Animated Feature submissions

So there are 18 official submissions for this year's Best Animated Feature Oscar, meaning there may be up to five nominees for the final prize. Of all years to have a potential five nominees, why this year? It has been a weak one up to now as far as I'm concerned. Even Gore Verbinski's Rango, an oasis of originality on a list of which 1/3 is made up of sequels or spinoffs, didn't entirely work for me. I'll shudder to see films like Cars 2, or Happy Feet Two, or Kung Fu Panda 2 get nominated, especially after last year's sad omission of the wonderful Tangled.

Anywho, one of the big question marks remains Steven Spielberg's Tintin. I've been cautious about putting in my predictions on account of the bias it might face from branch members who frown upon motion-capture encroaching upon the animators' turf. It's biggest hurdle may be getting nominated. If it does get in, it could become the frontrunner. Coupled with his War Horse bid, could Steven Spielberg win two or more Oscars for two separate films?

The list:

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Steven Spielberg
Alois Nebel Tomas Lunak
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Mike Mitchell
Arthur Christmas Sarah Smith, Barry Cook
Cars 2 John Lasseter, Brad Lewis
A Cat in Paris Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol
Chico & Rita Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba
Gnomeo & Juliet Kelly Asbury
Happy Feet Two George Miller
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil Mike Disa
Kung Fu Panda 2 Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Mars Needs Moms Simon Wells
Puss in Boots Chris Miller
Rango Gore Verbinski
Rio Carlos Saldanha
The Smurfs Raja Gosnell
Winnie the Pooh Steven Anderson, Don Hall
Wrinkles ???