Whatever happens in other categories this year, science fiction is going to own the best feature animation category at the Oscars, mark my words. Fourteen films have been submitted "for your consideration" to get on the Academy Awards ballot, and the biggest stand outs out of the lot are all science fiction films. Could the best picture running be next? Check out the top contenders, below.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has to choose the pick of the litter from this collection of animation features. The chosen few will go on to be Oscar nominees, which will be announced January 22, 2009. We've decided to star each scifi or cult-genre contender.

The contenders are:
Bolt
Delgo
Dragon Hunters *
Fly Me to the Moon *
Igor *
Kung Fu Panda
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
$9.99
The Sky Crawlers *
Sword of the Stranger
The Tale of Despereaux
Waltz With Bashir
WALL-E *
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!

I think it's easy to assume that WALL-E is the front runner for this years win, but I'm so happy that Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers got a little respect, as it's a gorgeous story. Still let's take a minute to remember the fallen Space Chimps, and those reviewers who were forced to watch it.

Send an email to Meredith, the author of this post, at meredith@io9.com.