CNN Money elaborates on the interesting notion that Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille could very well have been nominated for best picture at this year’s Academy Awards if it wasn’t for its “animated” nature. Even though it was ranked by many critics as one of the year’s best, it was never a serious contender for best picture. Instead, it was relegated to the relatively new category of best animated feature, a category the academy started back in 2002.

Directed by Brad Bird, Ratatouille has garnered a fantastic score of 96 on Metacritic.com, ranking it above this year’s best picture candidates including No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. In total, Ratatouille has been nominated for 5 academy awards: Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing.