Movie Cricket

For the first time since the category was created in 2001, the animated-feature race for the Academy Awards will have five nominees.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced the 20 animated features that will be eligible for the Oscar. Academy rules say that if there 16 or more eligible films, five can be nominated — but if there are 15 or fewer eligible films, only three can be nominated.

Here are the 20, and don't be shocked if you've never heard of some of them:

• “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” - Computer-animated follow-up to the 2007 film, opens Dec. 23
• “Astro Boy” - Computer-animated update of the Japanese manga character, in theaters now.
• “Battle for Terra” - CGI sci-fi drama, opened in May.
• “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” - Computer-animated comedy about a food-making machine going berzerk, still in theaters.
• “Coraline” - Henry Selick's stop-motion adaptation of Neil Gaiman tale of a girl finding a parallel world. Opened in February, now on DVD.
• "Disney's A Christmas Carol” - Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture CGI version of the Dickens classic, in theaters now.
• “The Dolphin – The Story of a Dreamer” - Peruvian computer-animated undersea adventure. No U.S. release dates listed.
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” - Wes Anderson's stop-motion adaptation (pictured) of the Roald Dahl book, opens nationally on Nov. 25.
• “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” - Computer-animated continuation of the popular franchise, opened in July.
• “Mary and Max” - Clay-animated drama (which opened the 2009 Sundance Film Festival) about a pen-pal relationship between a little girl and a man with Asperger's. Released in October, in theaters in larger cities and via IFC's on-demand cable service.
• “The Missing Lynx” - Computer-animated animal adventure from Spain. U.S. release date pending.
• “Monsters vs. Aliens” - Computer-animated adventure/comedy about a group of monsters battling alien invaders. Opened in March, released on DVD in September.
• “9” - Shane Acker's computer-animated drama about mini-creatures in a post-apocalyptic society, opened in September.
• “Planet 51” - Computer-animated comedy about an astronaut landing on an alien planet, opens Nov. 20.
• “Ponyo” - Hayao Miyazaki's cell-animated adventure about a boy who discovers a girl who used to be a fish, opened in August.
• “The Princess and the Frog” - Disney-produced cell-animated fairy tale (pictured), a twist on the classic "Frog Prince" story, opens Dec. 11.
• “The Secret of Kells” - Irish cell-animated story of a boy trying to complete the mystical "Book of Kells." No U.S. release date announced.
• "Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” - Computer-animated Disney story starring the famous fairy from "Peter Pan." Released on DVD in October; had brief theatrical run in L.A. to qualify for Oscars (increasing the odds that Disney's other entries — "Up," "A Christmas Carol" and "The Princess and the Frog" — could get nominated).
• "A Town Called Panic” - French stop-motion story of plastic cowboy and Indian toys learning to get along. No U.S. release date announced.
• “Up” - Pixar's computer-animated story of a man who sends his house airborne, with an eager Wilderness Explorer as a stowaway. Opened in June; DVD released this week.