The Oscar Narrative: July Nomination Predictions - Best Animated Feature

July Nomination Predictions
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
Song of the Sea

Other Contenders - The Tale of Princess Kaguya, The Book of Life, Rio 2, Pinocchio, The Penguins of Madagascar, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, The Pirate Fairy, The Nut Job, El Americano: The Movie, Canine Team, Postman Pat: The Movie, The 7th Dwarf, The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart, The Canterville Ghost

Commentary - As always, the Animated Feature race is made exciting by the inclusion of foreign contenders, usually through GKIDS, a fine distribution company that has provided an amazing plethora of high quality animation films that have also been big hits with the Academy's Animation branch. This year, the two that look the most promising are Song of the Sea (which I am currently predicting), and The Tale of Princess Kaguya (which is solidly in my sixth slot). As the year progresses, we will see which of the GKIDS films will make the most impact, but don't be surprised if more than one gets in. It has happened before, and if there are enough contenders for five slots, that is a distinct possibility. Luckily this race already has some heat as two excellent contenders, The Lego Movie and How to Train Your Dragon 2, have already emerged, and honestly, I will be shocked if they are not still in the conversation throughout the year, and both have a lot of potential to actually win. Disney hopes to return after its triumphant Frozen, with Big Hero 6, which has a lot of buzz surrounding it. The Boxtrolls, a major release from Focus looks promising as well. It has a great cast including Toni Collette, Elle Fanning, Simon Pegg, and Ben Kingsley. It has the team behind it to pull off a nomination, and depending on its reception, we could still be talking about it later on in the year. The Book of Life, Rio 2, Mr. Sherman and Peabody, and the Penguins of Madagascar are also not to be forgotten. Once again, almost all of these predictions hinge on how many nominees there are. If there are only three, the game changes tremendously.