Oscar battle for animation giants

Robert De Niro has lent his voice to Shark Tale

Film studios DreamWorks and Walt Disney have three films each in the running for best animated feature Oscar.

Disney's hopes are with Teacher's Pet, Home on the Range and The Incredibles, a collaboration with Pixar.

Shrek 2, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence and Shark Tale are flying the flag for DreamWorks.

Eleven films will compete for a maximum of three nominations, to be announced in January. Warner, Paramount and two independent studios also have entries.

Warner's entries are The Polar Express and Clifford's Really Big Movie, based on the Big Red Dog picture book series.

The Incredibles has been tipped as the next animated hit

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, based on the popular TV series, is in the running for Paramount.

Indian 2D film The Legend of Buddha and South Korea's Sky Blue, which got its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, are also eligible.

The animated feature film Oscar was created in 2002, with Shrek winning the first prize that year. Spirited Away took home the coveted award in 2003 and Finding Nemo was this year's winner.

Underwater adventure Shark Tale premiered at the Venice Film Festival last month. Will Smith, Angelina Jolie and Robert De Niro are among those who provided voiceovers for the characters.

Disney and Pixar's The Incredibles is released in the US on Friday.

It tells the tale of a superhuman husband and wife team, comprising all-round action man Bob Incredible (voiced by Craig T Nelson) and his rubber-limbed wife Elastigirl (Holly Hunter).

It got its UK premiere at the London Film Festival last month.