Jun 29, 2017

The rapid growth of the Academy's short and feature animation departments - and what It Means

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization responsible for the Oscars, has extended a record 774 invitations to new members, which if accepted by all the invitees, would push the total Academy membership to over 8,000 people.

The Academy is comprised of 17 branches, among those the Short Films and Feature Animation branch, which invited 96 members this year, second only to the Actors branch which invited 106 members.

Of the new inductees in the animation branch, 83 of the 96 work in animation, while the remaining 13 people represent live-action short filmmakers.

Employees of the Walt Disney Company, which has won the feature animation Oscar for nine out of the last ten years, overwhelmingly dominate the list of new members. By our count, 27 of the invited members to the animation branch, or nearly one-third, are currently employees of either the Walt Disney or Pixar animation studios.

The Academy is expected to soon release the results of elections for its Board of Governors. Industry observers will watch closely to see if Disney and Pixar animation president Ed Catmull is elected to the animation branch's Board of Governors. (UPDATE: Ed Catmull lost the election.)

Catmull, who until recently was a member of the visual effects branch, was not eligible under Academy rules to run this year for the animation branch's Board of Governors. Cartoon Brew has learned that he became able to do so only after Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Disney/Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter made a personal appeal to the animation branch's executive board, pressuring them to give a special waiver to Catmull, so that he could switch immediately from the visual effects branch into the animation branch.

There has been a clear effort in recent years to alter the make-up of the Short Films and Feature Animation branch by stacking it with California-based craftspeople who work on mainstream features, thereby diluting the number of independent and foreign filmmakers in the branch.

Combined with recent rule changes and Catmull's candidacy for the Board of Governors, these efforts are viewed by people both inside and outside the Academy as a way to curb the influence of independent and foreign feature animation, which has been increasingly dominating the list of nominees. Last year, when Disney-Pixar's Inside Out won the Oscar, the other four nominees in the category were all either independent or foreign features - Anomalisa, Boy and the World, Shaun the Sheep Movie, and When Marnie Was There. One Academy member described to me the recent efforts to alter the branch as “dark.”

Below is the list of the animation-related invitees in the Short Films and Feature Animation branch:

Matt Baer – The Croods, How to Train Your Dragon? Kyle Balda – Despicable Me 3, Minions? Jacquie Barnbrook – Live Music, The ChubbChubbs! ?Claude Barras – My Life as a Zucchini, Banquise (Icefloe)? Eric Beckman – When Marnie Was There, Song of the Sea? Jared Bush * – Zootopia, Moana? Carlos E. Cabral – Big Hero 6, Frozen ?John K. Carr – How to Train Your Dragon 2, Over the Hedge ?Jeeyun Sung Chisholm – Ice Age: Collision Course, The Peanuts Movie ?Jericca Cleland – Ratchet & Clank, Arthur Christmas ?Andrew Coats – Smash and Grab, Borrowed Time? John Cohen – The Angry Birds Movie, Despicable Me? Lindsey Collins – Finding Dory, WALL-E? Devin Crane – Megamind, Monsters vs Aliens? Ricardo Curtis – The Book of Life, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who ?Richard Daskas – Turbo, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas? Jason Deamer – Piper, Monsters University ?David DeVan – Finding Dory, Brave? Walt Dohrn – Trolls, Mr. Peabody & Sherman ?Rob Dressel – Moana, Big Hero 6 ?David Eisenmann – Pearl, Toy Story 3 ?Steve Emerson * – Kubo and the Two Strings, The Boxtrolls ?Lise Fearnley – Me and My Moulton, The Danish Poet? Arish Fyzee – The Pirate Fairy, Planes? Andrew Gordon – Monsters University, Presto ?Jinko Gotoh – The Little Prince, 9 ?Eric Guillon – Sing, The Secret Life of Pets ?Lou Hamou-Lhadj – Borrowed Time, Day & Night ?John Hill – Turbo, Shrek Forever After? Steven “Shaggy” Hornby – How to Train Your Dragon 2, Rise of the Guardians? Steven Clay Hunter – Brave, The Incredibles ?Alessandro Jacomini – Big Hero 6, Tangled? Christopher Jenkins – Home, Surf's Up ?Sean D. Jenkins – Wreck-It Ralph, Bolt ?Phil Johnston * – Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph ?Oliver Jones * – Kubo and the Two Strings, ParaNorman? Mohit Kallianpur – Frozen, Tangled ?Max Karli – My Life as a Zucchini, Victoria ?Michael Kaschalk – Big Hero 6, Paperman? Karsten Kiilerich – Albert, When Life Departs? Timothy Lamb – Trolls, Mr. Peabody & Sherman? Gina Warr Lawes – Zootopia, Kung Fu Panda 2? Sang Jun Lee – Rio 2, Epic ?Meg LeFauve – The Good Dinosaur, Inside Out? Jenny Lerew – Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Flushed Away ?Brad Lewis – Storks, Ratatouille? Carl Ludwig – Rio, Ice Age? MaryAnn Malcomb – Free Birds, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron? Anders Mastrup – Albert, When Life Departs? Dave Mullins – Cars 2, Up? Michelle Murdocca – Hotel Transylvania, Open Season? Christopher Murrie * – Kubo and the Two Strings, Coraline? Ramsey Naito – The Boss Baby, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie? Damon O'Beirne – Kung Fu Panda 3, Rise of the Guardians ?Hyrum Virl Osmond – Moana, Frozen ?James Palumbo – Ice Age: Collision Course, Ice Age: Continental Drift? Christine Panushka – The Content of Clouds, The Sum of Them? Pierre Perifel – Rise of the Guardians, Kung Fu Panda 2 ?Jeffrey Jon Pidgeon – Monsters University, Up ?David Pimentel – Moana, Big Hero 6? Elvira Pinkhas – Ice Age: Collision Course, Rio 2? Kori Rae – Monsters University, Tokyo Mater ?Mahesh Ramasubramanian – Home, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ?Ferenc Rofusz – Gravitáció (Gravitation), The Fly ?Vicki Saulls – The Peanuts Movie, Ice Age: Continental Drift ?Brad Schiff * – Kubo and the Two Strings, The Boxtrolls? William Schwab – Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph? Gina Shay – Trolls, Shrek Forever After? Jeff Snow – Over the Hedge, The Road to El Dorado ?Peter Sohn – The Good Dinosaur, Partly Cloudy? Debra Solomon – My Kingdom, Getting Over Him in 8 Songs or Less ?David Soren – Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Turbo? Cara Speller – Pear Cider and Cigarettes, Pearl? Peggy Stern – Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood; The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation? Michael Stocker – Finding Dory, Toy Story 3? Arianne Sutner – Kubo and the Two Strings, ParaNorman? Ennio Torresan – Turbo, Till Sbornia Takes Us Apart ?Géza M. Toth – Mama, Maestro ?Wayne Unten – Frozen, Tick Tock Tale ?Theodore Ushev – Blind Vaysha, Gloria Victoria? Robert Valley – Pear Cider and Cigarettes, Shinjuku? Gil Zimmerman – How to Train Your Dragon 2, Puss in Boots? Marilyn Zornado – Old-Time Film, Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase

Additionally, 65 people were invited to join the Visual Effects branch of the Academy. That list is below.

Arundi Asregadoo – The Legend of Tarzan, The Revenant Steve Begg – Spectre, Casino Royale? Félix Bergés – A Monster Calls, The Impossible? Angus Bickerton – Victor Frankenstein, Dark Shadows? Jason Billington – Deepwater Horizon, Avatar? Nafees Bin Zafar – Kung Fu Panda 3, How to Train Your Dragon 2? Rod Bogart – John Carter, Brave? Cosmas Paul Bolger, Jr. – Frozen, The Day the Earth Stood Still ?Pierre Buffin – The Divergent Series: Allegiant, Life of Pi ?Sonja Burchard – Rise of the Guardians, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? ark Byers – Hidden Figures, The Sea of Trees ?Mike Chambers – Alice Through the Looking Glass, Inception? Vincent Cirelli – Doctor Strange, Captain America: Civil War? Brian Cox – The Wolverine, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ?Joyce Cox * – The Jungle Book, Avatar ?Jan Philip Cramer – Independence Day: Resurgence, Deadpool? Janelle Croshaw – Tron: Legacy, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ?Denise Davis – Pixels, X-Men: First Class ?Brennan Doyle – Marvel's The Avengers, Transformers: Dark of the Moon ?Pauline Duvall – Deadpool, Star Trek Beyond? Christopher D. Edwards * – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Doctor Strange ?Steve Emerson * – Kubo and the Two Strings, The Boxtrolls? Doug Epps – Mars Needs Moms, Disney's A Christmas Carol? Conny Fauser – Tomorrowland, Iron Man? Paul Giacoppo – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Pacific Rim? Joachim Grüninger – The Impossible, John Rabe? Rhonda C. Gunner – The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Wrath of the Titans? Craig Hammack – Deepwater Horizon, Tomorrowland? Jonathan Harb – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, Elysium? Darren Hendler – Furious Seven, Maleficent ?Erik Henry – Dead Man Down, The Expendables 2? David Hodgins – Transformers: Dark of the Moon, 2012? Matt Johnson – Into the Woods, X-Men: First Class? Oliver Jones * – Kubo and the Two Strings, ParaNorman ?Nikos Kalaitzidis – The Fate of the Furious, X-Men: Days of Future Past? Daniel Kramer – Ghostbusters, Edge of Tomorrow ?Francois Lambert – Ant-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest? Mohen Leo – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Deepwater Horizon ?John M. Levin – Jurassic World, Lucy? Jacqui Lopez – Elysium, The Great Gatsby? Fumi Mashimo – Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor? Glen McIntosh – The Mummy, Jurassic World? Keith Francis Miller – Wonder Woman, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice? Mohsen Mousavi – Independence Day: Resurgence, The Amazing Spider-Man? Colette Mullenhoff – Doctor Strange, Captain America: The Winter Soldier? Peter Muyzers – Elysium, District 9? Kenneth Nakada – Fantastic Four, Life of Pi? Steve Nichols – Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy ?David Niednagel – X-Men: Days of Future Past, Transformers: Dark of the Moon ?Brett Northcutt – Lucy, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ?Danielle Plantec – Immortals, Hereafter? Darren Michael Poe – The Hateful Eight, Godzilla ?Nordin Rahhali – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Iron Man 3? Philippe Rebours – Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avatar? Jay Redd – Alice Through the Looking Glass, Men in Black 3? Jonathan Rothbart – Deadpool, Avatar? Brad Schiff * – Kubo and the Two Strings, ParaNorman? J.D. Schwalm – The Fate of the Furious, The Jungle Book ?Thomas J. Smith – Argo, Contagion ?Jason Snell – Deepwater Horizon, Now You See Me ?Robert Stadd – War Dogs, Public Enemies ?Paul Story – The Jungle Book, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes? Ryan Tudhope – Deadpool, Looper ?Robert Weaver – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Star Trek Into Darkness ?Louis Zutavern – The Dictator, Elf

(* invited to join the Academy by multiple branches)