”Invisibles” loses spot Oscars
The race for this year’s Oscar for best animated feature film just got significantly tighter.
Although French filmmaker Luc Besson‘s “Arthur and the Invisibles,” which opens in the United States on Friday, had appeared on the list of 16 contenders that was released November 13, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has dropped the film from consideration.
A mix of live-action and animation, the MGM/Weinstein release, in which a 10-year-old boy (played by Freddie Highmore) encounters tiny creatures called Minimoys, was deemed ineligible because the animated sequences didn’t comprise at least 75 percent of the film’s running time, which defines eligibility under the Academy’s rules.
“I can confirm that that movie is ineligible for animated feature consideration. I believe it did not make the proportional requirement,” Academy spokesman Leslie Unger said Sunday. “As a result, we will have a slate of three nominees in that category.”
Word that “Arthur and the Invisibles” had been eliminated first appeared late Friday on www.CartoonBrew.com. Nominations for the 79th Annual Academy Awards will be announced January 23.
From left to right: Jimmy Fallon, Mia Farrow, Freddie Highmore
and singer Jewel arrive at the premiere of “Arthur and the Invisibles” in New York
January 7, 2007. Source: ca.today.reuters.com.