The Critical Acclaim Of “The Wild Robot” vs. The Box Office Power Of “Inside Out 2” – Which Film Wins The Oscar For Best Animated Feature?

After receiving critical acclaim from its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, “The Wild Robot” has stormed into the Oscar race as a viable threat to win Best Animated Feature and may even become the first animated film since “Toy Story 3” to receive a Best Picture nomination. Chris Sanders’ film scored some of the best reviews in Dreamworks history, next to his own “How To Train Your Dragon.” Many awards prognosticators, including those at Next Best Picture, began to wonder if Dreamworks could win its first Animated Feature Academy Award in nearly 20 years and possibly contend in other categories, including Best Original Score and Best Original Song. However, one juggernaut stands in its way when it comes specifically to Best Animated Feature: the $1.698 billion grossing Pixar sequel “Inside Out 2.”

While Best Animated Feature is often locked up early in the year, often with Disney or Pixar seen as the clear winner before their film even premieres, that tide has been shifting over the last few Oscar seasons. While Pixar went through a challenging period of Disney+ premieres and disappointing box office returns, they rebounded spectacularly with “Inside Out 2,” which has become the highest-grossing animated film of all time. The reviews were also excellent, though slightly less enthusiastic than the first installment, which won Best Animated Feature in 2015. Pixar is typically the default choice to win this prize for many Academy members anyway, so having a billion-dollar grosser is a sure thing, right?

Well, it’s more complicated than that. In 2018, Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” ended its run as the highest-grossing animated film ever. Much like “Inside Out 2,” its reviews weren’t quite as strong as the first film’s, but still quite positive. Nevertheless, the sequel faced tough competition from a movie deemed more groundbreaking, setting a new bar for mainstream animation: “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.” Sony’s film would go on to defeat Pixar’s sequel for the Oscar that year.

In fact, the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars has a clear and apparent sequel problem. Outside of “Toy Story 3” and “Toy Story 4,” no sequel has ever won Best Animated Feature. Is it coincidence or bias? It’s hard to determine the answer, considering how few sequels have genuinely come close to winning in the first place. Other than “Incredibles 2,” the only other non-“Toy Story” sequel to come close was just last year, with “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Interestingly, this year’s Best Animated Feature race is shaping up to have much in common with last year’s.

While “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” didn’t break box-office records, it nearly doubled the gross of the first film, earning $690 million worldwide, along with phenomenal reviews. Then came Hayao Miyazaki’s return from “retirement” with the beloved “The Boy and the Heron.” Like “The Wild Robot,” it premiered in North America to rave reviews at TIFF, threatening the awards prospects for “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Early in the season, “The Boy and the Heron” won the Golden Globe, but the web-slinger still seemed poised to win the Oscar after winning the Critics Choice Award and PGA. Yet, Miyazaki took home the win in the end, becoming the first PG-13 film to win the category, leaving the sequel curse intact for another year.

So, is 2024 just a repeat of 2018 and 2024? Does this mean “The Wild Robot” has this Oscar in the bag? It’s certainly possible, though there are complicating factors. While “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” and “The Boy and the Heron” defeated their higher-grossing competition, has “The Wild Robot” made enough of an impact to overshadow the cultural staying power of “Inside Out 2?” Furthermore, the “sequel bias” appears to be more of a coincidence than genuine bias, considering how few sequels have even gotten close to winning Best Animated Feature instead of being labeled “also-ran’s.”

Even so, Pixar is already on its longest losing streak in the category’s history, having lost three years in a row. Their hold on the category simply is not as strong as it used to be. While this is shaping up to be another exciting, possibly close race, the stunning critical reception for “The Wild Robot” gives it the edge at the moment. Critics will also throw their weight behind Dreamworks’ latest film (along with a few other critically acclaimed darlings such as “Flow” and “Memoir Of A Snail“), boosting it before the televised and guild awards begin. Still, if “Inside Out 2” picks up the Golden Globe or the PGA, look out for another unpredictable race. But if “The Wild Robot” does prevail and nab additional nominations outside of Best Animated Feature, and that’s all “Inside Out 2” has, then consider this race essentially over.

Do you think “The Wild Robot” or “Inside Out 2” has a better chance at the Oscars to win Best Animated Feature? Or could another animated film surprise and win?

By:Daniel Howat/Nextpictures