“Wreck-It Ralph,” “Frankenweenie” and “Hotel Transylvania” are among the 21 animated films submitted for the 2013 Oscars, the Academy announced on Friday.
The record number of submissions all but guarantees that the category will have a full slate of five nominees for only the fourth time in its 11-year existence, but the third time in the last four years. A field of 16 or more eligible films means five nominations; while the Academy's Short Films and Feature Animation Branch still has to rule on the eligibility of the submitted films, there is little question that at least that many will make the cut.
Last year, 18 films were submitted and only one, "The Smurfs," was disqualified.
The list includes several of the year's most successful films at the box office, such as DreamWorks Animation's "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" and Fox's "Ice Age Continental Drift," as well as critical darlings like "ParaNorman" and "Ralph."
Disney and Pixar, which have won a combined six trophies, boast a bevy of nominees, including Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie," Pixar's "Brave" and the new critical favorite "Wreck-It Ralph."
The small New York-based company GKIDS, which shocked the bigger animation studios by landing a pair of nominations last year, has entered four films in competition: the French-made "The Painting," "The Rabbi's Cat" and "Zarafa," and the Japanese film "From Up on Poppy Hill."
Also entered: the offbeat and freewheeling "A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman," along with several films that had been on the radar of few awards-watchers, "Walter & Tandoori's Christmas," "The Mystical Laws" and "Hey Krishna" among them.
Several of the films, such as "Rise of the Guardians," have yet to make their qualifying runs in Los Angeles.
In 2009, a then-record 20 films competed in the category.
The full list:
"Adventures in Zambezia"
"Brave"
"Delhi Safari"
"Dr. Seuss' The Lorax"
"Frankenweenie"
"From Up on Poppy Hill"
"Hey Krishna"
"Hotel Transylvania"
"Ice Age Continental Drift"
"A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman"
"Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted"
"The Mystical Laws"
"The Painting"
"ParaNorman"
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits"
"The Rabbi's Cat"
"Rise of the Guardians"
"Secret of the Wings"
"Walter & Tandoori's Christmas"
"Wreck-It Ralph"
"Zarafa"
The Academy will announce the nominees Jan. 10. Animated fillms are eligible for nominations in other categories, though none has ever won Best Picture. "Up" was nominated for Best Picture in 2009 while "Wall-E" earned four nominations beyond the animated category in 2008.
The Oscars will take place Feb. 24 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.
