocchio we will ever see is it’s visual style. The stop motion characters are very well designed. The villains look the part, the disgruntled father looks like he’s aged many lifetimes, and Pinocchio himself always looks so happy.
The world is fleshed out splendidly, as we learn the dark characters that inhabit it. We learn their intentions with Pinocchio quickly. Everyone is here for personal gain. Our protagonist has to learn right from wrong on the fly, navigating in and out of potentially abusive and deadly situations. Pinocchio makes friends and enemies in this strange world. His supernatural powers aren’t lost on us, nor the rest of the cast. It binds the film together in its climax.
On the off chance you’re reading this and haven’t seen the film, I won’t spoil it, nor the rest of the films on this list. It is 100% worth watching if you haven’t cancelled your Netflix subscription yet. This film may be the frontrunner for the award this year. The mix of GDT’s love from the Academy, the films overwhelming critical praise, and the negative light that has been put on the award show in recent years could turn this film into a winner, deservedly so. Personally it’s not my pick for the award (as we will get to later), but I would be happy with this result.
The Sea Beast
Speaking of movies that you can (and should) watch on Netflix right now…
We find ourselves in a city on the water surrounded by gigantic sea creatures that can gobble up humans like a piece of candy. The main character is a ship captain named Jacob Holland who is prepping to hunt a Sea Beast. The other main character is an orphan girl named Maisie who wants to became a sailor like the captain. She stows away in his ship, and they go on a life-changing adventure.
The dynamic between these two are a huge part of the movie, for its betterment. Their chemistry is great in both simple and plot-important scenes. They find that they have a lot to learn from each other. Maisie is wise beyond her years, and Jacob finds that he has a lot to learn from it. More importantly, they realize that their world isn’t quite as simple as it seems.
The movie teaches us, once again, that young people’s perspectives are necessary in any sociocultural circle. They’re the ones who will spend the most time in the future of our world after all. This world has it’s problems and biases. We can learn a lot about our world in how theirs operates. It’s a conversation that exists because of how well their world is built throughout this movie. Beautiful looking scenery blends with stellar writing to transport us into the world of The Sea Beasts.
This may have flown under the most peoples radar, especially in relation to the rest of the films honored here. Like most other 4th or 5th films that go under-noticed, this one is still worth your time.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Shrek was my favorite animated film as a kid. I still love it, and Shrek 2, to this day. But right now, I am over the Shrek phenomenon. I thought that Dreamworks milking of the franchise and a wave of degenerate Shrek memes was the end for me.
I’m glad I was wrong…
I gave Puss in Boots a shot purely for its art style. I love the trend of laying 2D visuals on top of 3D animated models, like Spiderverse and Paperman. It allows the artists to be more expressive in ways unlike normal 3D animation. The Last Wish puts it to use well in this film, using a revolving camera to create unbelievable action scenes and eye-popping visuals. The film is a lot of fun to watch. As someone who praises the seriousness in animated films (like the last 2 Oscar-nods), I need to watch films like this to remind myself why I enjoy the medium in the first place.
The thing I loved most though are the characters. Puss is as fun as ever, and is joined by a stellar cast. Puss is joined by Kitty Softpaw and an unnamed (at first) dog. Jack Horner and his bakers dozen are terrifying. Goldilocks and the 3 Bears are delightful to watch, both in their meaningless interactions and action-packed fight scenes. The bounty-hunting wolf completely stole the show, for the relatively few times he shows up, his presence dominates the screen. It’s like the first time that Dragon shows up in Shrek, unadulterated power.
We meet these characters throughout the plot. Everyone is looking for a magical Wish to improve their lives for free. Every character has some reason or motivation to do so, and it helps them develop. As we, and they, get closer to the Wish, the characters reveal their truest selves. It does wonders for the climax of the film. This is even true for Puss himself, who starts the film near dead and going into hiding in fear of newfound enemies.
It’s an all-around good film.
Turning Red
This movie should have gotten a theater release. Asian American youth deserve to see their newfound heroes on the biggest screen. Female animation directors deserve big screen releases like the rest of animation’s boys club.
Still, it may not have fit the gigantic Red Panda that Mei, the main character, turns into. In discovering this crazy supernatural power she has, Mei immediately has to deal with her life permanently changed. Her relationships with friends, family, and culture will never be the same.
These relationships, and how they develop, are a huge part of the film. Mei’s friends are awesome. They are just as goofy and outcast as her, and they are fierce defenders of her as she struggles to cope with her new life. It helps Mei in a schoolroom culture that doesn’t understand her at best, and fears/hates her at worst. While I love how this plays into the film, it’s still not it’s strongest point.
Turning Red, like Encanto before it, deals with familial trauma through the generations. Chinese (like other native Asian) families can and do struggle in North America. Becoming a gigantic animal does nothing to help this. Mei’s mother Ming tries to help her through this ordeal, despite [name] being the greatest point of stress in her life until this point. As a viewer, it’s hard to put ourselves in her shoes as Ming goes too far overboard in many of her actions. It isn’t until we meet the rest of the family that we understand how this happened in the first place. The family dynamics put everything into perspective, for better and worse. Still, it is the most enlightening part of the film.
It’s one of the most original stories Pixar has done in years, which isn’t a dig on the studios sequelitis as much as it is their storytelling. Being the Disney company offering this Oscar season, it has a strong chance of winning, both for its genuine quality and its timing surrounding the Stop Asian Hate discourse.
I would be satisfied if it won the award, both for Domee Shi and the generation of Asian Americans she delighted this year. However, if I got to pick the award winner, I would, without hesitation, vote for…
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On
I love animated films with bright pretty colors. I love animated films that are well written. I love animated films that are mature and tackle serious topics. I have always advocated for the medium of animation to hone these traits…
More than anything, I also love animated films that just…make me happy.
Marcel is the most wholesome movie I have seen in years. The film documents the life of Marcel the Shell, (who has cute little shoes on). He lives in a human house that is far bigger than him, and his one living family member. It’s filmed like a documentary, with Marcel doing normal tasks, talking to the cameraman, and more. We see the human behind the camera a few times, given that this takes place in our world.
Because it takes place in our world, the visuals are a hybrid of a live-action house setting, and Marcel’s (our his grandmothers) stop motion movements. The story is simple, at first starting with us getting a glimpse into Marcels life. A greater overarching plot comes out later, as his desire to see his family and community grow. We see Marcel and the cameraman do everything in their power to push this forward.
So why do I love this despite its simplicity, given all the praise I’ve given each of the other uniquely crafted films? Again, it’s a wholesome film in a world that really needs them right now.
So much film is extremely involved nowadays. Many films feel the need to make huge statements about the world around us, which I applaud. Other films are hinged on pop culture references, in their music, dialogue, or other artistic choices. Of course, there is a never-ending flow of sequels, reboots, huge-scale franchises, and more. My point isn’t that these are inherently bad/negative/whatever, but the experience of seeing a simple film about a simple character gets lost in this shuffle. Not everyone needs to save the world. Marcel gives us a view of the simple life that few of us get to live comfortably. Marcel gives us an innocent character that none of us real humans are. Rooting for Marcel’s happiness is so much easier than rooting for other film heroes. So many film heroes feel like part of a Hollywood machine, for better and worse. Think about the amount of actors/actresses whose off-camera lives, politics, controversies invade our views of their performances. It’s a discussion that we can have later, and one that doesn’t fit in a world like Marcel’s.
Marcel spends a lot of time talking about loneliness. Given the pandemic we are a part of, and the monumental scientific breakthroughs that have only barely brought us back to normal, it is easy to relate. Marcel spends a lot of time talking about his family and community. They gave him light, and they kept him feeling normal. It was a fulfilling life, that was taken away from him immediately, and without a semblance of control. Marcel eventually admits that he just wants it back. I imagine that you, dear reader, and I can easily find a way to relate to that.
I fell in love with this movie immediately. It is my favorite animated film of 2022 without rival. Usually I say that for films that I want to see more of. In a sense, I don’t know if I can say this about Marcel. It’s true that I want more films that seem disconnected from Hollywood’s bright lights and overwhelming influence, but Marcel is unique enough that I want it to stay sacred and untouched.
It was a bright spot in an otherwise difficult year for animation
2022 Retrospective
The year was filled with problems that can set back the industry from true progress. While the COVID-19 pandemic decimated live-action film and tv making, animation production continued. Streaming services saw animated films dominate their view counts. With the unionization talks and Hollywood strikes in film crews, animation decided to get into the game.
The #NewDeal4Animation trend sought to have writers paid the same wages for animation as live-action. They’re functionally doing the same job, so they should get the same pay. Hollywood responded by cancelling mass amounts of animated shows, and deleting many more off of the internet entirely.
The reason why is obvious, and that is viewership. Streamers seem to notice shows that go ultra-omega viral. No one else gets a chance. Netflix cancelled multiple original animated shows after 2 “seasons”. It was then revealed that Netflix commissioned one season of these shows, released them in separate batches, called them seasons, and cancelled them when they didn’t eclipse Stranger Things in viral tweets. No, none of the animators were paid for the revenue Netflix brought in for the second batches of episodes. No, I will never get over it.
HBO MAX isn’t doing much better, wiping shows off their platform entirely (and probably for tax breaks). It wasn’t just fan favorites like Close Enough and Infinity Train. They deleted multiple hundreds of Looney Tunes and Sesame Street shorts from their platform. The platform swears that some of these Looney Tunes shorts are coming back, but I’m not giving them the benefit of the doubt. They’re even getting rid of Westworld, at one point one of the platforms biggest shows. The only reason they’re cutting everything is because of a merger with the Discovery+ service, swearing that getting rid of these awesome originals will create a more streamlined experience. By the way, this merger is no longer even happening. Still, all these shows are gone, probably forever. Nothing is safe, and nothing is sacred.
Then there is Disney. Their cancellations and lack of respect for animation aren’t as bad as their LGBTQ+ censorship and horrid response to the Don’t Say Gay controversy in Florida. We could go on for hours about how Disney did almost nothing to protect employees from dangerous lawmakers. It was in the midst of a new wave of homophobia and bigotry, and they are one of the biggest platforms ever created to both combat or say something about it. No wonder they fired their CEO after barely 2.5 years into his gig.
Time will tell how all of these problems manifest for future animators, who are now terrified that job security is vanishing in this field.
2023 Animation and Beyond
I don’t know what 2023 is going to do for animation. My optimism is slipping, given the turmoil the industry went through this year. Not all hope is lost, however.
Disney and Pixar are both releasing original films this year that sound pretty good. I’m excited for the Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse, as a fan of the original and someone who wants to support its unique animation approach.
More than anything I’m excited for Nimona, one of the few cancelled animated projects that is getting saved, finished, and released for sure. It is worth supporting after all the outrage that fell on deaf ears.
Worst case scenario, I’m rewatching Marcel and waiting for the Owl House finale in April.
