IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE

Here are some of the animated films that look promising in the Oscar race.

“The Ant Bully”

Pro: Tale of a downtrodden boy who becomes a hero to the ants he used to torture is in the triumph-of-the-little-guy tradition that often wins.

Con: Despite voices by screen giants Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, “Ant” got squashed at the box office.

“Arthur and the Invisibles”

Pro: Just like “Bully,” Arthur is another shrunken boy, this time teaming up with wee people in the grass, but this version’s from a towering writer-director, Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element,” “La Femme Nikita”).

Con: Besson had recent misfires such as Guy Ritchie’s low-caliber “Revolver.” Worse, his latest film stars movie-cursed Mrs. Ritchie -- Madonna.

“Cars”

Pro: Looks like a NASCAR champ that zoomed ahead at the box office ($454 million worldwide) with Oscar victor Paul Newman behind the wheel.

Con: Another Pixar production, “Monsters, Inc.,” was nominated in this race, but crashed.

“Curious George”

Pro: The world’s most adorable and inquisitive monkey wins over the hearts of all moviegoers younger than 8.

Con: That’s 0% of academy membership, although there are, allegedly, some monkeys in that AMPAS jungle.

“Flushed Away”

Pro: Creators of past champs “Shrek” and “Wallace & Gromit” are back, this time with an aristocratic mouse (Hugh Jackman) who’s flushed into a sewer’s secret world.

Con: Snooty voters may turn up their noses at, literally, the biggest toilet joke ever at the movies.

“Happy Feet”

Pro: Following those marching penguins who won best documentary in March, these animated ones are hoofing it with gusto to win the hearts of filmgoers, Brittany Murphy and Oscar.

Con: These penguins may be too “hippity-hoppity” for conservative academyites.

“Ice Age: The Meltdown”

Pro: Voters nominated “Ice Age” and even a sequel in the past (“Shrek 2”), so they may warm up to these woolly rascals escaping a cold shower. Part 2 earned even more money than Part 1.

Con: Not all sequels to past nominees return. “Lilo & Stitch 2” was made just for DVD.

“Monster House”

Pro: Whoever thought up this movie deserves an Oscar just for reinventing the haunted-house motif. Finally, the whole house is the spook! And it gobbles up pesky cops!

Con: It wasn’t a monster hit at theaters (it just broke even) and some film critics said it was more trick than treat.

“Open Season”

Pro: Beverly Hills voters probably love this movie’s comic theme: Don’t give up a pampered existence for the allure of the wild. Pampered is definitely better.

Con: Voters may flee the violent hunting theme, dismissing this film as “Dude, Where’s My Rifle?” because Ashton Kutcher and Martin Lawrence are in it.

“Over the Hedge”

Pro: Three of the last five winners in this category starred talking animals. Here, they are adorable, wild ones who say “Sweet jeepers!” and “Dig in!” when they discover gleaming silver garbage cans filled with pizza and taco scraps.

Con: Even though she portrays a villain, voters may side with Allison Janney (and therefore against the movie) as a suburbanite battling raccoon & co. because she dresses all in black like a celeb publicist and has the same attitude.

“Paprika”

Pro: Spicy dish of Japanese anime featuring a foxy female therapist who hunts for a stolen machine that can probe people’s dreams.

Con: Oscar voters are notorious for having no taste for sci-fi, but they did bravely gobble up artsy anime in this category once before (“Spirited Away,” winner in 2003).

“A Scanner Darkly”

Pro: Voters often like to nominate an art-house flick, and this one has pedigree (critics’ fave Richard Linklater of “Waking Life” fame) and A-list stars (Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr.).

Con: “Waking Life” wasn’t nominated despite critics’ huzzahs. “Darkly” was a financial flop so dim that, to follow the plot, you needed a floodlight and search party.

“The Wild”

Pro: A lion leaves his comfy life (at the Central Park Zoo) to save his son, just like in “Finding Nemo,” which won this category.

Con: Filmgoers weren’t wild about “The Wild.” It bombed at the box office and got crucified by some critics who called it a rip-off of “Madagascar.”

Tom O’Neil writes the Gold Derby blog at TheEnvelope.com.