With the Oscars just around the corner, we film fans debate the odds of our favorite nominees and movies garnering Academy Awards. Alas, we also shake our heads in disappointment over the notable snubs.

This edition of Disney In Depth recognizes The Walt Disney Studios’ chances of attaining Oscars, as well as pays tribute to some titles that deserved some recognition.

NOMINATIONS:

BIG HERO 6

Nomination: Best Animated Feature Film

Competition: The Boxtrolls, How To Train Your Dragon 2, Song of the Sea, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Odds of winning: Moderate

Big Hero 6 may not end up grabbing the shiny statue, despite its high critical acclaim. Dragon‘s surprising Golden Globe victory may not be a sign of it taking an Oscar, too, but Boxtrolls might come in to snag it. What Big Hero 6 has working in its favor is following last year’s Oscar winner Frozen and a lack of competition from The Lego Movie, disappointingly snubbed.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Nomination: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Competition: Foxcatcher, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Odds of winning: Strong

Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White are nominated for their first Oscars for their work on Guardians, which included masterful work – just look at Gamora, for instance – and despite facing competition from previous Oscar-nominated artists, they may likely take home trophies.

Nomination: Best Visual Effects

Competition: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Interstellar, X-Men: Days of Future Past

Odds of winning: Fair

Guardians is going to have a tougher time in this category, considering in recent years the Academy has favored more “artistic” features, such as Inception and Hugo. Sure, the film offered some wonderful treats for the eye, but Insterstellar may very well steal Guardians from standing any chance. Sorry, Groot.

MALEFICENT

Nomination: Best Costume Design

Competition: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Inherent Vice, Into The Woods, Mr. Turner

Odds of winning: Low

As much as I think Anna B. Shephard deserves kudos for her brilliant designs for Angelina Jolie and the supporting cast, she will likely lose to either Colleen Attwood (Into The Woods) or Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel), both of whom have already garnered three Oscars each. My bet is on Canonero, as the Academy sure loves its period pieces when evaluating previous wins in this category.

INTO THE WOODS

Nomination: Best Supporting Actress (Meryl Streep)

Competition: Patricia Arquette, Laura Dern, Keira Knightley, Emma Stone

Odds of winning: Low

Streep steals the show in this musical adaptation by Rob Marshall, but everyone is on board to see Arquette take home her first Oscar. While Streep gives an electrifying performance and once again shows her capable musical comedic chops, after hearing her harsh and false comments about Walt Disney made just over a year ago, I am not sure if she deserves Oscar recognition for her role in this Disney production. It’s sometimes hard to remove the performers from their roles, and some Academy members – despite loving her – may remember that unfortunate speech from Streep about Disney. Don’t diss the founder of the company that gives you a paycheck and essentially another Oscar nomination.

Nomination: Best Costume Design

Competition: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Inherent Vice, Maleficent, Mr. Turner

Odds of winning: Strong

As I mentioned earlier, Attwood’s work is undoubtedly and wickedly good. Her only competition truly comes from Budapest Hotel.

Nomination: Best Production Design

Competition: The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Interstellar, Mr. Turner

Odds of winning: Moderate

Once again, Budapest may take the prize, for its immersive environments could trump even the depth that Woods delivers. Luckily for set decorator Anna Pinnock, she has two nominations this year (also for Budapest). Even if she does not garner Oscar gold for either film, she wins acclaim either way for being only a handful of individuals nominated twice in one category in one year. Pinnock can join Alexandre Desplat’s club, I guess, as his orchestration for Budapest and Imitation Game both got nods. Nice work, you two!

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

Nomination: Best Visual Effects

Competition: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Guardians of the Galaxy, Interstellar, X-Men: Days of Future Past

Odds of winning: Low

Absolutely, the fine work of Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill, and Dan Sudick comes through Soldier‘s scenes, which do not rely on as much CGI as some of their counterparts, but as suggested earlier, the Academy will likely favor the gang behind Interstellar.

FEAST

Nomination: Best Animated Short Film

Competition: The Bigger Picture, The Dam Keeper, Me and My Moulton, A Single Life

Odds of winning: Moderate

It’s no Paperman nor a Get a Horse!, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ two previous shorts that received Oscar nominations – Paperman won, by the way, if you recall. But Feast has its charm and an enticing, if not scrumptious, visual style. This category is really anyone’s game.

SNUBS:

MUPPETS MOST WANTED

Should have been nominated for: Best Original Song

Remember when 2011’s The Muppets won in this category for “Man or Muppet,” a hilarious parody that sounded like it came straight out of a 1980s ballad performer? It seemed inevitable that one of Muppets Most Wanted‘s tunes would attain recognition. Not the case. While no one piece reached the popularity of “Man or Muppet,” this sequel has an assortment of delightfully funny songs, from the opening extravaganza “We’re Making A Sequel” to disco-themed “I’ll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu).” What a disappointment that the Academy rewarded a few commercial songs with recognition this year instead of paying attention to true cleverness.

PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE

Should have been nominated for: Best Original Song

I had campaigned for Spencer Lee’s thoughtful “Still I Fly” back when the movie was released, but unfortunately the Oscars did not find enough value in Planes‘ motivational melody.

OTHER SNUBS:

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER showcases truly awe-inspiring cinematography, whether in the confines of the elevator when Hydra assault Cap or the bouncy climax. A nomination in that category for Trent Opaloch would seem just.

BIG HERO 6 has a wonderful musical score by Henry Jackman that jumps around from sentimental to pop and action-packed. This truly should have been recognized by the Academy.

What do you think Disney will win this year? What do you see as notable snubs? Share your thoughts!

This is Brett Nachman, signing off. Follow me on Twitter for alerts of new editions of Disney In Depth, Thursdays on Geeks of Doom.