All I can say is, it's about time.
According to several published reports, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is finally going to give its first Best Animated Feature Academy Award next year.
The academy has officially announced that the category will be added to the list of those being honored at the 2002 Academy Awards ceremony, to be held March 24 in Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
Those of us who love animation believe that academy members have long held a bias against animated works. Though it has given awards to animated shorts, many deserving feature-length animated works have been shut out of the Oscars — save for musical honors. (Can anyone say, five years after the fact, that the supposed Best Picture "Braveheart" was actually a better film than "Toy Story"?)
Animation fans should now rejoice, though it should be noted that there are extremely restrictive rules in place. For example, there must be at least eight eligible animated features released in a particular calendar year; the academy will then narrow the list to three official nominees. If there aren't at least eight eligible features, the trophy won't be awarded that year. (In years where there are 11 or more eligible films, academy voters will have five nominees from which to choose.)
Nine films qualify this year, so the academy will choose three nominees from this list in time for the February nomination announcement:
"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within," this summer's costly digital-animated flop, based on the best-selling video game. (Released nationwide July 11.)
"Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," Paramount Picture's first foray into the digital animation field. (To be released nationwide next Friday.)
"Marco Polo: Return to Xanadu," a little-seen animated adventure based on the story of the real-life explorer. (Played a handful of metropolitan markets during the summer.)
"Monsters, Inc.," the latest fruit of Disney and Pixar's labors. (Opened nationwide Nov. 2.)
"Osmosis Jones," a live-action/animated comedy from the Farrelly brothers. (Opened nationwide Aug. 10.)
"The Prince of Light," an animated adaptation of "The Ramayana." (Played a handful of select markets.)
"Shrek," the year's biggest hit (so far) and a major breakthrough for Dreamworks. (Opened nationwide May 18.)
"The Trumpet of the Swan," director Richard Rich's disappointing musical adaptation of the E.B. White book. (Opened in Utah May 18.)
"Waking Life," director Richard Linklater's trippy exploration of dream states and "reality." (Opened in Utah Nov. 16.)
Of that bunch, it's fairly obviously that both "Shrek" and "Monsters, Inc." should make the cut, and the critically hailed "Waking Life" will probably join them come Oscar time.
By the way, in case you're wondering why Disney's "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" isn't on that list, the answer is simple: The Mouse House will need all the help it can get to compete against "Shrek," and it doesn't want to compete against itself. (In other words, the studio didn't submit the film.)
Again, this is very encouraging news. Now if only we could do something about the academy's seeming bias against science-fiction and fantasy films.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:"When film companies abuse that word (Oscar), audiences resent it. And critics resent it when they start seeing that word shoved down their throat. . . . I had that happen last year, and the film didn't merit it." — Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, talking about Academy Award "buzz," specifically referring to "Pay it Forward."
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com