The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences board of governors has now created a separate category for animated features, the first new Oscar category added in two decades. According to the board, the statuettes could be handed out as early as March 2002.
As told to Variety, “Animators have been lobbying for inclusion in the Oscar race for years,” an AMPAS spokesman said. “The past three years in particular have consisted of weighing the pros against the cons. It has been a long, drawn-out process and finally the board has managed to iron out a feasible proposal.”
The Oscar will go to “the key creative talent most clearly responsible for the overall achievement” — in other words, one individual who represents the entire production. Eligible features must be at least 70 minutes in length and can be in any form of animation styles including cel, stop motion and computer animation.
