Well, the results are in for the first major movie awards show of the season: the Golden Globes! Four animated films were nominated in a total of three categories and Disney’s Frozen was the only film to take home the prize.
Frozen, Despicable Me 2, and The Croods were all nominated for Best Animated Feature Film. Frozen was victorious, which wasn’t a surprise considering how well Disney’s newest fairy tale has done both critically and financially. There may be a bit of a recency factor as well, especially since Frozen‘s word of mouth has snowballed since it was released back in November. (In its sixth week in theatres, Frozen is still crushing it, earning the second place spot this weekend with $15.1 million).
Frozen‘s two directors, Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, accepted the award on behalf of the Walt Disney Animation Studios. In their acceptance speeches, they recognized John Lasseter (whose birthday was that day) and Ed Catmull in a special thank you.
Many members of the Frozen creative team were present, including producer Peter Del Vecho and songwriters Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios’ president, Ed Catmull, and Chief Creative Officer, John Lasseter, were present as well. Everyone was all smiles before, during and after the acceptance speech.
Studio Ghibli’s The Wind Rises was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, but The Great Beauty won instead. The Wind Rises was the the only animated film in the running, which was very impressive. Typically, animated films get the shaft in most non-animated categories. So a Studio Ghibli victory would have been really fantastic, especially since this is Miyazaki’s last film he directed before retiring (although rumor is he’s coming out of retirement, so maybe not).
Lastly, Frozen was the only animated film nominated in more than one category, the other being Best Original Song. Idina Menzel’s showstopper, “Let It Go”, has captivated audiences, little girls and even full grown men since Frozen‘s release. While many Disney fans were hoping (and expecting) “Let It Go” to take home the crown, the winner was “Ordinary Love,” the song performed by U2 in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom.
A big congratulations to the Frozen team for the win. All nominees were deserving as 2013 was a fantastic year for animation. There are still two more big awards shows up in the next few months: the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards. We’ll see if Frozen continues its reign or if another contender will knock it off its throne.