'Princess and the Frog' Competes in Oscar Race

Variety reports that Disney's "Princess and the Frog" is among the 20 animated features that could be up for Oscar nominations this year. It is anticipated that come nomination time, The category of Best Animated Feature will have five contenders.  

Variety writes: "Under rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, there must be at least 16 eligible films in a year to expand to five noms (at the other extreme, if fewer than eight enter, The category disappears). This year, 20 films were submitted for consideration. Since many of the toons have not yet opened, and since the Academy has not yet viewed all 20, it's possible some will be disqualified -- but it's highly unlikely that five or more will be KO'd."

The complete list of animated features includes: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"

Read the full report in Variety in its entirety here.

Disney's The Princess and the Frog, is an animated comedy that provides a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana, a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again. 

Disney's Princess will open exclusively in New York and Los Angeles on Nov. 25th. The upcoming film will be set in New Orleans and feature the Walt Disney Studio's first black princess.

Oprah Winfrey stars as Eudora, the mother to Princess Tiana voiced by stage and screen star Anika Noni Rose. The film also stars such stage (and movie) greats as John Goodman, Jenifer Lewis,Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley and Peter Bartlett. Broadway favorite Jen Cody is also in the film as well, voicing Charlotte LaBouff.

The movie is written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and features the music ofRandy Newman, who wrote 6 new songs for the film.

A musical set in the legendary birthplace of jazz -- New Orleans -- "The Princess and the Frog" will introduce the newest Disney princess, Tiana, a young African-American girl living amid the charming elegance and grandeur of the fabled French Quarter. From the heart of Louisiana's mystical bayous and the banks of the mighty Mississippi comes an unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a soulful singing crocodile, voodoo spells and Cajun charm at every turn.

Anika Noni Rose has appeared on Broadway in Cat in a Hot Tin Roof, Caroline or Change, and Footloose.  Additional credits include Encores! Purlie, The Color Purple (reading), and The Three Penny Opera (regional).  She has appeared on the soundtracks for the film Dreamgirls (in which she played Lorrell) and Caroline or Change.

For more information click here.

 

 

 

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