By John C.

With film festivals getting into full swing and the majority of upcoming films just begging to be called Oscar bait, there’s no denying that we’re getting into awards season territory yet again.  Every year this is the time that serious contenders start to roll in left, right and centre.  And on September 1st, the first For Your Consideration website and ad of this season was launched, pushing the first truly great film of the year for consideration in several of the top categories.

I don’t ever recall a FYC site being launched this far in advance, but it seems Dreamworks has gotten an early jump on advertising How To Train Your Dragon for consideration in 11 categories, including Best Animated Feature, Best Score and Best Picture – three of the main categories where it would appear if I had a ballot.  Boasting sweeping 3D sequences of flight that rival Avatar and a genuine emotional heart, this certainly deserves the early attention.

For the most part, films released in the first part of the year don’t get serious Oscar nominations, let alone animated ones released in the last few days of March.  But How To Train Your Dragon remains one of the very best films of the year, was met with strong box office returns and outstanding critical acclaim.  For my money, it’s also perhaps Dreamworks Animation’s best film yet, albeit narrowly edging out the first Shrek and Kung Fu Panda.

Another thing that could stand in its way is the fact that fellow animated contender Toy Story 3 is a surefire nominee for Best Picture.  Regardless of medium, both films deserve a spot.  But the question still remains, could this early push pay off and score the film a Best Picture nomination?  Who knows if the politics of the awards season will pan out in it’s favour, but at this point in time, How To Train Your Dragon deserves to be one of ‘the ten.’