Rango triumphs at Annie Awards

To the Annies' credit, they did a not-so-bad job of spreading the wealth at their annual awards. The Dreamworks-dominated voting body turned out to be more of a non-factor, chalking up only two wins for Kung Fu Panda 2 and nothing for Puss in Boots. Rango took five awards, including Best Animated Feature and Best Writing. Tintin, Rio, Winnie the Pooh, and Arthur Christmas also walked away with hardware in hand.

For kicks, I actually watched the show on live stream, and Oh. My. Lord. What an unmitigated train-wreck. Host Patton Oswalt was clearly having much more fun than anyone else in the room (he did confess to being "so high right now" at one point, but we'll never know if that was just his tongue in his cheek, or a concealed bag of weed). To be fair, he does seem unshakably at home on the stage, and with a bit more structure, I think he'd make a killer awards show host.

Structure, however, was in short supply at this affair. Bill Nighy was announced winner of the award for voice acting, only to walk out of the hall and never return! Tweets abound that he was in the bathroom at the time. True or not, he certainly wasn't in the room, leaving presenters Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall clumsily killing time while everyone waited. They eventually moved on, as Nighy made no appearance. Funnier still, the award was for Arthur Christmas, but they played the theme music from the PBS children's cartoon series Arthur.

I thought things couldn't possibly get more awkward than that, but the next presenter proceeded to read the winner for Best Preschool TV Program from the wrong envelope! This led to a confusing delay that was both hilarious and excruciating, while Patton himself marched out on stage to sort things out. Co-presenter Jason Marsden, meanwhile, delighted in photographing the awkward situation with his iPhone.

These are only the highlights from a shoddily put together evening. The whole thing kinda makes me appreciate the oft-maligned Oscars a little more. I may have high-standard complaints about the show every year, but at least it's done professionally.

Anyway, full list of feature film winners after the cut.

ADG, Annie preview

Not much to do nowadays but twiddle our thumbs waiting for February 26th, but at least some scattered guild announcements will keep us from nodding off to sleep.

The Art Directors Guild will have its say tonight, where I expect Oscar nominees Hugo and Harry Potter will come up big in the Period and Fantasy categories respectively. They seldom show much imagination in the Contemporary category, which usually goes to whatever nominee has the most Best Picture buzz. At that, I'll make my guess for The Descendants, even though it should be The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by a country mile.

Meanwhile, the Annie Awards also land tonight. I'm not sure how they'll be distributed, but you can expect the feature film categories to be shared between Dreamworks' Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots.

One Category at a Time: Animated Feature

I've already sounded off on how I perceive the state of animation this year, but allow me to reiterate: weak sauce. Not that any of these nominees are particularly bad, but I have a hard time mustering up much enthusiasm for most of them.

ACE Eddie nominees

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):
The Descendants, Kevin Tent, A.C.E.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Angus Wall, A.C.E. & Kirk Baxter, A.C.E.
Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker, A.C.E.
Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen, A.C.E.
War Horse, Michael Kahn, A.C.E.

War Horse very much needed this to keep its Best Picture hopes alive. Nice to see Tellefsen nominated for his precise work on Moneyball. He'd make a handsome winner, but alas, I fear this is headed the way of Dragon Tattoo.

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical):
The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion & Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids, William Kerr & Michael L. Sale
Midnight in Paris, Alisa Lepselter
My Week with Marilyn, Adam Recht
Young Adult, Dana E. Glauberman, A.C.E.

What!? No Beginners!? And in lieu of that they nominate My (Excruciatingly Long and Clumsily Paced) Week with Marilyn!? Oh, A.C.E. Bow your heads in shame. I'd say The Artist has this sewn up.

Best Edited Animated Feature Film:
The Adventures of Tintin, Michael Kahn, A.C.E.
Puss in Boots, Eric Dapkewicz
Rango, Craig Wood, A.C.E

Michael Kahn is easily the most deserving of this lot if you ask me, but that doesn't necessarily mean the animators branch will nominate the film. Puss in Boots might be emerging as Dreamworks' better bet over Kung Fu Panda 2.

Best Edited Documentary:
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
, Joe Bini & Maya Hawke
Freedom Riders, Lewis Erskine & Aljernon Tunsil
George Harrison: Living in the Material World, David Tedeschi

None of these are on Oscar's shortlist so it's a moot point. But I must inquire as to where Senna is? I didn't think highly of the film itself but there's no denying it's an editors' piece if there ever was one.

My Awards nominations: Production Design

Production design is on the mind today on account of the ADG nominations, so I'll follow suit and chalk up my own picks for the best Production Design, Set Decoration, and Art Direction of the year:

Captain America
(Rick Heinrichs, John Bush, John Dexter, Chris Lowe, Andy Nicholson):

This period-fantasy concoction is richly evoked; from the cozy, sepia-tinted confines of the good Captain's base of operations to the steely, serpentine corridors of Hydra's sinister research facilities.

Hugo (Dante Feretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo):

It cannot be understated that Hugo is a thing of beauty. The stunning recreations of 1930s Paris, the concealed corridors and compartments of the train station, and George Melies' old studio are wondrous to behold.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (Raymond Zibach, Tang Kheng Heng):

The beautifully rendered 2D prologue sets us up for the visual splendour of Dreamworks' gorgeous imagining of ancient China. Bold colours and stylized scenery, both urban and natural, fit the film's tone to a tee.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Maria Djurkovic, Tom Brown):

The details don't draw much attention to themselves in this nuanced period piece, but they form a completely convincing representation of time and place. The beauty is in the minutia, and the chilly Cold War atmosphere it imbues.

X-Men: First Class
(Chris Seagers, Larry Bellantoni, Erin Boyd, Sanja Klaus, John King, Dawn Swiderski):

Similarly to Captain America, the art department here melds period authenticity with fantastical influences to yield a polished alternative Marvel universe that we can believe took place in the 1960s.

Just missed: Anonymous, The Artist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
Harry Potter 8, War Horse

Animation catch-up

I've been behind on reviewing a lot of movies this year, including some animated products. There have been plenty this year, enough to bump the Academy's maximum nomination field to five, but I have to admit I really haven't been thrilled at the state of the medium this year. I've only seen a hand-full so far, and for posterity I've given each a summarized mini review after the cut. Others I either haven't seen yet or have been scared off by weak reviews.