Thursday Theoretical Oscar Category

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. In my love for everything Oscar, it’s always fun to speculate on who or what might have been included given different circumstances. Though there are twenty-four fields recognized on Oscar night, that still neglects a handful of key players. As a result, I’d like to take a look each week at imagined categories, and who or what might have benefited from their existence.

The category: Best Family Film

Why it should exist: Family-friendly films don’t always get embraced by Oscars, and this category would underline the fact that not all movies for kids are animated, and vice-versa. There would have to be a rating requirement (G or PG only), and it would recognize heart-warming films for all ages. Both Best Animated Feature and Best Picture nominees would be eligible since a film can be both (or all three).

Why it doesn’t exist: Aside from the main fact that only one Best Picture category exists, it probably wouldn’t seem necessary to recognize family achievements. The Best Animated Feature category didn’t get added until 2001, long after animation had taken off, so it doesn’t seem likely that another category, which could also include the Best Picture choices, would be anyone’s priority. This category could also end up as a clone of the Best Animated Feature race.

Who might have been nominated the past five years:
2011: The Adventures of Tintin, Hugo, The Muppets, Puss in Boots, Winnie the Pooh
2010: Alice in Wonderland, Flipped, How To Train Your Dragon, Tangled, Toy Story 3
2009: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, The Princess and the Frog, Up, Where the Wild Things Are
2008: Bedtime Stories, Bolt, High School Musical 3, Kung Fu Panda, Wall-E
2007: Bee Movie, Enchanted, Hairspray, Ratatouille, Surf’s Up

Who do you think might have been nominated?