Feb 22, 2022

Academy Awards cut Animation Short Story Award from live television broadcast

The Oscars are cutting the Academy Award for animated short from their live telecast.

It's one of eight awards that's being given the boot. The other scorned categories are Documentary (Short Subject), Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Short Film (Live Action), and Sound.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the news to its membership today via a letter from Academy president David Rubin. It suggests that by removing these categories from a live presentation, they will have “more time and opportunity for audience entertainment and engagement through comedy, musical numbers, film clip packages and movie tributes.”

The eight award categories will be presented one hour before the live telecast begins, and the presentation of the pre-recorded awards will be “folded seamlessly” into the live show.

The Academy insists that the nominees in all of the cut categories will be identified on air and the winner's acceptance speeches will be featured on the live broadcast. Explains the Academy: “For the audience at home, the show's flow does not change, though it will become tighter and more electric with this new cadence.”

Last year's Oscars telecast plunged to an all-time low with 10.4 million viewers. However, the Oscars have been in the midst of a decades-long ratings decline since peaking in the late 1990s. Scapegoating short films and craft categories as the cause of this ratings decline defies comprehension.

The Oscars have long been the most prestigious and visible award that a short-form animation filmmaker can hope to win. Denying animation filmmakers a platform to make a live acceptance speech significantly devalues the prestige of the award and reinforces the widely held perception that the Academy doesn't respect animated filmmaking.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.