Best Animated Film

Nominees: Ratatouille - dir. Brad Bird, Persepolis - dir. Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, Surf's Up - dir. Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

Who Should Win: Persepolis - dir. Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud

I know everyone else is voting for Ratatouille, but honestly, that film never reached my high expectations of it. Persepolis exceeded mine, and its win would mark the first animated film for adults to capture the new trophy. Persepolis is thoughtful, entertaining and wonderfully animated in mostly black-and-white hand-drawn style. Based on the graphic novel by co-director Satrapi, the film is a marvelous depiction of identity and growing up, all without schmaltz.

The WTF? Nominee: Surf's Up - dir. Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

It's a bit unfair of me to even have a WTF? nominee here as there are only three nominees, and really, Surf's Up isn't bad by any means. It's more clever than it looks (and it's a fuckload better than The Simpsons Movie), but it's the ho-hum nominee of this category. Persepolis and Ratatouille are far stronger films, and out of all three, Surf's Up feels the most like a children's movie.