Big hero 6 sucked

Which is why all I really invest in when it comes to Best Animated Feature is the nomination stage. The only ones controlling who gets nominated are those in the animation field. The snub of Lego, to me, was completely offset by “those two foreign, hand-drawn entries” as most people would refer to Song and Kaguya. I totally get Lego’s snub–its presence overwhelmed the field to the point that individual animation branch members likely kept it off their list assuming that it would get on anyway. If the process ended there, I would understand but still feel that an injustice took place. But to have in Lego’s place Song and Kaguya, I’m more proud of their thinking this year than disappointed. Because, at the very least, Song and Kaguya belong in the top 4 animated films of 2014.

Once they got nominated, I was happy and then I immediately invested myself in the BH6 vs. HTTYD2, knowing the Academy’s tendencies. Same thing with the Keaton vs. Redmayne battle in Best Actor and knowing that Redmayne’s victories at SAG and BAFTA gave him the upper-hand. Returning to animated feature, I sided with the BH6 crowd because I suspected that the domination of the superhero genre combined with Disney’s Frozen victory last year and the little guild wins here and there would give it the Oscar in the end. Plus, I liked BH6 more than HTTYD2 anyway.

BH6 and Feast–both Disney–ended up winning the Oscars. I’m happy.

And here we are.

“What’s different from most other groups is that these are largely the same people who make those films and their industry peers”

That’s true of the FILMS, but not the animation. The people who vote are by and large not even a TINY bit animators, and it shows. They know nothing of how animation is done, and often don’t even watch all the nominated films. That’s utter nonsense, that you get to vote without knowing all the contenders.

“I never treat them as the end-alls of quality”

And that’s great, and it should be that way. Understand, though, that’s NOT how the majority of our society sees it. To them, the Oscar-winner IS a be-all-end-all kind of winner. The BEST, period. So when BH6 wins, it isn’t “well out of that and Dragons 2 I guess BH6 was more popular” in their minds, it is (literally) “That Big Hero movie was obviously better than those three films I never even heard of, that were only nominated because there wasn’t anything else by Disney released last year.”

LITERALLY.

And that really, really, really really really hurts our industry, and directly changes what films are made in the future. It’s much bigger than “just here for the show” to the majority of America, please at least know that fact.

I don’t know what else to say. It’s difficult to apply reason to the topic of people voting for things subjective. Ultimately, this is just another group of people voting for their favorite films. What’s different from most other groups is that these are largely the same people who make those films and their industry peers. That, in a way, makes it the most credible, given their occupation and their number. If they consider the main competition certain films in a category while really overlooking the best, that’s their loss. I still thing Song and Kaguya are the best, but I also love Lego and I’m happy that BH6 won because, of the nominees, it had the best chances and is, to me, the best of the main competition (that is, against HTTYD2).

I follow the cinematic awards season because the phenomena of how they vote and for what they vote continually intrigues, impresses, and disappoints me. I never treat them as the end-alls of quality, especially when they award the wrong films. I love my films and know why I love them, and they have their reasons. I’m really just here for the show. They can’t change the way I think of the films I can take away from the previous year as being the ones most worthwhile and impeccable.

Yeah that is a very slim chance at this point

They probably can. I hope they can. We’ll just have to make sure that Home does well

In that case, why not leave out the films that are shoe-ins and make the voters consider the artistic films vs. one another? Seriously, if you’re making concessions anyway (like you have to compare Dragons and BH6 against each other ONLY and not the other three, which means the system is broken) then screw the idea that you have to include the big Disney films at all. Only nominate five smaller films that no one has ever heard of.

It’s this slippery slope, right? You can’t argue that it works the way it is, but the response is “Well, we’ll just live with it and make do.” That’s nonsense to me. Either fix it or tear it down and start over, but this half-life system is absurd. It makes no sense to just muddle through, when it could (and should) be better.

On top of that, the accompanied short film utilizes the same technology that was also used in another Oscar winning short Paperman, using the Meander software (only this time its in color).

Because at least the animation branch has the opportunity to make a statement about what quality animation there was in the previous year with what they nominate. They can only do so much. If you treat the Oscars as an end-all of quality, much disappointment, resentment, and bitterness will come to you. I’m glad Song and Kaguya got nominated. I’d have raised the roof in jubilation if either of them won. Both are my #1 and #2 animated films of 2014. Now turn to the competition–BH6 vs. HTTYD2. I liked BH6 far more than HTTYD2. I’m glad it won, and I’m glad the two foreign, hand-drawn ones were nominated. No awards show can tamper with my opinions of the films I watch. That’s how all films should be approached.