Mamoru Hosoda's "Summer Wars" throws its hat into the Best Animated Feature Oscar ring

by Chris MaGee

There was pretty heavy buzz circulating online in early September when it was reported that the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan had selected Tetsuya Nakashima's latest film "Confessions" to represent Japan in the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 83rd Academy Awards. Fans and industry insiders alike began backroom debates as to whether "Confessions" was the perfect film for this or not, but many more folks were still wondering about which other films Japan may have entered in next year's Oscars race. Now Anime News Network is reporting that Mamoru Hosoda's critically-lauded full-length anime feature "Summer Wars" is being entered to compete in the Best Animated Feature category at the 83rd Academy Awards.

According to the original post Funimation, the North American distributor for "Summer Wars", said that there were "a few more deadlines to meet" but that indeed Hosoda's magical tale of a young family's summer adventures would be one of a pool of 16 films in consideration for inclusion in the category. Eventually that pool of animated films will be winnowed down to only three for the competition. Still, with only 15 other films to contend with in the Best Animated Feature category "Summer Wars" and Japan has much better odds than in the Best Foreign Language Film category that has 65 films being considered. Here's wishing the best of luck to Hosoda, his crew and the staff at Funimation in the lead up to the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday, February 27, 2011.