The nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were released, and like all years, there were some surprises. Chosen in the Best Animated Feature category were Rango, Puss in Boots, Kung Fu Panda 2, A Cat in Paris and Chico and Rita. Obviously absent from the category were Arthur Christmas and The Adventures of Tintin, two really acclaimed cartoon movies that were predicted to be selected. Tintin did have a nomination for composer John Williams in the Best Musical Score category. And Man or Muppet from The Muppets and Real in Rio! from Rio were the only two melodies to be selected in the Best Original Song category.

In the mean time, the Best Animated Short category discovered nominations for Pixar’s yet to be released La Luna, A Morning Stroll, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore and Wild Life. And Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Hugo, Real Steel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon were the selections for Best Visual Effects.

The winners will be presented on February 26th.