Under Academy rules, “in any year when 8 to 15 animated features are released in Los Angeles County, a maximum of 3 motion pictures may be nominated.” Had one more feature qualified, the number of nominees would have expanded to five features.
The biggest losers in this scenario are the indies like Bill Plympton’s Idiots and Angels, Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist and Paul and Sandra Fierlinger’s My Dog Tulip, as well as the sleeper anime hit, Mamoru Hosoda’s Summer Wars. A field of five nominees would virtually guarantee one or two of them a nomination, but they face an uphill battle now.Disney is pushing hard for a Best Picture nomination for Toy Story 3. With the Academy expanding the Best Picture nominations to ten films beginning last year, there's a good chance they'll get it.
But they'll have to settle for, at most, a Best Animated Feature win. The Academy would be loathe to deliver Best Picture to an animated film.