Toy Story 3 makes animated Oscar longlist

Image caption, Disney/Pixar released the third Toy Story film earlier this year

Cartoon sequel Toy Story 3 is one of 15 titles in contention for next year's Academy Award for best animated film.

Other hopefuls include the DreamWorks releases Megamind, Shrek Forever After and How to Train Your Dragon.

Pixar's Up was the recipient of this year's animated feature Oscar, beating four other titles to the award.

Under Academy rules, the 15 eligible films will be whittled down to three by the time the 2011 Oscar nominations are announced in January.

The number of eligible titles needs to exceed 15 for there to be five nominees in this particular category.

Among the other longlisted movies are Tangled - a Disney adaptation of the Rapunzel fairy tale - and the supervillain-based comedy Despicable Me.

The Illusionist, a French movie set in Edinburgh based on an unproduced script by the celebrated film-maker Jacques Tati, also makes the cut.

The 2011 Oscar nominations will be announced on 25 January, with the awards ceremony due to follow on 27 February.

Pixar - the producers of Toy Story 3 - have a good track record in the animated feature award, having won it five times since its inception in 2001.