Paramount is calling Beowulf an animated film, but animators disagree. I take you inside the controversy. Part #1 of a 2-part series.

As I've mentioned before, Robert Zemeckis' upcoming motion capture movie Beowulf looks to be a major box office contender when it opens November 16th. It has also been short listed for next year's Oscars, in the Best Animated Film category, even before the flick has entered theatres.

That announcement has gotten animators riled up, considering that they, and many animation fans, don't believe motion capture to be animation the same way that cel, stop motion or even CGI techniques are considered animation.

"I haven’t seen (Beowulf); I’ve only seen the trailers and clips," admits Jerry Beck over at Cartoon Brew. "So far, I’m not impressed. And so far I’m having a hard time accepting this as an animated feature."

On the other hand, Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere had no problems calling it an animated film.

"This film is obviously animated (emphasis his) through and through," he raved about the film in his review. "It deserves the Best Feature Animation Oscar, bar none."

Does Beowulf deserve to be considered an animated film, and eligible for next year's Best Animated Feature Film Oscar?

What's Animation? AMPAS' View

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization which produces the annual Oscar award ceremony, has defined a contender for the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar by the following standard.

According to AMPAS's current rules, an animated film must be "a motion picture of at least 70 minutes in running time, in which movement and characters’ performances are created using a frame-by-frame technique. In addition, a significant number of the major characters must be animated, and animation must figure in no less than 75 percent of the picture’s running time."

Early this year, AMPAS changed the rules regarding animated films because of a spat over Arthur and the Minimoys (Arthur and the Invisibles in North America). Despite the fact that it was essentially marketed as an animated film, AMPAS decided it didn't contain enough animated imagery to be eligible for the Animated Feature Film award.

Also, an increasing number of summer blockbusters are using motion capture and CGI imagery. Considering that there's a snowball's chance in Hell that a summer movie like Transformers would ever be considered for the big Oscar categories (Best Film, Best Director, etc.), the rule change stops studios from trying for an animated film Oscar. It also removes films like Enchanted or Alvin and the Chipmunks, which combine animation with live-action sequences, from contention.

How Many Nominations Are Available?

Beowulf may not even make the Finals, just from simple maths.

Right now, there are only three nomination slots available in the Best Animated Feature Film category (there needs to be 16 films submitted for AMPAS to nominate a full slate of five). Based on critical reception and high profile, Ratatouille and Persepolis have the strongest possible claim to the first two spots. Ratatouille's position appears secure, Persepolis slightly less so (it's also nominated in the Best Foreign Film category).

At best, there are two spots available and three other films (The Simpsons Movie, Bee Movie and Shrek the Third) competing for them. That means Beowulf has an outside shot, unless film reviewers and moviegoers go nuts for the flick. However, there is some question whether Beowulf is eligible, even if it does become a blockbuster.

Short List Doesn't Mean Nomination

Keep in mind that, quite often the studio will submit a film for contention in a category, and AMPAS will accept that submission before Academy members even the film. However, AMPAS reserves the right to revoke a submission later on, if it feels the aforementioned movie doesn't match their criteria. That's what happened to Arthur and the Invisibles, and it will likely be Alvin and the Chipmunks' fate. If its previews are any indication, the film has a lot of live-action settings and characters, including the film's star Jason Lee.

However, gauging by pre-release buzz, Alvin and the Chipmunks won't be making enough waves to snag that coveted third nomination.

Is Motion Capture Animation? The Debate Returns

But Beowulf looks like it may be box office gold, a solid way for it to get front-and-centre with Academy voters. Which means the "is motion capture animation?" debate returns.

The issue was big news when two of last year's three Best Animated Feature Film nominees (Warner Bros.' Happy Feet and Sony's Monster House) were motion capture. Many animation fans cried foul, claiming that Pixar's Cars was "the only true animated feature" nominated in the category last year.

The fact that Happy Feet eventually went home with the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar last February only served to increase animators' ire.

Ratatouille director Brad Bird, and the other animators at Pixar, were so incensed with being "robbed" that they dropped a note during that film's end credits, reading "Our Quality Assurance Guarantee: 100% Genuine Animation! No motion capture or any other performance shortcuts were used in the production of this film."

(Beowulf director Robert Zemeckis, who has started working on the motion capture A Christmas Carol for Disney (Pixar's parent company), was reportedly not amused with Bird and Pixar's stunt.)

The Power of Happy Feet

But Happy Feet's Oscar win is incredibly important in this debate: it gives the studios the all-important precedent. If AMPAS suddenly yanks Beowulf and other motion capture flicks from contention for the Animated Film Oscar, Paramount (Beowulf's distributor) can argue that "Why disqualify our film after you allowed Happy Feet to take home the Oscar?"

But that question still remains: Is motion capture a "frame by frame technique" as the Academy stipulates? The Academy is keeping mum until Beowulf comes out this Friday. But certainly the battle lines are drawn.

(Coming up in Part #2: is Beowulf animation? Animators, and the film's director, respond)