ANIMATIONWorld Magazine — January 24, 2017
89th Academy Awards: The Oscar Nominees React
As the initial buzz of this morning’s Oscar nomination announcements subsides a bit and we settle back down to work, it’s important to congratulate not only the nominees, but the large group of talented artists whose names unfortunately didn’t make this year’s Academy list.
The 2016 field of animated and VFX-driven films was one of the strongest ever, and any name on the shortlists would have been a worthy choice in its respective category. In fact, these films have already won or been nominated for numerous top industry awards — including the Annie Awards, the VES Awards and the BAFTA — in addition to the literally hundreds of festival awards won over the course of the past year.
Collectively these films, and the teams of dedicated artists who toil for years to bring such a diverse group of stories to the screen, represent some of the best work ever done. And while its natural for some to see snubs where others see excellence rewarded, AWN’s attention and commentary always remains focused on the artists, the studios and tireless effort of so many people dedicated to challenging, inspiring and entertaining audiences around the world.
So on this fine Oscar nomination morning, we’ve spent the last few hours tracking down almost every nominee in the animated feature, animated short and visual effects categories to get their initial reaction — they join an exclusive group of artists who’ve been recognized by the Motion Picture Academy for being the best in the business. Now we wait to see who takes home Oscar gold this February 27th.