Brave has been officially nominated for a Best Animated Film Oscar in a field of five total films:

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Wreck-It Ralph

While Brave racked up 10 nominations at the Annies this year, it is only nominated in the one category at the Oscars. Nevertheless, it is good to see the beautiful film not go unnoticed. It is also nominated in the same category at the Golden Globes.

The Academy Awards will be presented on February 24th.

Believe it or not, this is 100% computer generated imagery.
Click to enlarge.

Earlier, a short clip from the newly revealed Pixar short, The Blue Umbrella, was made available. This afternoon, Pixar has released a hi-res still, and the official synopsis for the short:

It is just another evening commute until the rain starts to fall, and the city comes alive to the sound of dripping rain pipes, whistling awnings and gurgling gutters. And in the midst, two umbrellas — one blue, one not — fall eternally in love.

Disney/Pixar

The short is also now confirmed to be playing before Monsters University in theaters this summer.

Several months ago, rumors began circulating about a Pixar short in development involving otherwise inanimate objects and a rainy city. The tumblr blog related to the project has now confirmed that this was the rumored project.