Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Animated Feature

The competition: Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Song of the Sea, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Previous winners: Frozen, Brave, Rango, Toy Story 3, Up, Wall-E, Ratatouille, Happy Feet, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Spirited Away, Shrek
My winner: Announcing shortly after the Oscars!
The facts: This category has existed since 2001. Pixar isn’t nominated this year, so forget all the statistics about them. Since the first year of this category, there has been a bona fide frontrunner, and the only time it didn’t win was in 2006, when “Cars” haters chose “Happy Feet” instead. There are a few returning filmmakers nominated this year. Williams previously contended for “Bolt,” DeBlois was nominated for the first “How to Train Your Dragon,” and Tomm Moore was nominated for “The Secret of Kells.” In studio terms, Disney and Studio Ghibli – this year represented by “Big Hero 6” and “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” respectively – have each won once. DreamWorks, recognized this year for “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” has won twice. That sequel won both the Golden Globe and the top Annie Award.
Who should win: I remember coming out of “Song of the Sea” with very positive feelings towards it, and I also really liked “Big Hero 6.” I just watched “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” which was very good. Though “How to Train Your Dragon 2” was an improvement on the overrated original, it’s not the best in this race, nor is “The Boxtrolls.”
Who will win: There’s no slam drunk frontrunner this year. How to Train Your Dragon 2 seems like the safest bet, though it’s possible that “Big Hero 6” could score. I’d love it if either the Irish or Japanese film came out ahead, but I highly doubt that.