There Will Be Five Nominated Animated Films This Year for Oscars

There were a record number of animated films submitted for consideration for this year's Oscars - 20!

The 20 submitted features are:

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”
“Astro Boy”
“Battle for Terra”
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”
“Coraline”
“Disney's A Christmas Carol”
“The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”
“Mary and Max”
“The Missing Lynx”
“Monsters vs. Aliens”
“9”
“Planet 51”
“Ponyo”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”
“A Town Called Panic”
“Up”

I've bolded the pictures that I think really have a shot, although I'm not familiar with all of the films listed.  But Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeakuel?  What the heck are they smoking?  Thanks for submitting, though, as this is such a strong year for animation and there needed to be a minimum of 16 films submitted to allow for 5 nominations.  It would have been criminal this year to whittle the list down to only three.

The Princess and the Frog

Popwatch clues us in to the first African American Disney princess:

The first official (and short) (and not very telling) trailer for The Princess and the Frog is online. This'll be the first Disney movie to feature a black princess, "Tiana." She was originally supposed to be called "Maddy," but Disney changed her name and occupation (chambermaid) after apparently feelin' the heat from parties concerned that the character was playing to African-American stereotypes. Huh? The story's set in 1920s New Orleans, but "Tiana" sounds awfully 2008, no? I'd also kind of like to squash that jive-talkin' firefly, but this movie has old-school Disney potential: It's being directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (who did The Little Mermaid and Aladdin), and it's the first 2-D Disney movie since 2004's Home on the Range (which I know did not exist). Get psyched -- only 17 more months to go!