After initially being rejected by the Academy, Richard Linklater's animated movie Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood can now qualify for Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars. Two other movies, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, a stop-motion film directed by Jenny Slate, and Eternal Spring, an animated documentary, have also had their eligibility reconsidered.
"Upon review of relevant background materials provided by the filmmakers, the Academy’s Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Executive Committee deemed Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and Eternal Spring eligible for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 95th Academy Awards. The Academy is committed to recognizing the innovations within our industry," an Academy spokesperson told IndieWire.
Set during the 1969 Moon Landing, Apollo 10 ½ explores the fantasies of children on Earth who watched the historic televised event and is loosely based on the director's own childhood. The movie is made in a similar style to Linklater's rotoscoped films, A Scanner Darkly and Waking Life, and takes inspiration from kids' Saturday morning cartoons.
However, last month, the Academy's animation committee rejected the movie for Oscar consideration in the Best Animated Feature Film category. At the time, the committee wrote that the Academy "does not feel that the techniques meet the definition of animation in the category rules" due to the "extensive use" of live-action footage. This footage was used for reference, but none of it appears in the movie.
Linklater spoke out against the decision, saying: "This decision cuts off the creative flow for a certain kind of animated movie. Will anyone greenlight something like this if it can’t get nominated? The [animation] industry is clustered around kids’ entertainment. I get this feeling that they’re basically like, 'Indie weirdos, go home.'"
Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood is available to stream on Netflix now. For more viewing inspiration, check out our picks of the other best Netflix movies to add to your watch list.
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