Oscar Watch

Here's an animated short in the race for the Little Gold Man that seems to have some oomph behind it:

... [Morris Lessmore], with a hybrid animation style, us[es] stop motion with miniatures, computer animation and traditional hand-drawn techniques. The Morris Lessmore that made it into the film is completely computer animated, but the crew created a miniature version of him too, which it placed inside the miniature sets as a guide for lighting for the animators.

Moonbot Studios is based in Shreveport Louisiana far out of TAG's jurisdiction, yet I know Animation Guild members who've worked there. Whether Moonbot can survive and thrive down on the Mississippi is an open question. But the sample here looks good.