> I'm really not certain why The Two Towers was nominated for Best Picture.

Easy. For all the little nitpicks one can make about it -- and they are just that, nitpicks -- it's the grandest achievement in entertainment this year, barring only, perhaps, Minority Report. High expectations, wild popularity, and a high standard set last year inappropriately magnify The Two Towers' minor flaws.

I don't think it matters if it stands on its own as a film or not. It's fun, and it's creatively and technically outstanding. That's enough. Who cares if Fellowship is required prior viewing?

I never had any doubts that Two Towers would be nominated. Maybe I was right because I was right, and maybe I was only right because I was lucky. In any case, I think the reason it was nominated is simply that, other than Minority Report, no other film this year succeeded as well as classic entertainment while still being outstandingly well-made, acted, and so on. It connected with the portion of the Academy that wasn't splitting its votes over an unusually large and competitive spate of arty dramas.

> Treasure Planet for Animated Feature Film wasn't too surprising. . . . In order to fill the five slots for the category, they added Treasure Planet.

Why five? Last year was richer for animated films, and they kept it to three. This year was the driest in recent memory, and it's five. I agree that Treasure Planet was probably the fifth nominee for lack of better alternatives, but, honestly, I'd have figured The Wild Thornberrys sooner, as this year's inexplicable Jimmy Neutron nomination.