Apr 7, 2022

In New Op-Ed, Phil Lord and Chris Miller Urge Hollywood to "Improve, Not Diminish" Animation

"Certainly, no one has tried to diminish animated films, but it's time for us to try to improve them," said Phil Lord, producer of last year's Academy Award-nominated "The Mitchells Vs. The Machines" and Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who won the 2019 Best Animated Feature Award for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, said.

Using last month's troubled Academy Awards ceremony as a segue, Miller and Lord wrote an op-ed for Variety, reminding readers of a particularly uncomfortable moment that evening, when three actors known as "Disney princesses" took the stage as presenters for the Best Animated Feature award.

To animation insiders and adult fans of animation, including the Cartoon Brew staff, this particular phrase sounded like nails on a chalkboard; even the official Twitter page for The Mitchells vs. the Machines responded to the gaffe, "The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a very funny movie.

Lord and Miller were not pleased with the insult, recalling similar insults from their days working for major Hollywood studios.

It might be put away as mere carelessness to characterize the five films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as corporate products for children that parents must begrudgingly put up with. But for those of us who have devoted our lives to animated filmmaking, that carelessness has become routine.

Reflecting on their own experiences, the two recalled being told that if they got around in the animation world, they would one day "outgrow live action." In another bittersweet memory, the two shared that a studio executive once complimented them on how much fun their animated film was, making it seem like a "real movie."

The two also devoted space in their column to raising awareness of the current #NewDeal4Animation movement. [We are currently negotiating with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers to require studios to pay animation workers a fair wage.

Miller and Lord also correctly pointed out that animation was one of the only forms of filmmaking that was able to continue during the pandemic, and that animated films kept the business afloat during a disastrous time for film.

After extolling the virtues of animated filmmaking, which are well known to Cartoon Blue readers but may be less well known to many filmgoers who do not understand the effort that goes into making an animated film, they went on to say that animation opens creative doors as well as They detailed the undeniable box office and ratings evidence that it is vital to the economy.

Broadcasters who bemoan the fact that many of the nominees are not widely seen forget that the nominated animated films "Luca, Raya and the Last Dragon" and "Mitchell vs. the Machine" were three of the ten most streamed films of 2021. They must be. (Seven of the 10 films were animated.) Or that 13 of the 50 highest grossing films of all time (25%) were animated.

Lord and Miller were full of praise for the films in attendance, before repeating Alberto Mielgo's undeniable assertion that "animation is cinema," which won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at this year's Academy Awards.

Their measured and respectful defense of the animation medium was prefaced by a simple and powerful proposal to the Academy to "invite respected filmmakers to present awards and position animation as a film."

The two then briefly introduced the A-list talents who have shown the highest respect for animation. Guillermo del Toro, Pon Joon-ho, and Mahershala Ali were among the nominees, but their most ambitious proposal was to invite Hayao Miyazaki to attend the Academy Awards for the first time. 2023 is timely, as it will be the 20th anniversary of the Best Animated Feature award for "Spirited Away". The year 2023 is also timely, as it is the 20th anniversary of "Spirited Away," which won the Best Animated Feature Film award. [There is also a retweet from Guillermo del Toro, creator of the "Tales of Arcadia" trilogy and director of the Netflix stop-motion feature "Pinocchio. And I agree with Phil Lord and Chris Miller: Hollywood should elevate animation, not diminish it (guest column) https://t.co/Ggiw0J63dL via @variety

- Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) April 6, 2022