Animated Features Surge With 19 Submitted For Oscar

19 animated features have been submitted for consideration for the Animated Feature Film Oscar this year according to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. This years list includes films from France, South Korea, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Japan and Brazil. From the field of 19, the three to five final contenders will be chosen. Those final nominees will be announced on January 16, 2014.

The films submitted for consideration this year are:

Cloud with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Sony Pictures Animation
The Croods, Nickelodeon Movies, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation
Despicable Me 2, Universal Studios, Illumination Entertainment
Epic, Twentieth Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios
Ernest et Célestine (Ernest and Celestine), La Parti Productions, Les Armateurs, Maybe Movies, Mélusine Productions
Free Birds, Reel FX, Relativity Media
Frozen, Walt Disney Animation Studios
Gekijôban Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica Shinpen: Hangyaku no Monogatari (Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part III: The Rebellion Story), Aniplex, SHAFT
Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises), Studio Ghibli
Khumba, Triggerfish Animation
The Legend of Sarila, CarpeDiem Film & TV
Momo E No Tegami (A Letter to Momo), Production I.G, Kadokawa Shoten
Monsters University, Pixar
O Apóstolo, Artefacto Producciones
Planes, Walt Disney Studios
Saibi (The Fake)
The Smurfs 2, Sony Pictures Animation
Turbo, DreamWorks Animation
Uma História de Amor e Fúria (Rio: 2096 A Story of Love and Fury), Buriti Filmes

Despite being submitted, the Academy notes,

Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying runs. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process. At least eight eligible animated features must be theatrically released in Los Angeles County within the calendar year for this category to be activated.

Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.