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The Red Turtle Nominated for Critics' Choice Awards
posted on by Karen Ressler
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) announced its nominees for the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards on Thursday. Michael Dudok de Wit and Studio Ghibli's The Red Turtle received a nomination in the Best Animated Feature category.
The other nominees include Kubo and the Two Strings, Finding Dory, Moana, Trolls, and Zootopia. The winners will be announced at an awards gala on December 11.
Meanwhile, the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) announced on Thursday that Zootopia is its pick for Best Animated Feature in this year's New York Film Critics 2016 Awards.
The Red Turtle is the latest work by award-winning Dutch animator and director Michael Dudok de Wit ("The Monk and the Fish," "Father & Daughter" animated shorts). Studio Ghibli co-produced the film with French film production and distribution company Wild Bunch (co-producers on The Secret World of Arrietty).
Director de Wit temporarily moved to Koganei in Tokyo (where Studio Ghibli is headquartered) to work on the film, completing the film's storyboards and the scenario in his time there, while Studio Ghibli director Isao Takahata checked them. Takahata also served as the "artistic producer" for the film. Pascale Ferran (Bird People) wrote the film's script.
Entertainment news website Deadline describes the film:
The dialogue-free picture centers on a man shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by turtles, crabs and birds. When he builds a wooden raft, he is confronted by the titular turtle. The story then follows the milestones in his life on the island which include meeting a woman and starting a family.
The film screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and won the Special Jury Prize at the Un Certain Regard section of the festival. The film opened the 40th Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June. In Japan, the film opened on September 17 with the title Red Turtle - Aru Shima no Monogatari (Red Turtle - A Certain Island's Story).
The film opened on November 18 in Los Angeles for its one-week Oscar-qualifying run, and also screened in New York. Sony Pictures Classics will screen The Red Turtle in more North American theaters starting on January 20, 2017.
The film has also been nominated for an Annie Award in the Best Animated Feature - Independent category.
The director's "Father & Daughter" short won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2001. The Red Turtle is de Wit's first feature film.
