'WALL-E' bow kicks off Oscar season

June 25, 2008 [...] while Oscar strategists are marking time, waiting for the fall festival circuit to launch a wave of hopefuls, the animation race has begun to take shape. The critics are just beginning to weigh in on "WALL-E" -- the Village Voice's Robert Wilonsky has already called it "both breathtakingly majestic and heartbreakingly intimate" -- but the buzz surrounding the film about a lovelorn robot already is so heady, there's no doubt it will be the movie to beat for best animated film. [...] last year, director Brad Bird wanted to position his "Ratatouille" in the best picture heat, but he was convinced to focus on the best animated film category, which it handily won while also picking up noms in four other categories.

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