Cel Shaded Jason Yadao

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‘Paprika’ out of Oscar race

THE nominations for Best Animated Feature for the Academy Awards are in, and the winner is ... Well, it's not going to be "Paprika," that's for sure.

Satoshi Kon's psychological thriller was passed over in favor of the computer-animated "Cars," "Happy Feet" and "Monster House" in nominations announced Tuesday.

As the only anime that was Oscar-eligible, "Paprika" already faced a tough path to the award, with 14 other films competing with it for three nomination slots. But it could well have been a 16th film -- "Arthur and the Invisibles" -- that pushed it out of contention.

Here's why: When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first released its list of Oscar-eligible animated films on Nov. 3, there were 16 films submitted for consideration. Earlier this month, though, "Arthur" was disqualified for not meeting the requirement that at least 75 percent of the film's running time be animated.

Academy rules give five nomination slots to any category with at least 16 films, but only three to those with 15 or fewer; thus, the damage to "Paprika's" chances.

Ahh, well ... there's always the American Anime Awards. Voting at www.americananimeawards.com closes on Wednesday, by the way ...

Quick hits

» New anime with a distinct old-school flavor are now running weekdays on KIKU-TV. Tune in for the English-dubbed versions of "Kodocha" at 6 p.m., "Revolutionary Girl Utena" at 6:30 p.m., "Dragon Ball" at 10 p.m. and "Case Closed" at 10:30 p.m. ...

» Viz recently announced that the anime version of "Death Note," the story of a boy granted the power to kill simply by writing names in a mystical notebook, will be available as downloadable episodes to rent or own, in Japanese with English subtitles. Pricing has not been announced; DVDs with subtitled and English-dubbed versions will be released later ...