DVDizzy Forum

I saw this article in my Variety e-mail and thought y'all might be interested. Disney will not submit any of its films to the Annie Awards, because they have an issue with the way submissions are judged.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111802 ... id=13&cs=1

Wow. Sheds so much light on why Kung Fu Panda got recognized over Wall-e. If this is true, Disney has every right to be angry; I have to say, though, boycotting kind of seems like it's too much since they agreed to change so much.


And I find it almost funny that Dreamworks is so desperate for awards. I would start making better movies instead if I was DW.

rs_milo_whatever wrote:Wow. Sheds so much light on why Kung Fu Panda got recognized over Wall-e. If this is true, Disney has every right to be angry; I have to say, though, boycotting kind of seems like it's too much since they agreed to change so much.


And I find it almost funny that Dreamworks is so desperate for awards. I would start making better movies instead if I was DW.

it's the Oscar that counts and Dreamworks is low on Oscars.. there's Shrek... and there's...

Well that's not very smart. At least Princess and the Frog won some awards?

PatrickvD wrote:it's the Oscar that counts and Dreamworks is low on Oscars.. there's Shrek... and there's...

No, what counts is your own personal viewing satisfaction and happiness. No award really counts for anything.

2099net wrote:

PatrickvD wrote:it's the Oscar that counts and Dreamworks is low on Oscars.. there's Shrek... and there's...

No, what counts is your own personal viewing satisfaction and happiness. No award really counts for anything.

oh that is so not true! my own happiness, what?!?!

I'm just saying if you're gonna compete in some awards race, just go for the gold. With all the weird sponsoring going on the Annies have made themselves less relevant.. Which is a shame, because it wasn't always like that...

rs_milo_whatever wrote: And I find it almost funny that Dreamworks is so desperate for awards. I would start making better movies instead if I was DW.

They did. I believe it was called How to Train Your Dragon.

And the article does say that Toy Story 3 and Tangled will still be able to get nominated, despite Disney not submitting the films to the Annies. It's not like the Academy, where Space Chimps and Sinbad were not on the eligible animated features list, because the studios didn't submit them.

PatrickvD wrote:

2099net wrote: No, what counts is your own personal viewing satisfaction and happiness. No award really counts for anything.

oh that is so not true! my own happiness, what?!?!

I'm just saying if you're gonna compete in some awards race, just go for the gold. With all the weird sponsoring going on the Annies have made themselves less relevant.. Which is a shame, because it wasn't always like that...

Well, I think the Academy has made some really bizarre choices over the last 5 years or so, so I don't really hold much stock with their awards either these days.

And at the end of the day, Miramax (when it was Disney) did well enough out of the Oscars via expensive "For your consideration" ads and campaigns, didn't they? Not exactly bribing the panel, or stacking the panel, but certainly influencing the panel. They have showed money still counts for something when it comes to the Oscars, even for smaller "independent" artistic films.

2099net wrote:

PatrickvD wrote: oh that is so not true! my own happiness, what?!?!

I'm just saying if you're gonna compete in some awards race, just go for the gold. With all the weird sponsoring going on the Annies have made themselves less relevant.. Which is a shame, because it wasn't always like that...

Well, I think the Academy has made some really bizarre choices over the last 5 years or so, so I don't really hold much stock with their awards either these days.

And at the end of the day, Miramax (when it was Disney) did well enough out of the Oscars via expensive "For your consideration" ads and campaigns, didn't they? Not exactly bribing the panel, or stacking the panel, but certainly influencing the panel. They have showed money still counts for something when it comes to the Oscars, even for smaller "independent" artistic films.

My God you're right... I had forgotten the Academy has awarded Eminem for his....'song'...

Still, people hold the oscars in high regard. I guess it doesn't hurt your career if you win one. That's why I said I understand Disney's refusal to participate in the Annie race and focus on the Oscars instead. Then again, Toy Story 3 is probably a lock to win that thing anyway. I would love and unexpected win. Tangled, The Illusionist or maybe Despicable Me. Just to mess with people..

A few note on this, as a (now non-voting) ASIFA-Hollywood member ...

IMHO Kung Fu Panda's victory was legit.

First of all, most animation pros are members anyway, whether their employers spring for the membership or not. ASIFA-Hollywood is a hell of a networking opportunity.

Second, entertainment companies, including Disney, have been buying voting memberships in major awards for years. There was nothing stopping Disney, which has more employees than Dreamworks, from doing the same here.

Thirdly, ASIFA is an *animation* society. They were judging on the visuals moreso than anything else, and sorry PIXAR fans, but KFP kicked Wall-E's little metal butt in that regard. Wall-E did look really nice, but KFP was better.

And fourthly, PIXAR has swept the awards 6 of the last 10 years, including this year with Up.

The organization has already acceded to all Disney's demands, assuming the reporting in Variety is accurate. Members voting this year must submit their animation artist credentials. No students, execs, or fanboys allowed.

My conclusion ... there's something else going on here that has nothing to do with the voting membership. (Because, honestly, what do they care who votes as long as they win the majority of the awards?)

My theory? Money. The past several years have seen an escalating battle for Annie love, and tschotskes are the weapon. Members have been showered with exclusive FYC DVDs, CDs, and assorted other cool junk from all the major studios - with Disney and Dreamworks leading the charge. It made ASIFA-Hollywood membership the deal of the century for animation fans, and it was obvious that Disney and Dreamworks were each individually spending more money promoting their Annie entries at me than I spent on my membership. Now Disney is relieved of that expense.

I suspect that ASIFA-Hollywood membership is already plummeting. Non-professional members suddenly ran out of good reasons to maintain their membership when they were barred from the Annie voting and the perks that came with it. So I'm relieved of my expense as well.

But righteous indignation at any award show for its lack of fairness is a naive waste of energy. Despite the open membership, the Annies were actually better-than-average about fairness, relatively speaking of course. Members took 'em seriously - including the Dreamworks employees. It remains to be seen what effect Disney's exit will have. But methinks they protesteth too much.

I dont think it's gonna be a big deal considering that Toy Story 3 seems destined to wipe the floor in the animation category at the Oscars.

Some things are just inevitable.

Sorry to hear of Disney's withdrawal.

I didn't have an issue with Kung Fu Panda's victory as I preferred it over Wall-E. My vote would have gone to Bolt, though!

Hi,
It's quite disappointing to know. They may have some issues with annie awards yet they should not have done this for the fans they possess. They are great creators and supposed to perform well. I am big fan of them. I really got very hurt. They should sort out the issues by having some discussion. Let's hope for the best.

More elaboration:

Disney’s Annie Awards Withdrawal
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disne ... rawal.html

So, the Annie Award nominations were announced today and it's obvious that Disney's decision to withdraw played an impact.

Toy Story 3 only got three nominations for Best Animated Feature, Best Directing and Best Writing and Tangled was only nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Writing.

Nothing in the technical categories, which are mainly dominated by Despicable Me, The Illusionist and DreamWorks productions (especially How to Train Your Dragon).

Donna Murphy should have been nominated for her amazing performance!

Um, in the technical categories, Tangled should have been nominated above all the rest. Not only did the animation look more beautiful than CGI has ever looked in a feature before, but they made the animation more organic and have hand-drawn sensibilities. And all the work they did for all that freakin' hair! I think this makes ASIFA look bad.

Don't be surprised if DreamWorks steals all the awards again.

Disney Duster wrote:Um, in the technical categories, Tangled should have been nominated above all the rest. Not only did the animation look more beautiful than CGI has ever looked in a feature before, but they made the animation more organic and have hand-drawn sensibilities. And all the work they did for all that freakin' hair! I think this makes ASIFA look bad.

well to be fair, Disney didn't submit anything.

But it makes Dreamworks look pretty damn stupid. Winning awards competing only with itself. I totally imagine Katzenberg doing a happy dance for winning awards in categories for which only his movies were nominated.

PatrickvD wrote: My God you're right... I had forgotten the Academy has awarded Eminem for his....'song'...

And no doubt, pimps still got it rough.

Still, people hold the oscars in high regard.

Which slowly lowers itself year after year.

I guess it doesn't hurt your career if you win one. That's why I said I understand Disney's refusal to participate in the Annie race and focus on the Oscars instead. Then again, Toy Story 3 is probably a lock to win that thing anyway. I would love and unexpected win. Tangled, The Illusionist or maybe Despicable Me. Just to mess with people..

Agreed on all accounts, but unfortunately, animation directors dont get that much of a career boost off of such awards. You dont hear people talking about John Lassetter like they do James Cameron, do you?