Best picture for Wall-E?

It’s been over a decade since Disney’s Beauty and the Beast broke through, garnering an Acadamy Award nomination for best picture. But now another animated feature is getting buzz for possible Best Picture consideration at next year’s Oscars–Pixar’s Wall-E.

The story of a robot survived the end of the world and a journey through space is garnering some early momentum for the top honor at next year’s Oscars. New York magazine started the debate with a web-site headline, “WALL·E for Best Picture!” and several Hollywood trade papers have since joined the debate.

“It’s easier to envision it as a major contender this early on, but that’s only because most of the ‘big’ Oscar movies haven’t yet arrived,” said Sasha Stone of AwardsDaily.com in an interview with USA Today. “If any of the animated films make the leap beyond the category they’ve designated, it could be WALL·E.”

However, there may be several obstacles standing in the way of the little robot that could getting a nod for the best picture of the year. One is Hollywood created a best animated feature category several years ago and that may be where creators Disney and Pixar market the film for nomination. Also, there is the perception that features with “real” actors and actresses are somehow more worthy of nomination and recognition in the best picture category. Wall-E would have to win over voters from the Acadamy, many of whom are actors.

“To them, actors drive good drama. They will probably think that it is a lovely movie and deserving of their animated-feature Oscar, whether it is so much more than that or not,” said Stone.

Also, some insiders say that it’s too early to start handicapping the Pixar creation’s odds for getting a best picture nod. They say that the usual crop of Oscar contender films haven’t hit theaters this year. Those films traditionally open in the fall or during the holiday movie season.

Whatever the odds for Wall-E, filmmaker Andrew Stanton says that the attention Wall-E is generating is very flattering.

“It’s a huge honor just to have that kind of buzz. It would really be a boost to have our film seen as no different from any other film, regardless of how it was made,” said Stanton.

He also says he doesn’t feel marginalized by the animation prize, as some animators do. “You could say the same thing about foreign-film or documentary categories,” Stanton says. “In the long run, you have to take the stance that the category wouldn’t exist if we weren’t doing something right.