An unusually large field of animated feature films has been submitted for consideration at the 84th Academy Awards next February. Cars 2 is among 18 films competing for Best Animated Feature.

The others are: Rango, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots, The Smurfs, Arthur Christmas, Rio, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Hoodwinked Two! Hood vs. Evil, Gnomeo & Juliet, and Winnie the Pooh.

Plus three motion capture films: The Adventures of Tintin, Happy Feet Two, and Mars Needs Moms.

And four foreign films: Alois Nebel from the Czech Republic, A Cat in Paris from France, Chico & Rita from Spain, and Wrinkles also from Spain.

With the lackluster response to Cars 2 from the film industry, a win for Pixar may be a bit of a longshot with films like Rango and the popular, yet unreleased Tintin film in the field.

For several years there have been only three nominees for this category, as the list of eligible films did not meet the 16 film minimum. But with 18 films this year, it is likely there will be 5 final nominees for the Academy to select from.