My Choice for Best Picture

I see a decent amount of movies each year - though most of them are the popular/blockbuster ones (rather than critics-choice/artsy types).

I'll admit, I haven't seen any of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture (though I really want to see "Juno"). Actually, now that I look through the full list of nominations, I've only seen 3 of the nominated films. I saw the 3rd "Pirates" movie, "Enchanted," and - my favorite film of 2007
- "Ratatouille."

I was on CNN.com tonight and saw this article about it - "Was 'Ratatouille' Ripped Off in Oscar Race?" There's no doubt in my mind, this is not a movie made with kids in mind. Don't get me wrong, it's clean - but the main subject matter is a little more nuanced/sophisticated than your average animated movie. I think it was a beautiful film - but more than that, it had amazing things to say about being an artist. I loved it SO MUCH.

Here's a quote from the article (from a NY Times critic):
"a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film"

So the question remains - why isn't one of the highest-grossing AND critically-acclaimed movies of the year up for the big prize?

What do you think? Could an animated film ever win best picture? (And besides "Juno," are there any other Oscar nominated films that I'm missing out on?)