I was upset about Fantastic Mr. Fox losing out to Avatar too. Rango, in my opinion, really nails anthropomorphism - the animals just ooze with characterization, based on their designs alone, whether they look grizzled, dangerous or scatterbrained. But they're not sexy, they're dirty and gritty, so Kung Fu Panda will likely receive more votes.
Chico & Rita, I'm not familiar with at all. A Cat in Paris... It's unlikely to win. It uses a simpler, more abstract visual design, which in this age of CGI has very little "wow" factor - plus there's a "wtf?" thrown in near the end. The cat's role in pretty minor; it serves as a narratorial linking device, and attacks people's heads at convenient points. It's a story about an obsessed cop, her daughter, a cat burglar, and a gangster. The daughter is very sympathetic until one specific moment, when she can't bring herself to do something, and this is so frustrating to watch, you lose all your sympathy for her instantly. It's extremely frustrating. The film's ok, nothing amazing, nothing terrible, a decent way to pass the time, no regrets there - but I think it's probably included simply as one of the token foreign movies, unlikely to skew the vote.
I was upset about Fantastic Mr. Fox losing out to Avatar too. Rango, in my opinion, really nails anthropomorphism - the animals just ooze with characterization, based on their designs alone, whether they look grizzled, dangerous or scatterbrained. But they're not sexy, they're dirty and gritty, so Kung Fu Panda will likely receive more votes.
Chico & Rita, I'm not familiar with at all. A Cat in Paris... It's unlikely to win. It uses a simpler, more abstract visual design, which in this age of CGI has very little "wow" factor - plus there's a "wtf?" thrown in near the end. The cat's role in pretty minor; it serves as a narratorial linking device, and attacks people's heads at convenient points. It's a story about an obsessed cop, her daughter, a cat burglar, and a gangster. The daughter is very sympathetic until one specific moment, when she can't bring herself to do something, and this is so frustrating to watch, you lose all your sympathy for her instantly. It's extremely frustrating. The film's ok, nothing amazing, nothing terrible, a decent way to pass the time, no regrets there - but I think it's probably included simply as one of the token foreign movies, unlikely to skew the vote.