An animated Best Picture nominee? Why the "Wall-E" not?

I'm always hopeful when I hear a major group of critics sharing the kudos love with animated movies, even if in this case it comes a year too late.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, usually a contrarian bunch, has just named "Wall-E" as its pick for Best Picture, with "The Dark Knight" as its runner-up. I think they'll end getting one out of two right in the end, with "The Dark Knight" snagging the final Oscar slot (If I had to pick it today, with the caveat that this is mostly a list of movies I haven't seen, I'd say the final five will be "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Milk", "Revolutionary Road", "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Dark Knight.") And if that is the final list, count me among the "Slumdog" supporters.

"Wall-E," however, certainly has enough charms to merit it at least being in the conversation, so thanks to the L.A. crew for that. The first 45 minutes or so of "Wall-E" are just the most enchanting kind of romance, and even if it does become more and more conventional as the story goes on, it's still often a very magical movie.

But like I said, the only problem I have with any of this is that it comes a year too late. Where were the critics when it came to hailing "Ratatouille," the best animated movie I've seen in many, many years, and my pick for the best movie of 2007?

My final five, if I remember this right, were in fact "The Savages", "Into the Wild", "Once", "Zodiac" and "Ratatouille." Of those five, I think "Into the Wild" stands the test of time the best, since I just watched it again the other day and loved it even more.

Though I have a slew of prestige pics to catch up on when I get the chance to hit NYC for the end of the year, I have to say that so far it looks like this year just doesn't measure up as well. So, in that void, why not a win for "Wall-E"?