The shortlist for the 2009 Academy Awards has just been announced, with Pixar's robot love story-cum-eco message Wall-E leading the pack in the animation category.
The film - widely billed as the bleakest-ever Pixar film - is up against celebrity voiceover extravaganza Kung Fu Panda, and Bolt, a doggy satire starring the voices of Tim Allen and John Travolta that was recently released in the US.
In the VFX category, The Dark Knight's team earned its nomination with last year's fast-moving, pyrotechnic Batman sequel. It's up against the team behind enjoyable superhero romp Iron Man, and the VFX of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
The Animated Shorts category features La Maison en Petits Cubes, a meditation on global warming by Kunio Kato; Lavatory - Lovestory, directed by Konstantin Bronzit; Oktapodi, directed by Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand; Presto, a Pixar short directed by Doug Sweetland; and pallbearing short This Way Up, directed by Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes.
For a full list of nominees, click here
The awards ceremony will take place on February 22, 2009.