The Oscar Nominations were announced early this morning, and, unlike most years, several family films actually have a chance at the little gold man. ”Avatar, “The Blind Side,” and “Up” are taking three out of the ten Best Picture nominations. “Avatar” is tied with “Hurt Locker” for the highest number of nominations and “Up” is in the top five with five nods – a first for an animated film.
As usual, the Best Animated Nominees are all family friendly – “Up,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Coraline” and “The Secret of the Kells.”
But many of the traditionally edgy and not so kid friendly categories, in particular the best performances, have a real chance of going to family friendly films. Sandra Bullock has already won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her turn in “The Blind Side” and Matt Damon’s amazing performance in “Invictus” is strong in the running for Supporting Actor. Stanely Tucci’s performance in “The Lovely Bones” is also noteworthy and Meryl Streep, of course, shines in her lovely and delicious “Julie & Julia,” both films that, while adult, have a strong appeal for teenage girls.
These more family appropriate choices reflect the Academy’s stated goal to appeal to a broader TV viewing audience this year. In some ways it’s surprising that this trend didn’t go further. Many expected kid appeal blockbusters like “Star Trek” to feature more prominently – “Trek” only received four technical nominations – but the Academy seems to have sought a balance between it’s usual art movie choices and more pop-culture driven nominations.
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