3-Way Underdog Race for Best Picture of 2008

The Underdog: The Dark Knight

Why: The Dark Knight is a superhero flick, likened to films like Spiderman, Punisher, etc., and adapted from a comic book, which of course, were never really taken seriously. The film is also a sequel, and only two sequels in history have gone on to contend for Best Picture: "The Godfather 2" & "Lord of The Rings: The Twin Towers." Also, the film is the highest grossing movie of the year. The Oscars, under the belief moviegoers are more amused by careful marketing and huge explosions and not great filmmaking, tend not to gravitate towards movies that do well in the box office. 

Analysis: The reasons that make Dark Knight an underdog are the same reasons that make it in contention. Common belief is that comic book adaptations & superhero flicks are finally maturing. Crowning The Dark Knight would be the manifestation of that belief.  Not only is the film the top grossing of 2008, but it's the 2nd top grossing of all time, a hard detail for Oscar voters to ignore. Add that to Heath Ledger's legendary performance on top of his untimely death and the chance to reward a great actor posthumously for an inspiring body of work, The Dark Knight basically dares one not to vote is Best Pic. 

The Iconic Underdog: Slumdog Millionaire

Why: Slumdog Millionaire is a cross-cultural film entirely set in India. There are no recognizable names, at least to the American Audience, and it's directed by Danny Boyle, a director known for making detestable films like Trainspotting (about Heroin addicts) and 28 Days Later (about Zombies). Plus, it's an indie. 

Analysis: Not only is the film an underdog, but the film is about an underdog. The main character Jamal lives the horrid life of a slum in pursuit of a long-lost-and-lost again love, goes on a game show, and up to the point in which we start the film, gets every question right despite no education. This is the feel good movie of the year, and many are weary of the trend of honoring dark,moody, sad films i.e. No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, The Departed, Crash, & Million Dollar Baby. Everyone wants to root with the underdog, and with no big names, non-ethnocentric view, and euphoric emotions, Slumdog Millionaire gives everyone enough reason to root for it.  

The True Underdog: WALL-E

Why: Most of the film, in peticular the first half-hour, contains no dialog. The main characters aren't even real, they're robots, and the cliche of two robots falling in love is too corny to overlook.  The film is an animation, "the ghetto" of film categories. Not only do they have their own Oscar category, but these films are tailored more toward children, which means they're taken less seriously to everyone outside they're demographic. 

Analysis: Out of the three, Wall-E is the only original story not adapted from another work. Also it's ironic that animated movies are looked down on by regular real-action movies when animations take more than twice as long to make. The idea for Wall-E was conceived in 1994, and they started to write the script in 1995, about 13 years before it's release. Pixar is known for making some of the most brilliant films of the last two decades (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille), yet the stigma of being "animated" is too powerful. The Oscars only have so much room for Underdogs, and crowing a "cartoon" best movie would be too much of an embarrassment to the film industry for Oscar voters to allow. WALL-E gets the shaft.