Toons submitted for Oscar total 18

'The Adventures of Tintin''Rango''Cars 2'The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has received 18 qualifying submissions for consideration in the animated category, assuring that there will be five nominees for the toon Oscar. It's just the third time the maximum has been represented in the decade since the category was created. In 2010, only 15 films were on the final list; as 16 or more are required to trigger five nominees, there were only three from that year. This year's crop is the second-largest number of entries. Twenty films qualified in 2009. The group of 18 also lays to rest the controversy over whether motion-capture, like what was used in Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin," is an acceptable way to animate, even though the rules still clearly state that "motion-capture by itself is not an animation technique." Films like "The Smurfs" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," which were a question mark because they mixed live action and animation, can also rest easy now that they've been accepted. According to the rules, films must have a majority of animated characters and animation must factor into 75% of the film in order to qualify. Several of the films listed -- including "Tintin" and "Happy Feet Two" -- have not yet had their qualifying runs of seven consecutive days in a public theater. The complete list, in alphabetical order, includes: "Tintin"; "Alois Nebel"; "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked"; "Arthur Christmas"; "Cars 2"; "A Cat in Paris"; "Chico & Rita"; "Gnomeo & Juliet"; "Happy Feet Two"; "Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil"; "Kung Fu Panda 2"; "Mars Needs Moms"; "Puss in Boots"; "Rango"; "Rio"; "The Smurfs"; "Winnie the Pooh"; and "Wrinkles." Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com