The animation race for an Oscar may have some hard knocks. “Alvin and the Chipmunks” didn’t make the grade. Yet, “Beowulf” did. How come?

According Variety.com, the Academy’s animated feature screening committee (half are animation professionals and half non-professionals) decided that the “Alvin” isn’t eligible for a best animated feature nomination because it doesn’t fulfill the rule that “animation must figure in no less than 75% of the picture’s running time.”

As some may feel the old double standard applies with “Beowulf,” a film where a living breathing person portrays characters, qualifies for an animation nomination.

According to Variety.com, the committee concluded that helmer Robert Zemeckis’ motion-capture process did have, in the words of Acad exec director Bruce Davis, “enough individual frame manipulation after the motion capture process.”

Listed on Variety.com are the qualifications to get the nod for a potential Oscar.

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