New toon category raises ante for creators, studios
Upsurge in quantity, quality merits separate honor
The Academy has doled out honorary awards for special achievement in animation to the likes of Walt Disney (for "Snow White"), Richard Williams ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit"), and John Lasseter ("Toy Story"). And there has long been an award for animated shorts.
But, explains, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences executive administrator Ric Robertson, the primary reason it has taken so long to designate a separate feature film award for animation is the slim pool of ani releases every year.
"There have been proposals and discussions about it for the past two decades," says Robertson. "The real issue was the number of eligible releases, a concern for any new award."
Until the animation renaissance sparked by the enormous popularity of such Disney features as "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King," however, it was rare for there to be more than a handful of toon features every year. The emergence of DreamWorks as a major competitor in the ani feature stakes as well as the revival of animated production at major studios like Paramount, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox has increased the number of toon pics distributed in any given year.
This year alone has brought around a dozen feature-length tooners including: "The Road to El Dorado," "Pokemon 2000," "Fantasia 2000," "Dinosaur," "Chicken Run," "The Emperor's New Groove," "The Tigger Movie," "Titan A.E.," "Rugrats in Paris," "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" and "Digimon."
Not only has the number increased but also the varieties of animation including traditional cel, computer generated, stop motion and claymation.
"What you have now is so many different techniques and technologies at play," says Robertson, "it's become a real burgeoning field."
In recognition of this upsurge in quantity and quality, the Academy finally has given feature animation a category all its own. Depending on the number of releases every year, there will be at least three and as many as five nominees. (A minimum of eight eligible releases would constitute having the category in play, with three nominees in contention. If more than 15 features qualify in a given year, there would be five nominees).
"For the animators who have long worked anonymously, this is a tremendous recognition of their artistry," says Richard Cook, chairman of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. "Any time the Academy can bring recognition to artists of any kind who make a valuable contribution to our industry, it's a good thing."
Giving feature animators their due is long overdue, according to Jean MacCurdy, who heads Warner Bros.' animation division. MacCurdy began in television, where animators of TV features and other programming have long been recognized.
"It's a wonderful idea," says MacCurdy, "because as much as all of us in animation would like to believe we're simply a film medium, the world at large has viewed it as a genre."
Official recognition from the Academy could change that. As with foreign films and feature documentaries, the category could encourage a broadening of animated films' parameters. For one thing, as with many other Oscar categories, the attention of a nomination is likely to have a positive impact on box office receipts.
"The Academy Award attention can help to focus consumers," says Ann Daly, who heads animation at DreamWorks, "and introduce them to movies they might not otherwise have paid any attention to. This new category brings a potentially larger audience by making animation a grown-up thing."
As in any competitive atmosphere, it also is likely to spur further innovation, not only in the U.S. but worldwide. There is no language barrier for a foreign animated feature. In order to qualify for the feature animation Oscar, a film need only be released in Los Angeles for a week's run during the calendar year.
"There are fantastic animated movies around the world," says Cook. "There's no question that (the award) will highlight tremendous talent."
"It'll be very interesting to see some of that product come here," says MacCurdy. "It will not only raise the bar competitively but raise awareness with the adult audience."
Emmy recognition certainly had that effect, she says, pointing to the long-term popularity of "The Simpsons" with adults. And in recent years, the Oscars have highlighted potential breakthrough talent via the animated short category, which is where British claymator Nick Park first came to Stateside attention.
Park's first feature, "Chicken Run," though family-friendly, also displayed a sophisticated wit that appealed widely to adults, helping the film become one of the few non-Disney animated titles to surpass $100 million at the box office.
Animated features will continue to be eligible in all other categories, particularly score and song, which as far back as "Pinocchio" in 1940 (it won in both) has been a fertile ground for toon movies.
But while the animation industry is optimistic about increased recognition, changes in Academy eligibility often raise as many many questions as they address.
One concern is that with an animated feature category, there will be even less impetus to consider a nonlive-action film for best picture. The only ani feature to be nominated for picture is "Beauty and the Beast," a development that Cook laments. As such, he hopes the new category doesn't serve to ghettoize animated features.
"We all hope this doesn't take away the opportunity of an animated feature to be recognized as best picture," says Cook. "Outstanding achievement in motion pictures is what the Oscars have always been about and that means animated features should continue to be recognized as the true art form they are."
Animators also question where to draw the line between special effects films such as "Star Wars," CGI pix such as "Stuart Little" and partially animated pictures such as "Rocky and Bullwinkle."
"Prince of Egypt" director Simon Wells thinks the distinction is spurious. The new category is "a thing that I'm politically against," he says, "Because you are segregating and saying it's a separate genre. And, having made that distinction, what counts as an animated movie and what counts as a live action movie?"
