AFI Names Ratatouille Top Film
Movie One of Top Ten Films of 2007, Says American Film Institute
The American Film Institute has named Ratatouille one of the top films of 2007. Brad Bird movie is the only animated film on the list.
Ratatouille has been racking up the honours in this pre-awards season. After getting kudos from the National Board of Review, the Boston Society of Film Critics (which gave writer/director Brad Bird a Best Screenplay award), and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association, Ratatouille won the Golden Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Motion Picture, handed out on Sunday night in Los Angeles.
Ratatouille beat fellow nominees Persepolis, The Simpsons Movie, The Golden Compass, 300 and Beowulf to win the award, according to the International Press Academy, which hosts the Golden Satellite Awards. The IPA, a group of entertainment journalists, split from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (which runs the Golden Globes) in 1995.
Now the Disney/Pixar movie has been named one of the Top 10 Films of 2007 by the American Film Institute. Ratatouille is the only animated film to make the list this year.
American Film Institute's Movies of the Year - Official Selections
Here's the AFI's list, in alphabetical order:
- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
- Into the Wild
- Juno
- Knocked Up
- Michael Clayton
- No Country for Old Men
- Ratatouille
- The Savages
- There Will Be Blood
That's pretty impressive company, and Ratatouille has the extra distinction of getting some of the best reviews out of all those films.
Who is the American Film Institute?
Everyone knows about the AFI's many lists about movies (Best Hero, Best Villain, Best Films of the Twentieth Century, etc.). But who exactly are these guys?
According to Wikipedia, the American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created in 1967 by the National Endowment for the Arts (otherwise known as the American Family Association's favourite organization). The AFI's big mandate is to educate the American public about movies, and to preserve classic films from being lost due to degrading film stock.
The AFI Awards is part of that mandate, recognizing what the Institute considers the best American films of a certain year. Here's what their website had to say about those awards.
"Each year, AFI AWARDS honors excellence in the moving image arts within the context of a Year in Review. This is the next chapter in AFI's national mandate — specifically, the creation of an annual almanac that records and preserves the evolution of the moving image arts in the 21st century.
"AFI AWARDS adds a volume to the history of American film and television each year by documenting the collective opinion of the moving image communities, recognizing the year's significant moments and honoring the individuals and creative ensembles who have created the year's outstanding achievements."
What Does This Mean for the Oscars?
The important words here are "American film." That automatically excludes a flick like Persepolis, which many feel will give Ratatouille a real run for the money at this year's Oscars. However, should Persepolis not make the Final Three on February 24th, and just be relegated to Best Foreign Film, the AFI's recognition will ensure that Ratatouille's Oscar for Best Animated Film is all but assured.
Should Persepolis not get a nomination for Best Animated Feature Film, and just have the Foreign Film nod, then it probably has a very slim chance of winning an Oscar. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is one of the films competing for Best Foreign Film this year (it's a France/USA co-production) and, if this list is any indication, that means it will be the front-runner in the Best Foreign Film Oscar race. Yes, Persepolis is more beloved by animators than Ratatouille, but it simply doesn't have the high profile in the U.S.A. that both Ratatouille and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly have.
Extra Tidbit: Where the frak is Eastern Promises on this list??? That movie rocked!
