Best Song: "Al otra lado del rio" (2004)

Scene from The Motorcycle Diaries

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Theory Thursday: Dreamworks Movies are More Enjoyable Than Pixar

Scene from Kung Fu Panda 3

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Check This Out: A Video of Chris Farley's Version of "Shrek"

Scene from Shrek

Nowadays, Shrek is remembered as one of the most successful animated franchises in history. Its tale of an ogre who skewered fairy tale and pop culture became a cornerstone to the zeitgeist throughout the past 14 years with four films, one spin-off, and endless merchandise. It was also the first film to win Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. While Shrek has developed into its own metaphorical monster with Mike Myers turning in one of the most recognizable voice works of the decade, things would have looked a lot different with original choice Chris Farley. After 18 years, audio has been released for the version that could have been with Eddie Murphy reprising his role as Donkey. To say the least, it's an interesting look into alternative history.

Check This Out: "Monsters Inc." and "Shrek" at the Oscars

It is hard to believe, but there was a time when the Best Animated Feature wasn't a category at the Oscars. With each passing year, it has become one of the more significant categories. Even in 2015, there's still major contention as to what makes the final nominees, including big juggernaut Pixar, who has won the category 7 of the 14 times despite being absent the past few years. With Friday's release of Inside Out, it feels like a good time to revisit the category's first year in which things all kicked off with a very animated gimmick that hasn't been done since.

My Top 10 Favorite Best Animated Feature Nominees

Ratatouille

This past weekend, How to Train Your Dragon 2 opened in theaters, and I was very ecstatic about it. I still consider it to be something of a masterpiece that will hopefully find more legs as its box office history continues. With the expectations of it topping next year's Academy Awards, it got me thinking: what are my favorite Best Animated Feature nominees? In the category's brief, 13 year existence, it has celebrated the growth of a style that used to be a lot cruder. However, it has also shown the progression effectively, especially as computer technology has trumped traditional technique and has taken some films into new artistic zones.