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Oscar
to honor Toons
In the first new Oscar category in
two decades, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts &
Sciences board of governors have created a separate
category for animated features, which could be handed
out as early as March 2002.
The category will be added on a case by case basis,
and only when eight or more eligible films are released
during a given calendar year. If eight to 15 toon features
are released in a year, a maximum of three films may
be nominated; If 16 or more are released, no more than
five may be nominated.
The Oscar for the new category would be presented to
‘the key creative talent most clearly responsible
for the overall achievement’, normally a single
individual, on behalf of the entire production. In no
case will more than two statuettes be presented.
“Animators have been lobbying for inclusion in
the Oscar race for years,” AMPAS director of communications
John Pavlick said. “The past three years in particular
have consisted of weighing the pros against the cons.
It has been a long, drawn-out process and finally the
board has managed to iron out a feasible proposal.”
To be eligible, animated features — which constitute
all recognized animation techniques including cel, stop
motion and computer animation — must be at least
70 minutes in length, ‘primarily animated’,
and meet the other general requirements for feature
film eligibility as published annually in the Academy
Award Rules. The overseeing committee is expected to
develop criteria for the definition of ‘primarily
animated’ in the coming months.
A recommendation on whether to activate the category
each year will be made by the exec committee of the
short films and feature animation branch, which will
review all animated pictures released in L.A. County
during the specified time period.
If eight or more are found to be eligible, the committee
may recommend to the board that an animated-feature
award may be presented that year. If the governors accept
the recommendation, the nomination process will be set
in motion.
The nominating procedure will begin with the recruiting
of a screening committee of 100 or more L.A. area members
from all branches, who will determine the nominated
films.
The short films and feature animation branch will resolve
questions of eligibility, rules interpretation and the
designation of award recipients. Films submitted in
the animated-feature category may also qualify for nods
in other areas, including best picture, provided they
meet the rules criteria governing those categories.
The last new Academy Award categories were instituted
in 1981: Makeup and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award. Latter
is an honorary Oscar given for a career of technological
contributions that have brought credit to the industry.
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