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Don Hahn remembers the night he lost the Oscar for Best Picture.
Before the ceremony, Disney CEO Michael Eisner had called with an unusual request.
If you win, could you do the following?
Could you say, Thanks, everybody that worked on the film and now Im going to Disneyland?
Eisner assured Hahn that the company would send a donation to the charity of his choice as thanks.
Really, am I going to do this?
But Eisner had understood that the event was prime real estate for product placement.
Hahns agita ended up being moot.Beauty and the Beastlost toThe Silence of the Lambs.
So you getPocahontasandThe Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Meanwhile,competition intensified.
Pixar (not yet a Mouse subsidiary) madeToy Story.
Warner Bros. madeSpace Jam.
ErstwhileDisney dissident Don BluthmadeAnastasiaat 20th Century Fox (alsonot yet a Mouse subsidiary).
The films could squeak into the original-songs and scores categories, but Best Picture remained out of reach.
Then, in 2002, the medium was finally given its due.
(TheBest Animated Short Film awarddates back to the 30s.)
Thats a dream fulfilled for me.
In the 20 years since, however, the realities of the category have divided animators.
(Combined, the two studios have won the award 15 times in 21 years.)
Best Animated Feature tends to go to kid-friendly films animated primarily in 3-D CGI (19 times).
And the Oscars havent always been helpful in bridging the gap.
It creates a separation: adult table, kids table, he says.
I see some parents know exactly what were talking about.
That was a kick in the balls to the entire animation community, says Gutierrez.
I dont think they look at me the same way.
The condescension is part of a long tradition, says Hahn.
He points to theinfamous 1989 telecast.
Lets find the wackiest thing we can do, and well haveRob Lowe dancing with Snow White.
Some animators worry that voters dont actually watch the animated movies they vote on.
Youve seen all those interviews, Gutierrez says, referring to quotes from anonymized Academy members inThe Hollywood Reporter.
Your only question isAm I going to get to lose to Disney this year?
Disney wins, and nobody pays attention to your film, he says.
And Disney was going to get the attention anyway.
Gutierrez, who has worked on several projects for major studios, agrees.
Their business model is getting an Academy Award nomination.
That helps promote their movies.
I dont think they ever assume theyll win, because Disney or Pixar is going to win.
He notes that its not so much our business model as a nice bonus if it happens.
You dont have to argue anymore that theres a bias, Staggs says.
And the second, I think, is DreamWorks, who have won the second most.
So its a direct result of representation.
It goes against the stated spirit of the awards.
Having been in those meetings, the old guard is very, very, very stubborn, says Gutierrez.
He cites aspecific ruleas a barrier to entry for new voters for Best Animated Feature.
For women and minorities, that is almost impossible historically.
They keep going, Hey, guys, can we invite more women and more minorities into the group?
No one fulfills those requirements.
When I went to film school in the 90s, there was snobbery from the faculty around anime.
We were told, Dont draw like that.
Those movies are not good.
In the industry, the same thing happened, he says.
And they will not watch it, he says.
Its just insane to me.
Other branch members point out, however, that the last two decades havent been a complete shutout.
Films made by neither Disney nor Pixar have broken through and won the award six times.
Youre talking to an older animator, and I absolutely love independent films and the foreign films.
You dont know how people think.
The feature-animation market looks completely different today than it did when Best Animated Feature was introduced.
In 2002, nine animated films were deemed eligible for competition.
This year, there are 27 from major studios, indies, and foreign markets.
The award only became viable when there were enough features to make it a fair competition, says Beiman.
Animators agree, however, that the Best Animated Feature award is important.
The stakes are not theoretical, and both the Michael Eisners and Sergio Pabloses of the world know it.
I agree with the nominations a lot more than I agree with the wins, says Pablos.
Correction: This story originally stated that nominees are chosen by the animation branch.
It has been updated to reflect rule changes since 2017.
