Sunday, February 5, 2017

Spreading the Wealth

So how did the Annie Awards go? Disney's Zootopia won for best feature, Red Turtle won for best indie feature, Kubo and the Two Strings collected three awards, Pixar won for its animated short Piper, and on and on.

In other words, a whole lot of studios got themselves a shiny trophy for the features, TV shows or shorts that were in contention, so plenty of corporate entities walked away with bragging rights for one thing or another. (Oh. And the artists who created the work got to take bows too).

Which is as it should be. Because award presentations are celebrations to be televised and distributed on the internet so that entertainments presented in a variety of formats can gain a higher profile and make our fine conglomerates more money. And, of course, individual creators get to bask in the glory as well. But face it. When it comes to awards in Movieland, we're talking 27.3% art, and 72.7% commerce.

A veteran animation artist recently told me how he dislikes the Annie's and doesn't believe they have a point. I understand his feelings, but disagree. The point is, a small, friendly nod to the artists who make television, theatrical, and internet animation, and a big one to the corporations who own the copyrights.

It might not have started out that way, but it's the way reality is now.

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