Welcome to the Olympic athletes returning home
that may be reading my blog. And to everyone else reading, I guess you
can read along. Well, a little over 3 weeks ago, the Annies took place.
Then, a week ago Sunday the BAFTAs took place. So, let’s start with
the Annies.
It was one of most organized Annie ceremonies that I have seen.
It was quite a surprise and may be from the fact that the Oscars botched
it last year (which is a really amazing considering that the Annies holds the
record for the most “What the Bee” moments). One of my favorite moments
was the tribute to the late, great June Foray. With that said, the in
memoriam segment where they highlight some of the other main people that died
had the same problem as in years prior; the names just rolled going down the
screen which left little to no impression.
On to the winners; Coco
swept the Annies. It only lost one nomination but won the category
nonetheless because it was competing against itself (that being “Best
Storyboarding”). Having seen all the nominees for best animated feature
coupled with seeing one of the Animated Feature (Independent) nominees (Loving
Vincent) my opinion on Coco winning everything is that it was a very weak year
for animated movies. Since Lego Batman was shut out of most categories,
Coco was a shoo-in. When you are putting movies like Boss Baby and
Captain Underpants up against a legitimate movie, Coco is on a different plane.
Both movies are decent - just nowhere near the category of Coco. If
this is the best in animation, I’d hate to see the worst. Unfortunately,
“the worst” came out this year, and I have seen it. Here’s hoping for a
better slate of animated movies in 2018 (and it looks promising). The
Breadwinner won Best Animated Feature (Independent) putting it in a very good
place to at least somewhat compete with Coco, but for all intents and purposes,
Coco is a lock for the Oscar. Best Animated Short went to Dear
Basketball. Now, you might think that positions Dear Basketball for an
Oscar, but the Annies have only correlated 3 of the last 7 years to the Oscars.
The race has really tightened up in this category as of late, but it is
still a slight favorite with today being the last day for Oscar voting.
As for the BAFTAs, it
was an overall pretty good show. The ceremony was hosted by Joanna Lumley
and she was kind of “meh”. She had some funny jokes, but her opening
sketch was not funny in the least. She did not, however, distract from or
ruin the ceremony itself - which a bad host can do (recall Anne Hathaway and
James Franco, 2011). Let’s get to the winners. Best Supporting Actress
went to Allison Janney (I, Tonya) who is now the Oscar lock with little leeway.
Best Supporting Actor went to Sam Rockwell (3 Billboards) who is the heavy
favorite for the Oscar. Gary Oldman won for Best Actor (Darkest Hour) and
is a shoe-in for the Oscar. Frances McDormand got the Best Actress for 3
Billboards and is who the smart money is on to win. Best Director went to
Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water which has positioned itself as the
front-runner. Call me by your Name, and probable Oscar winner, won Best
Adapted Screenplay. Best Original Screenplay was 3 Billboards which is in
a dogfight with Get Out. It was no surprise that Coco won for Best
Animated Feature. 3 Billboards won for Best Picture, but I would not
count on it winning the Oscar. The BAFTAs have gotten the Best Picture
wrong the last three years. 3 Billboards also did not get a Best Director
nomination which is a kiss of death. 3 Billboards is having a backlash
for its purported mixed messages with Sam Rockwell’s character and the ending.
If you will recall, last-minute backlash is what unseated La La Land last
year.
I apologize for the
delay for this. I will not be posting another blog until after the
Oscars, so enjoy the show and anticipate my reactions and recap.
I dedicate this blog to
the late June Foray who was a pioneer in voice acting. She voiced many of
your favorite cartoon characters through many decades. She was a passionate
defender for the art of animation including founding the Annie Awards and
because of her time on the Board of Governors of the Academy, she is the reason
that animation still has a place in the Oscars. So, from all of us at
Brilliant Movie Buzz; thank you! Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™
Mr.Bee
copyright 2018 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.
images courtesy of ASIFA-Hollywood ,BAFTA and MyConfinedSpace
No comments:
Post a Comment