2017 Oscar Predictions: ANIMATED FEATURE (September)

[divider style=”solid” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]

Zootopia tops Moana this month in what seems less like a mark against the latter than it is the rest of the films on the chart have gained a little more steam. Zootopia and Moana both drops in points and The Red Turtle and Kubo and the Two Strings have scooped them up.

Finding Dory finds itself fighting for a place in the top 5 now and if you’re asking, ‘how is the highest-grossing animated film of all time going to miss out here?’ you don’t have to look too far back in this category to see that sometimes sequels don’t fare all that well. Only Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda have had their immediate sequels nominated in Animated Feature. Disney/Pixar has only ever had one sequel make it in; Toy Story 3. But, that comes with an asterisk; the first two weren’t nominated because they pre-date the category.  Besides, is Disney really getting three of five slots here?

Listen: Oscar Podcast #42: Fall Festivals Kick Off Oscar Season with La La Land, Moonlight, Arrival, Nocturnal Animals

The new addition this month is My Life as a Courgette from Switzerland. It was the first film submitted for the Foreign Language Film Oscar last month and was recently picked up by GKids, who do very well here.

Outside of these top vote-getters, Sing played enormously well at Toronto last week and Sausage Party is just about to cross the $100M mark. But is this category ready for another hard-R nominee so soon?

Here are the September Oscar predictions for Animated Feature from the Gold Rush Gang:

OTHER CONTENDERS
Angry Birds
The Girl Without Hands
Ice Age: Collision Course
Kung Fu Panda 3
Loving Vincent
Miss Hokusai
Phantom Boy
Sausage Party
The Secret Life of Pets
Sing
Storks
Trolls

Follow the updated Gold Rush Gang predictions in these Oscar categories here:

BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST ACTOR
BEST ACTRESS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEST FILM EDITING
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
BEST SOUND EDITING
BEST SOUND MIXING
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE