So close! Last year, the Academy Awards had enough official submissions for the Best Animated Film Oscar — sixteen — to expand the category to five nominees. This year, however, the submissions were one short of the necessary number, so only three films will receive a nomination. The category would seem to have two mortal locks already in Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon, so the going just got a lot tougher for films like Despicable Me, Megamind, The Illusionist, Tangled, and Shrek Forever After. [Thompson on Hollywood/Indiewire]
