POLL: ‘WALL-E’ or ‘The Dark Knight’ – Which One has the Best Chance at an Oscar Nomination?

I know the Internet has been dominated by The Dark Knight this year and that comes as a result of fanboy fervor as well as the fact it was a great movie. However, it’s not the best reviewed film of the year, that distinction goes to WALL•E according to MetaCritic.com, not to mention the equal 93 point score earned by the phenomenal French film The Class, which opened today.

Earlier this year I posted the following in my review of WALL•E, “WALL•E is certain to get a Best Picture Oscar nomination this year and will most likely be nominated for sound and the score.” I made a similar statement in an For Your Consideration, WALL•E for Best Picture“. Of course, I was saying all of this while every critic was raving about the film only to find later in the year that the prejudice against animated films remains… or does it?

Tom O’Neil posted an article recently asking a few award season gurus the question as to whether it will be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar or not. After 311 responses in his poll it stands at 56% no and 44% yes, but more interesting are some of the comments. Personally I think the comment by Ed Douglas of ComingSoon.net is easily the worst way of looking at the scenario imaginable as he says, “No, they created the animated category for a reason. Putting “WALL•E into best picture race would create a weird situation because if it’s good enough to win BP, then why even bother having an animated category? (Since it’s obviously the best “picture” and it’s animated.) There are too many good live-action films vying for those five spots.”

By Douglas’ logic that means the Best Picture category is not necessarily for the Best Picture only if it is animated. It’s a ridiculous statement and its why, while fun to watch and contemplate, the politics behind the Oscars are ridiculous and it frustrates me even more when seemingly level-headed people make such a prejudiced statement. As to his last statement, “There are too many good live-action films vying for those five spots,” I can only ask the masses if those live-action films are better than WALL•E? If so, then WALL•Eloses out, otherwise put it in there. In my mind the Best Picture is the Best Picture, live-action or not, a movie is a movie.

The reason I mention The Dark Knight in the headline and at the beginning of this article is because most believe the top four slots in the Best Picture race have been filled with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, Milk and Frost/Nixon leaving a fifth spot wide open. This fifth slot has no chance of winning so it is more of a “good-on-yah” nomination and for what it’s worth I think Revolutionary Road is battling with Frost/Nixon for that fourth and equally meaningless slot as the three others are the only ones really competing for the hardware.

So, with that fifth slot I really only see two logical contenders: WALL•E and The Dark Knight.

All award season long I have said I think it is The Dark Knight that will fill that role and I stick to it, but I have to wonder… The Austin and Southeastern film critics named WALL•E one of the top ten films of the year. The AFI and National Board of Review also named it to the top ten and the Boston Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Chicago Film Critics Association named it the best film of the year. In turn, The Dark Knight has now been named “Best of 2008” three times as the Austin, African American and Utah critics have dubbed it so.

So how do you decide between the two? My pick for The Dark Knight comes primarily because I am counting on the prejudice of the awards system to do what they do best… discriminate. However, the question is out to you… Which film do you think will take that fifth spot should it end up coming down to WALL•E and The Dark Knight? The poll is just below and be sure to add your comments as well.

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