The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced the 10 finalists for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar. One of the contenders is “The Longest Daycare” – the “Simpsons” short that aired before “Ice Age: Continental Drift” in theaters this Summer. “The Simpsons” is very mainstream, but the committee apparently loves the short enough to give it the consideration it deserves.
In case you didn’t see it, “The Longest Daycare” is a 4 1/2 minute 3D short starring Maggie, focussing on her adventure at a daycare center. It’s (almost) completely silent, but is laugh-out-loud funny throughout: packed with funny references and creative situations, and features a cameo from Marge. The show’s executive producer James L. Brooks came-up with the idea to do a “Simpsons” short and it turned-out to be 100x better than “Ice Age 4”.
So the question is, can “The Simpsons” win an Academy Award? They had an opportunity in 2008 with “The Simpsons Movie”, but that didn’t even get nominated, which was a crime. However, it would’ve been difficult to beat “Ratatouille”.
56 elidgible animated short entries were cut-down to 10, five of which will be nominated and one will ultimately walk away with the statue on Oscar night. So, looking at the odds, “The Longest Daycare” has a 50% chance of getting nominated, and then a 20% chance of winning. Of course, a lot will have to do with the competition:
Disney’s “Paperman” is also a finalist. It’s being shown before “Wreck-It Ralph”. It’s OK, but nothing special. The other eight finalists I haven’t seen and know little about. But you’ll all get to see the nominees, and a few extras, as part of the Animated Oscar Shorts screening that’s shown in theaters every February. It would be great to see Maggie make that event.
Coincidentally, “The Simpsons” aired an episode called “Angry Dad: The Movie” on Oscar Week, 2011. Homer and Bart make an animated short film that sweeps awards season. Look for the show’s writers to include some jokes/references about this real-life recognition into some shows over the next few months leading-up to Oscar Night 2013 on Feb. 24.