Films to see in 2012: September

September again, and you know what that means. Back to school, the fall festivals, and the full fledged kickoff of the Oscar film season. Today (August 29th) gets things moving in that third category with "Lawless", though it's become rather unlikely for that film to hold interest all the way to nominations morning. Next weekend pulls the month in with just as tepid a slate of releases, mostly (if not entirely) consisting of "The Words", a Bradley Cooper-Jeremy Irons drama about stolen glory. That seems much more sympathetic an awards play than this week's bid, and I can't imagine it prospering in box office or critical interest.

The following weekend should prove profitable in terms of box office returns, as it brings horror-action sequel "Resident Evil: Retribution" and the 3D re-release of Pixar classic "Finding Nemo". Not taking a look at the latter is unimaginable, given not only the emotional rollercoaster it consistently offers on repeat viewings, but to see how the visuals translate to a 3D representation. Another 3D offerings that I confess myself guilty of wanting desperately to see is "Dredd 3D", a film which has every reason to be awful, and yet has a promising genre quality to it. It seems the sort of project which could either turn out like "Legion" or "Immortals", or some conflicted combination of both. I expect the third option, but hope for the second.

THE LISTS: Best Female Characters of Pixar

It's another blessed Pixar week, even if the buzz regarding their latest film, "Brave", isn't all sunshine and daisies. It doesn't discount the widely lauded milestone of Pixar's first female protagonist, and quite optimistically not the last. Last year I posted a semi-serious list of the Best Pixar Characters, so why focus in further because of a specific gender? Because that list was majorly taken up by the men of the show, as Collette would lament were she working in this business. So I decided to look deeper into the catalog of Pixar's characters to pick out ten female characters outside of "Brave" that truly state the potential Pixar has had for significant feminine emotion.

It is worth mentioning those who could not make the list, such as Merida and Queen Elinor of this weekend's "Brave", simply because I have yet to see it. From the "Toy Story" trilogy, the presence and loss of Bo Peep is absolutely nothing to neglect, and delivers resonance in a single line of dialogue in the third film. Boo was especially close to making the mark for "Monsters Inc.", but the fact of the matter is that she's a kid, however sweet. And nobody really enters the frame from "A Bugs Life" or either of the "Cars" films. They all just feel so simple in construction. But with no further ado, here's our list of the top ten ladies of Pixar!

Pixar titles "The Good Dinosaur" & "Dia de los Muertos"

Pixar prepping for one hell of a delicious period of rehabilitation after "Cars 2" proved that the perennial animation studio of our time can not only do wrong, but do very wrong. This year has them releasing "Brave", their first female protagonist feature as well as their 13th film, and this fall they're bringing back the instant classic adventure "Finding Nemo" in 3D. Of all the ill-needed 3D modifications, this is the one I am most absolutely pleased and excited to see. Next year they have primed up a 3D conversion of "Monster's Inc." to coincide with the release of the much anticipated prequel, "Monster's University". My fingers are crossed that they have a story worth telling on their hands there.

So let's start with the bad news, shall we? Pete Doctor has proven his worth with the company both through the previously stated "Monster's Inc.", as well as with the heartbreaking traditional adventure of "Up". His next film, still untitled, is supposed to take us where we've never been before: inside the mind of a young girl. "Inception" for the Pixar gang? Yep, sounds a lot like it. Well that project hasn't exactly been put on hold, but it's been pushed back a year to 2015 to free up space for their other previously untitled film. I might be in a position to be unhappy if the other film didn't have just as delicious a subject as Pete Doctor's film.

THE LISTS: My 5 Favorite Oscar Wins

I could go on about how this Oscar season has been a treacherous road from the start, or some other jargon you've heard dozens of times before and will likely hear dozens of times again. However, I felt applied towards a list for this occasion, and one that strays on the much more optimistic side of things. I've been watching the Academy Awards since March 24th, 2002, when the biggest award I remember was "Shrek" winning Best Animated Feature. Of course, the young mind will only remember that which is acquainted well with it, but since then I have had plenty of significant Oscar moments based on the phenomenon of who won.

In picking out five, I felt inclined to strip away the facade of what was most overwhelmingly deserving. As such, Heath Ledger's Best Supporting Actor win for his knife-edge performance in "The Dark Knight" didn't make the cut, because I didn't feel the moment. Everyone knew it was going to win, but to the point where nobody really cared as much as they should have when it happened. To me, this list always had to be about the passion I felt for the winners, sometimes at that moment, and others massively in retrospect. This night marks ten years in the game, however inadvertently, and I doubt a win will surface that disrupts one of these, but I remain optimistic that it will.

THE LISTS: Best Pixar Characters

It feels overdone to the regular ranking of Pixar's many films, because I feel there's often only a few films that stand at the head of the pack. The Toy Story trilogy seems to be in their own individual class, more outstanding as a whole than in their separate pieces. Cars and A Bugs Life instantly land at the back of the pack, and Cars 2 looks to set a new standard as the worst of Pixar's catalog. For me, WALL-E, Ratatouile, and Finding Nemo are the biggest true winners. However, as Cars 2 seems to be the Pixar film most lacking in well rounded characters, I feel it's worth looking over the best of those.

Pixar is less known for outstanding films than they are for outstanding characters, and it's the cling to those characters that make the films so effective. Quite obviously enough, no characters from A Bug's Life and Cars make it in. On the other hand, neither did The Incredibles, but that's ensemble a piece with Pixar as you can get. True, they could've rounded those characters a little better than just the simple family dynamic. However, as I started to give certain characters passes on to the top ten, I couldn't help but notice some rather big ones being left out.

First of all, Buzz from the Toy Story franchise was left out of the pot, despite having such a compelling arc in the first film. There were also a few smaller characters that didn't make it in because they didn't have enough screentime. I love Ken in Toy Story 3, but he barely missed the cut, and for the sake of specificity, Ellie of Up is more of a driving force than a character. Remy from Ratatouille was the closest to a number 11 pick as I could find, but he would have never been so wonderful without Patton Oswalt's surprisingly strong performance. So now I give you my picks for the top ten Pixar characters, after the jump!

The Top 10: Best Animated Feature Nominees

With all the bustle of awards season, it's easy to forget that this is the tenth year of the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars, and the nominees have been diverse and mostly rewarding. So here is my compilation of the ten best nominees in this category to date, stretching all the way back to 2001. And I can promise you that it's not all Pixar.

10. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Directed by Wes Anderson

I'm not really a great fan of Wes Anderson, because most of his work is far more miss than hit. He does have an enthusiasm about him and that energy shows in his work. So what better medium for his to try his hand at than animation, or more specifically stop-motion. After Henry Selick left the project for bigger and quite honestly better things (see #4), Anderson became the unlikely director, and brought so much to it. Authenticity is something that always impresses me, and this is undeniably the most authentic animated feature of the past decade. Everything feels so real and untarnished, from the aesthetic of the dolls that make up the characters, to witty script that rivals The Hangover in terms of screwball antics. It definitely feels like the sort of film that would be passed down through the years.

9. Persepolis (2007)
Directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

A French animated adaptation of an autobiographical graphic novel about the Iranian revolution. That's a description that will only ever be suited to this film, and you can overlook how unique this film is at first glance. From the basic and simple animation style, this film is more than just a look into the way the government of Iran changed, but also a spry and emotional tale of the way a little girl changes as she grows up. It has an ironic comic timing to it, and that's very much amplified by the constantly changing atmosphere of Marjane Satrapi's mindset. The film moves at such a clip that you can feel that change of mind that zigzags around so frantically. It's like catching lightning in a bottle, and how it bounces around from there.

8. Finding Nemo (2003)
Directed by Andrew Stanton

When thinking of Pixar's achievements over the past decade, the mind always seems to shift to the film that truly put them on the map. Toy Story, A Bugs Life, and Monster's Inc. could all be seen as Pixar's precursor work, very much like Memento, Insomnia, and The Prestige could be seen as Christopher Nolan's precursor work to The Dark Knight. Both didn't truly hit worldwide renown until their greatest hits yet premiered. Finding Nemo is very much the film most responsible for Pixar's impeccable track record. It didn't stray too far away from the harshness of life, nor the cruelty of the sea. It has plenty humorous anecdotes along the way, and to this day there ceases to be a voice performance that reaches the same heights as Ellen Degeneres as Dori. The men and women over at Pixar still had plenty greater works to unveil, but this was the perfect beginning.

The Beauty of Pixar