Alright, entertainment journalists haven't scrambled to deconstruct the race for best animated short and your Oscar betting party probably won't put high stakes on the best cinematography contest, but there's more to the Academy Awards than just the big ones. Here's a look at some of the Oscar races that too often get overlooked.

Best Animated Feature

The brilliantly macabre "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" and Hayao Miyazaki's lyrical "Howl's Moving Castle" are deserving nominees, but expect a victory for the universally adored "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit."

Best Cinematography

Though "Good Night, and Good Luck" boasted beautifully innovative cinematography, "Brokeback Mountain's" achingly beautiful landscape shots deserve the trophy - not to mention the film's tremendous momentum will almost certainly ensure its victory.

Costume Design

This is a race between lackluster films, "Pride & Prejudice" and "Memoirs of a Geisha," both of which featured splendid costuming. If the Academy's typically political voting scheme prevails, however, "Walk the Line" may end up with the Oscar.

Documentary Feature

The audience favorite "March of the Penguins" is nominated after a box office streak this summer, but "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" has tremendous buzz and critical acclaim.

Score

Perennial Oscar favorite John Williams penned a wonderfully evocative score for "Memoirs of a Geisha," but the lack of industry acclaim for the film will hurt his chances. The Academy will try to reward "Brokeback Mountain" in every category they can, and the soundtrack is a flawless compliment to the film.

Foreign Language Film

Though we won't pretend to have seen any of these films, South Africa's "Tsotsi" would appear to be the favorite. We'll get on seeing that, and you should come. Popcorn's on us.