Wall-E on animated Oscar longlist

Wall-E tells of a lonely robot who journeys into outer space

Pixar hit Wall-E is one of 14 titles in contention for next year's Academy Award for best animated feature.

Others on the official longlist include Kung Fu Panda, Dr Seuss' Horton Hears A Who! and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

Seven of the submissions have yet to open in Los Angeles, a condition they must meet in order to be eligible.

Academy rules dictate that when there are between eight and 15 submissions, a maximum of three films can be nominated for the actual award.

This year's ceremony saw Pixar's Ratatouille triumph over penguin comedy Surf's Up and graphic novel adaptation Persepolis.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is currently top at the US box office

Animated documentary Waltz with Bashir, screened to considerable acclaim at this year's Cannes Film Festival, also makes 2009 longlist.

So do Disney's upcoming canine caper Bolt and recent UK releases Igor and Fly Me to the Moon.

Japanese anime The Sky Crawlers - premiered earlier this year at the Venice Film Festival - is one of several foreign titles included.

Final nominations for the 81st Academy Awards will be announced on 22 January in Los Angeles.

The ceremony itself will be held on 22 February at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood.