Oy. Oy. Oy. Was the sound of thousands of traditional animation fans slapping their foreheads when "Happy Feet", a motion capture animated film, one for best animated picture last night. Cartoon Brew tries to make the distinction that "‘Happy Feet’ is an animated film – but it’s not a cartoon." But this definition would leave Pixar’s films on the outside too. I think we’re stuck with all forms of animation in this category (mo-cap, stop motion, hand drawn, computer, and even flash).
My earlier point was that I don’t think the MPAA voted "Happy Feet" because of the new technique. It voted because it liked the story better. Disney should take this as a sign to redouble the efforts to start with great story and then let the story dictate the medium.
Btw, when you’re over at CartoonBrew, read the comments. They’ve really attracted a great community over there.