Animated Films, When Will An Animated Film Win The Coveted Best Picture Oscar?

[CelestialFairyIX]

DISCLAIMER: This is my very first "New Topic" post and because of my lack of experience within the Box Office Theory community, please refrain from "attacking" me if this thread belongs elsewhere or should have not been created in the beginning.

 

Well, throughout the entirety of the Oscar history, not a single animated film has won the coveted, "Best Picture" Oscar and within this frame, only THREE animated films have received the honor of getting nominated.  This brings into question, does Hollywood truly care for animated films?  We all understand that a massive portion of earnings at the Box Office derives from animated films and a larger amount of that comes from the legendary studio: Walt Disney Animation Studio.  Then, is the question, do animated films get trashed (lighter tonality) in the Best Picture region of the Oscars?  Is it lack of depth or... because they are animated films geared and specifically designed for a younger audience.  The latter statement is true to a degree, with many of the box office animated hits geared towards children with few entertainment for adults.  However, there are a large variety of animated films that explore darker themes or the ambiance of the animated film is, let us say pitched higher than that of other animated films.  Many animated films are, in essence brighter, more colorful, and thematic than that of norm Hollywood films but that should not mean one can disregard them because they are a little bit more childish.  To conclude, Hollywood seems to disengage itself from animated films due to few factors.  Do you believe that one day, an animated film will win the Best Picture Oscar or will animated films forever be tainted with an incurable disease that will render them useless and unable to even be in the same playing field as live films!  And, why do you think such a few amount of animated films get so little recognition in the Best Picture department and do you think this should stay relevant or should animated films get more Oscar attention?

 

Animated films nominated for Best Picture Oscar:

 

~ Up, PAS/WDAS, 2009

~ Beauty and the Beast, WDAS, 1991

~ Toy Story 3, PAS/WDAS, 2010

 

Which upcoming animated film do you think will have a chance at nabbing a nomination for Best Picture or what past animated films deserved to at least get nominated for Best Picture.

 

Past animated films that should have gotten Best Picture Oscar nominations (Not going to list ALL the animated films I think deserved a nomination, just a few)

 

~ The Lion King

~ Spirited Away

~ Howl's Moving Castle

~ Ratatouille 

~ Finding Nemo

~ The Tale of the Princess Kaguya 

 

Animated films that should have won Best Picture (In my OPINION):

 

~ The Lion King

~ Up (This one is an iffy because the Hurt Locker was also amazing)

~ Finding Nemo

[Jack Nevada]

This needs to be in the And the Winner is.. subforum.

[Empire]

Toy Story 3 should have won. It was the best movie of 2010.

[Jake Gittes]

Never?

[Avatree]

Toy Story 2, Shrek and Shrek 2 are absolutely magnificent and I would definitely put them up for consideration as best film of their respective years.

 

But at the end of the day, the Academy is just a bunch of old, straight, cis, white men. Do you really care about their opinions that much?

[Jake Gittes]

Spirited Away would've deserved to win though, especially in a year as weak as 2002. If I'm not mistaken it's the only animated film ever to win a top prize at one of the major European film festivals (in this case Berlinale). Wise decision.

[druv10]

Toy Story 3 should have won. It was the best movie of 2010.

 

Yep, it got screwed and I also thought Wall-e should have won it over Slumdog Millionaire. 

[Avatree]

Yep, it got screwed and I also thought Wall-e should have won it over Slumdog Millionaire. 

Slumdog Millionaire is crap. One of the most overrated films in a long time imo.

[grim22]

This won't happen till the Best Animated Feature category is removed. Even if the movie is actually the best one released in a given year, it won't get considered as a major contender for Best Picture because everyone will just look at it as an Animated Feature contender.

[CelestialFairyIX]

Yep, it got screwed and I also thought Wall-e should have won it over Slumdog Millionaire. 

I forgot about Wall-e, it was an astonishing and emotional movie, one of Pixar's greatest works!  And, yes, I think it should have won, Slumdog Millionaire was kind of overrated during its golden days.

[grim22]

Yep, it got screwed and I also thought Wall-e should have won it over Slumdog Millionaire. 

 

Wall-e wasn't even the biggest Oscar BP snub of that year.

[Ray G]

It was never going to win before Best Animated Feature, and it will never win now that the category exists. 

 

The only way this could change is if there's a sea change in the way Americans view animation, and animation starts becoming a more common technique to tell mature stories. But even then, I would say it's unlikely because the actors' division will always favor live action. 

[Empire]

Wall-e wasn't even the biggest Oscar BP snub of that year.

It was. Wall-E is better than The Dark Knight.

[grim22]

It was. Wall-E is better than The Dark Knight.

 

Only one of those got the category expanded to 5-10 pictures, which the academy has promptly used to award movies which do next to nothing at the box office again.

[Empire]

Only one of those got the category expanded to 5-10 pictures, which the academy has promptly used to award movies which do next to nothing at the box office again.

How do you know it was TDK that did and not Wall-E. Everyone always says this, but I have never seen it proven anywhere.

[MovieMan89]

Whenever there's something that's as innovative and groundbreaking to the genre as Snow White was for its time and Toy Story was for its time. Animation's prestige in the industry has grown immensely in the last two decades, so I think a groudbreaking and universally acclaimed film like TS1 would have a serious shot if released now. Although it would still have to probably be lucky enough to release in a weak year. It very well may never happen. Also I don't think a sequel can ever do it if one finally does win. Sequels already have uphill battles with the Academy as it is.

[grim22]

How do you know it was TDK that did and not Wall-E. Everyone always says this, but I have never seen it proven anywhere.

 

It came straight from the Academy president when he announced the expanded field: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/oscars-to-go-with-10-nominees-for-best-picture-instead-of-five/?_r=0

 

In a question-and-answer session that followed the announcement, Mr. Ganis said: “I would not be telling you the truth if I said the words ‘Dark Knight’ did not come up.” Earlier this year, “The Dark Knight,” a critically acclaimed blockbuster fantasy, was excluded from a list of nominees that included “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Reader” and the winner, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

[Empire]

Okay. Thanks for showing me that.

[CelestialFairyIX]

Whenever there's something that's as innovative and groundbreaking to the genre as Snow White was for its time and Toy Story was for its time. Animation's prestige in the industry has grown immensely in the last two decades, so I think a groundbreaking and universally acclaimed film like TS1 would have a serious shot if released now. Although it would still have to probably be lucky enough to release in a weak year. It very well may never happen. Also I don't think a sequel can ever do it if one finally does win. Sequels already have uphill battles with the Academy as it is.

This is the sad part, the Academy truly never takes animated works seriously, it's like they're just... there... for entertainment and nothing more or less.  There is a segregation between live films and animated films and I believe it is time they co-exist.  The "thing" that agitates me about the Academy is that if a piece of work is "Artistic" or immensely "Theatrical" in a sense AND it is a live film, they'll highhandedly give the Best Picture Oscar to that piece of work.  However, if that film happens to be an animated film, they will find a way to discredit the work.  I know it's a long-shot but I hope an animated film wins the Best Picture Oscar before the end of 2020.

Edited January 18, 2015 by CelestialFairyIX

[druv10]

Wall-e wasn't even the biggest Oscar BP snub of that year.

 

Considering the bias, TDK had no shot at BP. It should have been nominated however.