Every year, one site or another does those "brutally honest" ballots where Academy members reveal their true thoughts about movies. When it comes to animation, they are... pretty indifferent. They often admit they didn't bother watching half of the movies, or only voted for the one that their kid dragged them to.
Do you think animation will ever gain the respect of Hollywood? It prints money (usually), but it doesn't feel like that's enough. I remember when James Cameron got offended when somebody referred to Avatar as "animated", even though a lot of animators worked on it, and Disney keeps calling it's upcoming Lion King reboot "live-action" even though it's a fully animated movie.
I doubt I'll ever live long enough to see those attitudes change.
Animation has become a dominating commercial force in Hollywood. (Witness the current box office list). Will it ever get the respect it deserves? Probably not. Live action has the prestige and Academy votes. The largest voting bloc is comprised of actors, and they would never vote for an animated feature, no matter how good, over a live-action "Best Picture" nominee.
I would point to "Silence of the Lambs" winning "Best Picture" over "Beauty and the Beast". By rights, "Beauty" should have taken the prize, but politically it would never, ever happen. So I'm glad the Academy created a "Best Animated Feature" category.
Every year, one site or another does those "brutally honest" ballots where Academy members reveal their true thoughts about movies. When it comes to animation, they are... pretty indifferent. They often admit they didn't bother watching half of the movies, or only voted for the one that their kid dragged them to.
ReplyDeleteDo you think animation will ever gain the respect of Hollywood? It prints money (usually), but it doesn't feel like that's enough. I remember when James Cameron got offended when somebody referred to Avatar as "animated", even though a lot of animators worked on it, and Disney keeps calling it's upcoming Lion King reboot "live-action" even though it's a fully animated movie.
I doubt I'll ever live long enough to see those attitudes change.
Animation has become a dominating commercial force in Hollywood. (Witness the current box office list). Will it ever get the respect it deserves? Probably not. Live action has the prestige and Academy votes. The largest voting bloc is comprised of actors, and they would never vote for an animated feature, no matter how good, over a live-action "Best Picture" nominee.
DeleteI would point to "Silence of the Lambs" winning "Best Picture" over "Beauty and the Beast". By rights, "Beauty" should have taken the prize, but politically it would never, ever happen. So I'm glad the Academy created a "Best Animated Feature" category.