DVDizzy Forum

This years Annies was (IMO) apparently a complete farce. Kung Fu Panda won every feature-related award, and WALL-E (hailed by pretty much every critic as the Best Animated film of the year; and by others as one of the best films of the year; period... awarded Best Picture of the Year by the Los Angeles Films Critics Association) won absolutely nothing... not a single award. And neither did Bolt, when it comes to that.

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Animated Feature
“Kung Fu Panda,” DreamWorks Animation

Animated Home Entertainment Production
“Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs,” The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Animated Short Subject
“Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death,” Aardman Animations Ltd.

Animated Television Commercial
United Airlines “Heart,” Duck Studios

Animated Television Production
“Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II,” ShadowMachine

Animated Television Production Produced for Children
“Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Nickelodeon

Animated Video Game
“Kung Fu Panda,” Activision

Animated Effects
Li-Ming Lawrence Lee “Kung Fu Panda,” DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production
James Baxter “Kung Fu Panda,” DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Television Production or Short Form
Pierre Perifel “Secrets of the Furious Five,” DreamWorks Animation

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Nico Marlet, “Kung Fu Panda,” DreamWorks Animation

Character Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Nico Marlet, “Secrets of the Furious Five,” DreamWorks Animation

Directing in an Animated Feature Production
John Stevenson & Mark Osborne, “Kung Fu Panda,” DreamWorks Animation

Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Joaquim Dos Santos, “Avatar: The Last Airbender: Sozin’s Comet Pt. 3,” Nickelodeon

Music in an Animated Feature Production
Hans Zimmer & John Powell, “Kung Fu Panda,” DreamWorks Animation

Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Henry Jackman, Hans Zimmer & John Powell, “Secrets of the Furious Five,” DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Tang Heng, “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Tang Heng, “Secrets of the Furious Five,” DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Jen Yuh Nelson, “Kung Fu Panda,” DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Chris Williams, “Glago’s Guest,” Walt Disney Animation Studios

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Dustin Hoffman, Voice of Shifu, “Kung Fu Panda,” DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Ahmed Best, Voice of Jar Jar Binks, “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II,” ShadowMachine

Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger, “Kung Fu Panda,” DreamWorks Animation

Writing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Tom Root, Douglas Goldstein, Hugh Davidson, Mike Fasolo, Seth Green, Dan Milano, Matthew Senreich, Kevin Shinick, Zeb Wells, Breckin Meyer, “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II,” ShadowMachine

Well, at least Glago's Quest won something. Anyway, I've heard KFP is really popular, though I've never seen it. I don't think it's better than WALL E, but maybe popularity is an important factor for them? Have no idea. Or maybe they're just turning into one of those things where, if it's Disney-related, it's assumed as crap.

Good thing I didn't attend the ceremony last night at UCLA, I would have been severely disappointed and angry watching Kung Fu Panda take home everything.

It is curious as to why they did not win Best Feature...along with 8 other awards they won the previous years. This is just a theory, but I recall Andrew saying before WALL-E came out that they might be disqualified for awards this year because his film was all too different. Ben Burtt voiced WALL-E, but it wasn't PURE voice so I can understand why they wouldn't be awarded for voice acting. But I don't know, maybe Dreamworks did earn them and we are just being Pixar-biased with this.

Curses Dreamworks!



I haven't seen KFP, but no way does it beat Wall-e. Wall-e is magnificent, and KFP is just crap. I mean, it's Dreamworks, come on.




(When I clicked on (and then when I typed) the icon for a sad face, the ":" wouldn't go on the same line as the "("...until I put it at the end. Weird.)

I can understand WALL-E not winning for best voice acting. I thought it was interesting that Robot Chicken's second Star Wars special won two awards (Though I thought it wasn't as good as the first).

blackcauldron85 wrote:Curses Dreamworks!

I haven't seen KFP, but no way does it beat Wall-e. Wall-e is magnificent, and KFP is just crap. I mean, it's Dreamworks, come on.

Actually, Kung Fu Panda was pretty enjoyable. Of course, WALL*E was much better, but then WALL*E is one of my favorite animated films of all time, and maybe even any type of film.

littlefuzzy wrote:
Actually, Kung Fu Panda was pretty enjoyable. Of course, WALL*E was much better, but then WALL*E is one of my favorite animated films of all time, and maybe even any type of film.

I just have an extreme dislike of Dreamworks...that is all.

Good. The way they incorporated live-action was just flat out lazy, hypocritical(especially after that clevers little joke at the end of the Ratatouille credits), and just shameless.

Wall-E is an overrated fraud of a film. I wouldn't at all be sad if it lost the Oscar. *crosses fingers*

Timon/Pumbaa fan wrote:Good. The way they incorporated live-action was just flat out lazy, hypocritical(especially after that clevers little joke at the end of the Ratatouille credits), and just shameless.

lol, over-zealous much? Anyway, it's hard to take the opinion of someone that apparently hates Pixar with such vehemence seriously.

What was the joke after the Ratatouille credits that makes use of live-action footage hypocritical? I think you're trying too hard to find fault with the company.

Timon/Pumbaa fan wrote:Wall-E is an overrated fraud of a film. I wouldn't at all be sad if it lost the Oscar. *crosses fingers*

This really isn't worth debating. Anyone with an opinion that distorted can't be reasoned with.

You probably enjoyed Cars, lol.

TM2-Megatron wrote: What was the joke after the Ratatouille credits that makes use of live-action footage hypocritical?

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ow5Vf1T5h90&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ow5Vf1T5h90&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Go to about 7:12. Funny how Pixar can be so snobby about motion capture and if it's "100% animation", and then their next film right after Ratatouille completely contradicts that "hilarious" little joke.

Timon/Pumbaa fan wrote: This really isn't worth debating. Anyone with an opinion that distorted can't be reasoned with.

You probably enjoyed Cars, lol.

Not sure where your getting that vibe or what that actually has to do with anything. You posted the information, I just came and gave my two cents.

The Annie Awards are actually awarded by people from the field- i.e. animators. They were probably, like me, disgusted by the fact Pixar couldn't even bother to actually animate the entire thing. One of the many flaws of this film.

To be honest, KFP deserves the win. Its surprising, considering that between the two films Wall-E is the critical darling. But after years of releasing mediocre films that tried hard to surpass Shrek in one way or another it was great seeing an honest film from Dreamworks and they deserve to be recognized for that, not Shrek the third.

Its obvious that Wall-E will win best animated film at the Oscar. Not only does the Academy love Pixar the film is something they would go for (an epic involving an unlikely romance and a social message about the ecosystem). KFP is pretty much the pop-corn film.

If KFP wins best animated film at the Oscars I'll be REALLY surprised (and many fans will be angry).

Timon/Pumbaa fan wrote:

TM2-Megatron wrote: The Annie Awards are actually awarded by people from the field- i.e. animators. They were probably, like me, disgusted by the fact Pixar couldn't even bother to actually animate the entire thing. One of the many flaws of this film.

Apparently, to vote for the annies, you simply need to be a member ASIFA.

http://asifa.net/info/join.htm

Have $33 lost in your sofa... you too could qualify!!! I'm surprised anyone at all takes these seriously. Even an animation student can join, and vote. I could probably get away with join, by claiming to be a "scholar" or something, lol.

Go to about 7:12. Funny how Pixar can be so snobby about motion capture and if it's "100% animation", and then their next film right after Ratatouille completely contradicts that "hilarious" little joke.

Maybe it was just a joke, then. Anyway, the movies had different directors, etc. We shouldn't take them so seriously... I doubt Brad Bird took much interest in the credits, lol. Certainly, a lot more work went into WALL-E's end credits.

To be honest, KFP deserves the win. Its surprising, considering that between the two films Wall-E is the critical darling. But after years of releasing mediocre films that tried hard to surpass Shrek in one way or another it was great seeing an honest film from Dreamworks and they deserve to be recognized for that, not Shrek the third.

So just because Dreamworks finally manages to release something that isn't entirely awful, they deserve the award? That isn't how awards are supposed to work; it should always go to the best film. If Pixar happens to produce more of those than Dreamworks, then so be it. Maybe Dreamworks should stop making pop-culture driven crap.

TM2-Megatron wrote:

To be honest, KFP deserves the win. Its surprising, considering that between the two films Wall-E is the critical darling. But after years of releasing mediocre films that tried hard to surpass Shrek in one way or another it was great seeing an honest film from Dreamworks and they deserve to be recognized for that, not Shrek the third.

So just because Dreamworks finally manages to release something that isn't entirely awful, they deserve the award? That isn't how awards are supposed to work; it should always go to the best film. If Pixar happens to produce more of those than Dreamworks, then so be it. Maybe Dreamworks should stop making pop-culture driven crap.

All I am saying is that if people are going to pick Dreamworks over Pixar at the very least KFP is worthy of the recognition.

I KNOW that Dreamworks has not been the best studio in a while. I agree that their pop-culture related stuff is really bad. Which is why I am happy that they are seeing success with something that isn't following the formula and should recognized for.

Look I love Disney, and I love Pixar. But just because I have a deep respect for them it doesn't mean that I should hate whatever effort the other studios put out and give them credit for it. So if Dreamworks creates a really great film I give them nods and my respect since they deserve it.

This Dreamworks hate is getting juvenile. Its OK to not like the films, but there's a limit between criticism and fanboyism.

I've actually enjoyed most of Dreamworks films, with the exception of the Shrek sequels. I don't hate the studio, by any stretch of the imagination. The fact remains, though, the WALL-E is a masterpiece; and animated films of that quality don't come around all the time. It easily deserved a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, and if anything was going to sweep the Annies (now revealed to be a joke of an award show), it should've been that one. And while KFP may be more deserving of an award than most of DW's films (I'll grant that it isn't bad), to think it could actually beat WALL-E is kind of a joke.

The reality of the voting situation for the Annies is even worse, actually. According to the ASIFA-Hollywood branch website:

http://www.asifa-hollywood.org/

... absolutely anybody can join and, by extension, vote for who wins an Annie.

Justin wrote:Good. The way they incorporated live-action was just flat out lazy, hypocritical(especially after that clevers little joke at the end of the Ratatouille credits), and just shameless.

Wall-E is an overrated fraud of a film. I wouldn't at all be sad if it lost the Oscar. *crosses fingers*

Welcome back, Justin!

You should post more often, it always livens things up a bit at UD (though you may be upset to know that MMO is gone).

Anyway, regarding Kung Fu Panda vs. WALL-E, I'll just say that I'm glad James Baxter won for character animation.

pap64 wrote:Look I love Disney, and I love Pixar. But just because I have a deep respect for them it doesn't mean that I should hate whatever effort the other studios put out and give them credit for it. So if Dreamworks creates a really great film I give them nods and my respect since they deserve it.

This Dreamworks hate is getting juvenile. Its OK to not like the films, but there's a limit between criticism and fanboyism.

Totally agree.

albert

TM2-Megatron wrote:The reality of the voting situation for the Annies is even worse, actually. According to the ASIFA-Hollywood branch website:

http://www.asifa-hollywood.org/

... absolutely anybody can join and, by extension, vote for who wins an Annie.

And there's nothing wrong with that. I would imagine the average person in the street would have no inclination to join, and no interest in voting. Anyone who joins has to have some interest in animation.

And if "anyone" can vote, the awards reflect the viewing audience more. I'll admit its open to abuse (Dreamworks could sign-up and pay for mass registrations) but there's no evidence that this has happened, because it does look as though Kung Fu Panda does have the popular vote. I've not been following the box office, but last I heard KFP was beating Wall-E. If this was a MTV Movie Awards type award, would you be so surprised KFP won more awards?

Also looking at some of those awards, who's to say KFP wasn't more deserving? Voice acting, character design, character animation and production design are probably better on KFP than Wall-E*.

Now I can understand the boos when it comes to directing and
Animated Feature, but Pixar themselves said they set out to make a movie that was different. Perhaps too different for people who work in the industry or aspire to work in the industry?

The Oscars will be different because the Academy will be looking at different criteria. Do you really think Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture all those years ago because of the animation? As has been pointed out Wall-E IS a movie, dealing with issues, that traditionally the Academy loves AND the more mature flavour of the film will also appeal to the voters.

What saddens me the most though are the television animation awards. Is this what tv animation has come to in this day and age? Oh and lots of fine tv voice artists have been totally snubbed by the awards (I guess the same people being voted for each year just isn't appealing to people).

* I know some people will label me a Pixar hater (which, if you replaced "hater" with "critic", in general I am) but Wall-E is derivative of Johnny 5 and ET, the humans aren't great, the sets aren't really organic (not a criticism, the story of the film defines the needs of the production design) and the animation is harder to judge than human-like movement.

I know its not exactly the same, but to take a more extreme example would you say the animation on Toy Story was better then the animation on Luxo Jr.? While its hard to give non-human characters personality and appeal, its also hard to judge the results and in some respects its a totally different skill set. EVE for example has very little to animate. Who's to say with any authority which is better?

Andrew and everyone else who worked on WALL-E, once they knew they were incorporating Hello, Dolly! into the film, debated whether those scenes should be animated. In the end they decided it would altogether look horrible and chose to live-action everything in the past. It isn't laziness, they could have easily animated everything if they would have pleased.

Back to WALL-E and awards. The first year I was in orchestra at my high school, my teacher told me, "My only main goal is to strive for great recordings you guys can put on our shelves." And from that, in the third year my brand-new high school was open, we were invited to play at Carnegie Hall or attend a competition for a trophy somewhere else in New York which was big. Anyways, my point is we played for US but in the end achieved more. And, our teacher chose to have us play in some hall rather than attempt for an award. Pixar makes movies for themselves and if that disqualifies them for the usual awards, let it be. If they paid so much attention to these ceremonies, I don't think WALL-E would be the film we now see.

magicalwands wrote:Andrew and everyone else who worked on WALL-E, once they knew they were incorporating Hello, Dolly! into the film, debated whether those scenes should be animated. In the end they decided it would altogether look horrible and chose to live-action everything in the past. It isn't laziness, they could have easily animated everything if they would have pleased.

Back to WALL-E and awards. The first year I was in orchestra at my high school, my teacher told me, "My only main goal is to strive for great recordings you guys can put on our shelves." And from that, in the third year my brand-new high school was open, we were invited to play at Carnegie Hall or attend a competition for a trophy somewhere else in New York which was big. Anyways, my point is we played for US but in the end achieved more. And, our teacher chose to have us play in some hall rather than attempt for an award. Pixar makes movies for themselves and if that disqualifies them for the usual awards, let it be. If they paid so much attention to these ceremonies, I don't think WALL-E would be the film we now see.

People are worrying that Wall-E won't get the awards it deserves. I say its silly.

Yes, its a great film with a lot of heart but would it having many awards change that? Its already a legendary film among the Pixar canon and won't be forgotten anytime soon.

Let me ask you this? Can you remember all the films that won the Academy Awards for best picture? Many of the best films ever created were those that didn't receive any awards.

A great film will always remain a great film, even if it doesn't get any awards.

pap64 wrote:Let me ask you this? Can you remember all the films that won the Academy Awards for best picture? Many of the best films ever created were those that didn't receive any awards.

A great film will always remain a great film, even if it doesn't get any awards.

I should have been more clear. I'll give an example, Ben Burtt only had so many lines (well, words) he said he WALL-E. That put him at a disadvantage for best voice actor because he didn't have much range in his job. So back to what I said earlier in my post, I am really glad Pixar didn't give WALL-E full sentences throughout the whole movie.

On the plus side, maybe winning these awards will get Dreamworks to make great films like El Dorado again!

I honestly enjoyed Kung Fu Panda more than Wall-E. To me Kung Fu Panda was surprisingly good, and I found Wall-E to be a disappointment. Its a good movie, but comparing it to other Pixar films its near the bottom for me.