'Inside Out' Wins Gold at 88th Academy Awards

To the surprise of no one, Pixar's fifteenth feature film Inside Out took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at last week's 88th Academy Awards.

Since its release in June, the film has gone on to become a worldwide sensation, earning praise from critics and audiences alike. It performed exceedingly well at the box office, raking in $356.5 million domestically and a walloping total of $856.8 million worldwide, making it Pixar's second-highest grossing film domestically, and third worldwide.

Pixar's own Woody and Buzz presented the award, but not before engaging in some playful banter.

Buzz & Woody present the award for best animated feature film: "Reach for the sky!" https://t.co/vG5LjQdCo9 #Oscars https://t.co/GeNU5jjNgk

— ABC News (@ABC) February 29, 2016

This marks just one of many accolades won by Inside Out, following its Best Animated Feature Film wins at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Critics' Choice Awards, to name a few.

Inside Out was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay but lost to Spotlight. The brilliant Sanjay's Super Team, the Pixar short that was attached to The Good Dinosaur in theaters, was nominated for Best Animated Short Film but unfortunately did not take home the prize, losing out to Bear Story.

The Oscar comes home (picture from Pixar's Twitter)

A big congratulations to Pete Docter, Jonas Rivera, and the entire crew of Inside Out! The film deserves every ounce of praise it has received and is a beautiful, touching story that anyone can relate to and will no doubt be cherished by audiences for years to come.

I'd also like to acknowledge Pixar's other recent feature film The Good Dinosaur, which, with all the hype surrounding its predecessor, has sadly been overlooked by the general public. It's certainly a much simpler, quieter film than Inside Out, but there is beauty in simplicity, and The Good Dinosaur is a perfect example of that. It's a lovely little movie with a unique flavor and a great message, and I hope more people will discover and appreciate it as it grows older. It's out on home media now, so I highly encourage you to check it out if you haven't already.

Awards Season Recap: Monsters University

This awards season, unfortunately, has been a rather disappointing one for Pixar, as their brilliant but underrated feature Monsters University has been largely ignored by most notable award organizations. The film was downright snubbed by the Golden Globes and the Oscars this year, who for some reason preferred arguably weaker films like Despicable Me 2 and The Croods.

The Monsters prequel has, however, received some recognition from less-known organizations, and it did win a couple awards at the Annies, where it had a total of 10 nominations and ended up taking home the awards for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production and Editorial in an Animated Feature Production. It was nominated for, but ended up losing, the following Annie Awards:

• Best Animated Feature
• Animated Effects in an Animated Production
• Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
• Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
• Music in an Animated Feature Production
• Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
• Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production (Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski)
• Writing in an Animated Feature Production
• Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

Way back in October, the film also won a Hollywood Animation Award at the 17th Hollywood Film Awards. Unfortunately, it hasn't won anything outside of that and the Annies, but it has at least been nominated for several other awards including:

• Best Edited Animated Feature Film - American Cinema Editors
• Best Animated Film - British Academy Film Awards
• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures (Animated) - Cinema Audio Society Awards
• Best Animated Feature - Critics' Choice Movie Award
• Best Animated Feature Film - Denver Film Critics Society
• Best Animated Film - International Cinephile Society
• Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures (Kori Rae) - Producers Guild of America Award
• Best Animated Feature - San Francisco Film Critics Circle
• Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media - Satellite Awards
• Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture and Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture - Visual Effects Society Awards
• Best Animated Feature - Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association

Awards are marvelous things, it's never a bad thing to give recognition to a filmmaker, actor, artist, or studio for their outstanding work. However, let's not forget that a film's (or a director's, actor's, etc.) greatness is not really determined by the number of accolades it earns. Films are meant to entertain, so shouldn't their greatness instead be determined by the joy they bring to people across the world? As the wise Doc Hudson would say, an award is "just an empty cup".

Congratulations to Dan Scanlon and the entire cast and crew for crafting a truly remarkable film with an exceptional message, a film that I hope will gain more recognition as it ages.

Pixar Kicks Off 'Monsters University' FYC Campaign

We've come full circle once again. As the year comes to a close, awards season is in full swing as we look back at the year's greatest accomplishments in film. Despite being inexplicably robbed of a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature this year, Pixar is pushing hard to earn Monsters University some recognition at the 86th Academy Awards, focusing primarily on the Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score categories.

Here are two For Your Consideration posters that have been released:

The Oscars will take place on March 2, 2014 and will be hosted by Dory herself, Ellen DeGeneres. Stay tuned for more awards season updates!

November Pixar Update

There hasn't been a heck of a lot of exciting Pixar news this month, but here's a brief recollection of the little tidbits that have dropped over the past few weeks.

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'Good Dinosaur' Delay Leads to Layoffs

Some sad news indeed. After the sudden and tragic closure of Pixar's offices in Vancouver, Canada last month, the studio announced last week that nearly 5% of its current staff will be laid off in the wake of The Good Dinosaur's recent 18-month delay.

The official statement:

"At Pixar, we are constantly re-evaluating the creative and business needs of our studio. With the release date change of The Good Dinosaur, we have realigned our production and support priorities, which includes a small reduction in our staffing levels." 

My condolences to those who have lost their jobs, and best of luck to them in their future endeavors.

Ed Catmull's New Book Gives In-Depth Look At Birth of Pixar

Pixar president and co-founder Edwin Catmull will provide the public with the first ever first-hand account of how a struggling division of Lucasfilm once known as the Graphics Group eventually became the animation empire it is known as today. Co-written by Amy Wallace, Creativity Inc. is 368 pages long and will be available April 8, 2014. You can pre-order it now through Amazon.

'Monsters University' Enters Race For Academy Award Nomination

The fourteenth feature to be pumped out by the animation powerhouse, Monsters University, has been submitted alongside 18 other films, including DreamWorks' The Croods and Blue Sky's Epic, for contention to receive nominations at this year's Academy Awards. The real competition, however, lies in Walt Disney Animation's Frozen, which hits theaters tomorrow (or today, depending on when and where you're reading this) and has received wildly enthusiastic reviews thus far, many going as far as calling it the studio's best since The Lion King. Pixar will have to once again butt heads with their sister studio to claim the title of Best Animated Feature; Brave's win in February over Wreck-It Ralph stirred controversy and outrage among many who believed that WDAS had produced the better film.

Read Scripts For 'Monsters University' & 'The Blue Umbrella'

If you're interested in becoming a screenwriter some day, or you just like going through the scripts of awesome movies and shorts, then you'll be thrilled to hear that the screenplays for both Monsters University and The Blue Umbrella are now up on the Walt Disney Studios Awards website for your reading pleasure. I spent a good while the other day just reading the first 60 pages or so of MU's rather brilliant script, and The Blue Umbrella's is equally delightful - it reads almost like a poem. Check out both scripts here and here.

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Like I said, nothing particularly thrilling, but the gap between autumn and the awards season is usually pretty quiet anyway in terms of Pixar-related news.

Are you upset by the layoffs at Pixar? Will you be getting Ed Catmull's new book come April? Which film do you think will win Best Animated Feature this year? Do you enjoy reading the scripts for films and short films? Sound off in the comments!

The Oscar Comes Home to Emeryville

The 85th Academy Awards are officially history, but will definitely not be forgotten anytime soon. I mean, come on, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Radcliffe singing and dancing on a stage together? How exactly do you top that?

It was also an exciting night for Pixar, as the studio's 13th feature film Brave won them their 7th Oscar for Best Animated Feature, which just so happens to mark the 30th golden statuette the studio has ever won.

Be sure to visit this link and watch short yet exciting video of the trophy coming home to the studio in Emeryville and the crew celebrating in Pixar's giant atrium.

Congratulations Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews, Katherine Sarafian and the rest of the team!

Brave Claims the Golden Statuette

Tonight was an exciting night. At the Oscars this year, I think we had the finest selection of Best Animated Feature nominees that we've had in a long, long time. So naming one of these the best was no easy task.

My goodness. Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates!, Wreck-It Ralph, and finally Brave. All absolutely amazing films. Brave had won the BAFTA and Golden Globe, but Ralph won the Annie, so ultimately the battle was between these two.

Pixar ended up walking away with the prize and directors Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews (who, unsurprisingly, wore a kilt) came up to receive the award. Many people argued that Ralph should have won the Oscar, but personally I think both films were equally deserving - and at least Ralph won the Annie, and is still a superb and brilliant film.

Congratulations to the team at Pixar for their 7th ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and here's hoping they take home an 8th golden statuette next year for Monsters University!

Today's the Big Day...

With the Oscars just a couple of hours away, I thought it was a good time to have a look back at all the accolades that have been awarded to Pixar's thirteenth feature film, Brave, this awards season. The film is nominated for Best Animated Feature tonight, although it's got some pretty intense competition, including Disney's astounding Wreck-It Ralph, directed by Rich Moore.

Brave took home the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature earlier in the season, beating out Wreck-It Ralph, Frankenweenie, Rise of the Guardians, and Hotel Transylvania. Heaven knows why Hotel T was nominated and Laika's fantastic stop-motion flick ParaNorman wasn't. Last year was the first time that a Pixar film didn't win the BAF prize at the Globes, with Cars 2 having been beat by The Adventures of Tintin.

Pixar's 13th was also nominated for a grand total of 8 Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature, although that award ended up going to Wreck-It Ralph. On the up side, the film was awarded honors for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production and Editorial in an Animated Feature Production, so Pixar did not go home empty handed that night.

At the BAFTAs, Brave once again took home a Best Animated Feature award, beating Frankenweenie and ParaNorman.

Brave has also claimed several other prizes, including honors for Outstanding Animation, Outstanding Animated Character, Outstanding Created Environment and Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation from the Visual Effects Society. Merida, Queen Elinor and the pesky Witch also granted the film an award for Best Animated Females from the Women Film Critics Circle.

Other awards the film has won include:

• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing from the Cinema Audio Society
• Best Edited Animated Feature Film from the American Cinema Editors
• Best Animated Female (Merida, voiced by Kelly Macdonald) from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Pixar's had quite the award season this year, and I'd be very pleased to see Brave win the studio a 7th Oscar for Best Animated Feature tonight. But even if it doesn't win, that won't change the fact that Pixar produced a beautiful film, with wonderful characters, gorgeous music, breathtaking visuals, and an amazing story, so I give my sincere congratulations to the talented crew behind Brave.

'Brave' Receives Oscar Nomination

The Awards Season. One of the most exhilarating times of the year for moviegoers across the globe. Our hearts race as we cross our fingers, hoping and praying that our favorite films, actors, and filmmakers will be recognized and nominated for some sort of award - particularly at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars. Ladies and gentlemen, here are this year's nominees for Best Animated Feature Film...

• Frankenweenie - Tim Burton
• ParaNorman - Sam Fell & Chris Butler
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits - Peter Lord
• Wreck-It Ralph - Rich Moore
• Brave - Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapmam

All I can say is...wow. What a great year 2012 was for animation. There's not a film that was nominated that doesn't deserve to win, and it's so great to see the Academy recognize stop-motion animation, as it really is quite an underrated art form.

It's fantastic to see Brave up there after Pixar not being nominated for the first time ever last year with Cars 2. I would love, love, love to see Brave take the shiny golden man home this year, but let's face it - it's got some pretty tough competition, primarily with Disney's Wreck-It Ralph. Over the course of the past few years, Disney Animation have been upping their game after a few years of delivering so-so films (see Kyle's Animated World for some great in-depth articles on Disney's ups and downs throughout the ages), and Ralph was just a huge leap forward, and was pretty much as good as a Pixar film. I would be equally delighted to see Disney bring home their first ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

I was a bit disappointed that Brave didn't get a Best Original Song nomination for "Touch the Sky", "Learn Me Right", or "Into the Open Air". The film had some gorgeous music, so it's quite a shame that it wasn't recognized in this year's Oscars. On the bright side, the film does have a nomination for Best Music at the Annies, so hopefully it wins there. 

Who are you hoping takes home home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature this year? Who do you think will win? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Let The Awards Season Begin!

A year is a surprisingly short amount of time, when you think about it. Just yesterday we were laying eyes upon the first "For Your Consideration" ads for Cars 2, and counting down the days to Brave. Here we are once again, anticipating the approaching awards season and hoping Pixar's latest feature film may be honored with some recognition and bring home some shiny statuettes.

Pixar have released their first FYC poster for Brave, and it is, not surprisingly, stunningly beautiful. The image in the poster is taken from the river scene in the film, which for me was one of the highlights of the movie.

Unfortunately, Pixar went home empty handed this past February at the Oscars; the marvelous La Luna was beat out in the Best Animated Short Film category by the equally dazzling Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, and Cars 2 failed to earn a nomination for Best Animated Film. This year, however, I hope will see better results for the studio at the Academy Awards; Brave was nothing short of spectacular, though I feel it is an extremely underrated film. It does have some pretty heavy competition for the Best Animated Film category though, with other brilliant masterpieces like Disney's Wreck-It Ralph and Laika's ParaNorman also standing with a fighting chance. If the award ends up going to another film, though, Brave has a more than strong chance at winning the awards for both Best Original Song ("Touch the Sky", anyone?) and Best Original Score.

One thing is certain; whether it wins anything or not, Brave is an incredible motion picture and it doesn't need an award to prove it.

La Luna Still a Winner!

La Luna, unfortunately, did not take home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film tonight. This may sound a bit disappointing, but, as I've said before, receiving a nomination from the Academy is a prize all on its own.

Congratulations to director Enrico Casarosa, the La Luna crew, and all of Pixar for being nominated, and, judging from what I've heard, creating such a beautiful short film that will be forever cherished! I cannot wait to see La Luna this summer!

"Cars 2" Left Out for Oscar Noms; "La Luna" Nominated

The Oscar nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards have finally been announced, and there is some disappointment yet some excitement in the air for Pixar fans.

First of all, Pixar's 12th feature film Cars 2 did not get a nomination for the "Best Animated Feature" category. In fact, many animated films from 2011 that I had hoped to see nominated were not recognized by the Academy this year, like Disney's Winnie the Pooh. Since now neither Cars 2 or Pooh are nominated, I hope Rango takes the prize.

I would've loved to see Cars 2 nominated, but even if it isn't, that doesn't stop it from being a great film.

On the bright side, there is still a chance for Pixar to walk away with an Oscar this year. Their new short, La Luna, directed by Enrico Casarosa, received a nomination for the "Best Animated Short Film" category, and is sure to win. I have not seen La Luna yet (only a short yet breath-taking 30-second clip), as it doesn't debut in cinemas until June 22, but it most definitely looks like a beautiful little fable.

The 84th Annual Academy Awards will take place on February 26. Stay tuned.

Cool Pixar Pic: Homecoming

One week ago, Toy Story 3 took home the awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the 83rd Academy Awards. Lee Unkrich posted this picture on Twitter. That big, big crowd of Pixar workers was waiting for him at the studio when he returned. That looks like it must have been a really awesome moment, and not just for Lee, but for everybody at Pixar. Not everyone knows how difficult it is to make an animated movie as good as Toy Story 3, so I think it's great that these people's talents are recognized by winning an Oscar. Again, congratulations Pixar.

Also, Lee tweeted this other cool picture, related to his Oscar win. "Safety first." Funny.

Note: I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep up with my Cars 2 Character Profiles. I will begin catching up this week starting with Shu Todoroki.

The 83rd Academy Awards (UPDATED LIVE)

The night began as Anne Hathaway and James Franco gave a brief introduction to the 83rd Academy Awards. Tom Hanks, voice of Woody, presented the awards of Best Art Direction (which went to Disney's Alice and Wonderland), and Cinematography (which Inception won).

Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis presented the awards for Best Animated Short AND Best Animated Feature. Day & Night unfortunately lost to The Lost Thing. But, it is already a victory to be nominated. Congrats to Teddy Newton! The Best Animated Feature Film award went to...

TOY STORY 3!!!!!!!!!!

Director Lee Unkrich came up to recieve the award, and thanked everyone at Pixar, and stated that Pixar is the 'most AWESOME place on the planet to make movies!!!", and I totally agree with him!

Best Adapted Screenplay went to The Social Network, but congratulations to TS3 and Pixar for being nominated!

Best Sound Editing was one of the other awards for which TS3 was nominated, and did not win, but as I have stated, it's already a victory to be nominated. The award went to Inception.

Randy Newman did an AMAZING job performing his song from Toy Story 3, 'We Belong Together'!

Billy Crystal, voice of Mike Wasowski from Monsters, Inc., came up to talk for a few minutes.

Randy Newman won the the award for Best Original Song for his amazing song from TS3, 'We Belong Together'! Congratulations!

And the winner for Best Motion Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards is...

The King's Speech

Today was not the day that an animated film won the big one at the Oscars, but, as all the films which were nominated for an Oscar this year, Toy Story 3 was truely a masterpiece. The night concludes with a lovely performance by the PS22 Chorus. Good night everybody, and congratulations to Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson, John Lasseter, Randy Newman, everyone else at Pixar, and all the other great people who were nominated for an Oscar.

Big Oscar Picture...Find the Pixarians!

The Oscars are quickly approaching and, as always, we have the annual picture with all the nominees, taken at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' annual luncheon. Of course, many people from Pixar can be found in this picture. Test yourself and see how many Pixarians you can find! I'm warning you though, it WILL be hard! So far I've been able to locate Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Randy Newman.

Here is a list of all the Pixarians present:

• Lee Unkrich


• Darla K. Anderson


• John Lasseter


• Randy Newman


• Andrew Stanton


• Michael Arndt


• Teddy Newton


• Tom Myers


• Michael Silvers
  

See how many you can find!

Oscar Nominations!!!

Yesterday, nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards were finally announced! Of course, Pixar's masterpiece from 2010, Toy Story 3, recieved several nominations! Five of them actually. I am super excited to see TS3 recieve so many nominations, and I am sure it will win at least one.

Toy Story 3 was nominated for the following:

- Best Picture (Darla K Anderson)
- Best Animated Feature (Lee Unkrich)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich)
- Best Sound Editing (Tom Myers and Michael Silvers)
- Best Original Song ("We Belong Together" by Randy Newman)

Also, Pixar recieved a nomination for their spectacular short, Day & Night, directed by Teddy Newton.

Conratulations to everyone at Pixar for getting nominated for several Academy Awards for yet another year! Good luck to Lee Unkrich, Darla Anderson, Teddy Newton, Randy Newman, Michael Arndt, Tom Myers, Michael Silvers, and everyone else at Pixar when February 27 comes! Let's hope TS3 becomes the first animated film in history to ever win the Almighty Oscar.

New TS3 'For Your Consideration' Poster

Adding to the series of Toy Story 3 'For Your Consideration' posters is this marvelous still of the toys holding hands, facing their fate together at the incinerator. Of course, only to be rescued by none other than 'The Claaaaw!"

Nominations for the Oscars will be announced on January 25, 2011. Then at last, we will know if TS3 got nominated for the Oscar of the Oscars. But only until February 27, will we know if it will win. Keep your fingers crossed!

My Thoughts On TS3 Winning Best Picture

A lot of people say that just because a movie is animated, it means it's for 'babies', or 'little kids'. I have always disagreed with that. Animated movies are made to be enjoyed by all audiences, from toddlers to young kids, preteens to teens, adults, and elders. Especially at Pixar, people work hard to make movies that are appealing to the whole family.

Now some people who avoid animated movies because they think they are too 'childish' are getting in the way of Toy Story 3 winning the almighty Best Picture Award at the Oscars. These people really got on my nerves, because TS3 has undoubtedly been one of the best (if not the best) film of 2010. It has grossed over 1 billion dollars worldwide at the box office, it has gotten great reviews from critics, and even got a rating of 99% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. So, in my opinion, Pixar's latest hit is bound to at least get nominated for the great award.

Toy Story 3 has been the highest grossing film of 2010, the best reviewed film of 2010, and, if I'm not mistaking, has gotten the highest rating on Rotten Tomatoes this year. So how many more reasons are there for this astounding animated movie to win Best Picture.

These are some of the reasons I think TS3 should win:

- It has everything a great movie needs: action, heart, and humor

- It is appealing to anyone who gives it a chance; it's appealing to people of all ages and of both genders

- As I have stated, it has been the highest grossing movie of 2010, the best reviewed, and has gotten the highest ranking on Rotten Tomatoes

I will admit, there has been a lot of other spectacular movies this year, Inception, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and of course other awesome animated movies, like Tangled, but I think it's time that animated movies get a chance to get the best award there is. Only two animated movies have ever been nominated for the Best Picture Award (Beauty and the Beast, Up), but when will one win? We will at last find out on February 27, 2011.

Toy Story 3 Highest Grossing Animated Film Ever!

Last week, the critically acclaimed Toy Story 3 set an all new record for highest grossing animated film ever. Looks like Dreamworks' Shrek 2, which held the record for six years, has finally been out grossed. TS3 grossed about $940 million globally at the box office last week when it broke the record, has grossed $941,580,518 so far, and may very well be on its way to one billion! It is the 9th highest grossing film of ALL TIME and has already passed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Last week it was in 14th place. Can it make it to at least fifth place? Also, it has made it to 10th place on the domestic grosses list, beating Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. Toy Story 3 has broken many other records, which it has been doing ever since it hit theaters in June. This movie is going to do very good at the Grammys, the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and the Oscars. It has already won a Teen Choice Award for Best Animated Movie. We'll see what other awards TS3 wins along the way. Only time will tell if it will be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Good luck Toy Story 3!

'TS3' got a shot at Best Picture?

Well, it's been fifteen days since Toy Story 3 came out, and it's done really good at the box office (it's earned millions of dollars on its first two weeks), and it has gotten 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. What people are wondering now: can it be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award? I think it can. There hasn't been a lot of good movies this year, so I think it might have a slight shot at actually winning. What I do think it's going to win for sure is Best Animated Feature. The only real competition is Dreamwork's "How To Train Your Dragon" but I honestly think TS3 was far beyond better than "Dragon" (not to mention "Shrek Forever After", which was not not bad, it was pretty good, but it was nothing compared to TS3). Read this interesting article talking about movies that might have a chance at being nominated for the Best Picture award at the Oscars early next year. We'll have to wait and see what awards Toy Story 3 wins at the Academy Awards.