The Sundance Film Festival only just kicked off and already CraveOnline is interviewing a serious Oscar contender. Heck, it’s such a serious contender that it’s already nominated. The enchanting animated feature Ernest & Celestine – based on a series of children’s books by Gabrielle Vincent, about a bear and a mouse who become friends despite their species’ natures – is up for Best Animated Feature at the 86th Annual Academy Awards, and we’ve got an interview with the film’s director, Benjamin Renner, just hours after the nominations were announced.
William “Bibbs” Bibbiani asks Benjamin Renner about his first few hours as an Oscar-nominee, the similarities between his short film A Mouse’s Tale and Ernest & Celestine, why he has such a thing for mice anyway, the film’s unusual animated style and his favorite animation directors.
The English-language version of Ernest & Celestine stars Forest Whitaker, Mackenzie Foy, Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy, Nick Offerman, Megan Mulally and Lauren Bacall. It arrives in U.S. theaters on March 14, but you can see Ernest & Celestine early if you’re at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Come back for more exclusive Sundance videos, reviews and interviews throughout the coming week at CraveOnline.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
