As the 2024 awards season hits its peak, many viewers enjoy predicting the winners and nominees. Guessing the winners of each category can be a fun competition between friends, but guessing winners of the same categories every year can get boring after a while. But don’t fret, Untied has come up with four new categories to fit all the best films of the year into!
Most Embarrassing Moment: Inside Out 2
Many who watch movies or TV shows often get secondhand embarrassment after a character does something that is so cringey they just have to look away. This moment can range from dropping ice cream on the ground to getting up in front of a crowd of people and shouting at them to watch you dance. This season, Inside Out 2 wins this category. The movie picks back up with Riley from the original, only now she’s in her teenage years, and the audience joins her on a journey of belonging and self-discovery. Throughout the movie we see many instances where she does some pretty embarrassing things like saying something weird in front of the most popular girl on the high school hockey team and just being crazy in a room that is completely silent.
Best Prop: The Substance
There are often very eye-catching props in movies and TV shows. The viewer may have an idea about what it is that is drawing their attention to this item, but the eyes always somehow find its way back to it again and again. Sometimes even in TV shows the same plant or pencil is in just about every episode, making that prop a celebrity itself. This prop doesn’t have to be as simple as a pencil either, it can be an article of clothing like Spiderman’s suit or just an inanimate object that adds an interesting twist to the plot. The movie from this year that wins this award is The Substance. The syringe that carries the green substance is a very vital and interesting prop that deserves all the attention. It is quite literally the entire plot; making the main character become younger and older as she tries to navigate and accept the fact that she is aging.
Best Side Character: Timon and Pumbaa from Mufasa: The Lion King
This category is for the side characters that appear in almost every scene. They wouldn’t just be a random background character, but would be someone that has a unique feature or line that makes them stand out compared to all of the other background actors, like a memorable exchange or a key characteristic. Timon and Pumbaa from Mufasa: The Lion King win in this category this season. Throughout the movie they are seen adding humor to the story even during the sad moments. Their use of funny language and just overall personalities make them very memorable and likeable which makes them great background characters.
Best Use of a Dramatic Pause: Wicked
Anyone who is familiar with shows and movies is probably familiar with the dramatic pauses the audience sees over and over. This dramatic pause should be more than just a silent moment – it should occur in the most unexpected and funniest time, making it just perfect. Wicked would be a perfect match for this category; an instance that can fit for the dramatic pause is when Elphaba wears her cape for the first time. As she got
stronger that cape grew with her becoming a part of her. This moment is perfect for a dramatic pause because it’s followed by an important and exciting moment – Elphaba sings “Defying Gravity.”