This post has been like a roller coaster. At first I was going to write on a different idea which I still going to do on why Hollywood should make a new Hunchback movie but that idea lead to this question, If the Best Animated Movie Award was existed in 1996, would Hunchback to have been a contended?
Frollo and Qausimodo Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney
The Best Animated Movie Award for the Academy Awards was introduced in 2001 and that year the winner was Shrek. Since then you’d think a powerhouse like Disney would win a fair number of times and technically since they own Pixar they have but Pixar is the darling of the Oscars and not Disney so much. In fact Disney has won two times and been nominated for eight whereas Dreamworks has two wins but eleven nominations. Pixar has seven wins and nine nominations, Cars and and Monster’s INC didn’t get the award.
Getting back to the question would Disney’s Hunchback has won the award? Well before we can even answer that question we need to know what was the competition that year. In 1996 the animated movies that came out in the United States were All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (I’m surprised this got a theatrical release), Space Jam, Beavis and But-head Do America, and James and the Giant Peach. I doubt All Dogs Go to Heaven, Space Jam and Beavis and Butt-head Do America would have won so that just leaves James and the Giant Peach.
James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach has some weird live-action chunks and weird songs but the animation is imaginative and it met with critical praise when it was released. Hunchback was more mixed with critics. James and the Giant Peach also won Best Animated Featured Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Annecy is a French based Film Festival which Hunchback of Notre Dame was not nominated BUT no Disney movie has been nominated for an Annecy. Hunchback of Notre Dame did get a lot of Award nominations, including Best Music at the Academy and several Annies. It did win a few award including a Golden Globe for its music and Best casting at the Artois Awards and Best Motion Picture for the Satellite Awards. It was also nominated for a Razzie for Worst written Film grossing over $100 Million, talk about mixed bag.
But what really comes down to is the voters of the Academy, which is made up most of people in the Film business and mostly actors who for the most part don’t know anything about animation. In fact according to this http://www.cartoonbrew.com/award-season-focus/proof-that-oscar-voters-are-clueless-about-animation-109456.html the voters don’t even watch all the movies up for the award and two didn’t even watch any. I’m glad they take their prestigious jobs seriously.
Quaismodo Bells of Notre dame reprise Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Basically it doesn’t come down to a well crafted story as told with animation, it’s what ever movie a given person liked more, though some voters take in to account the entirely of the movie. I think that in 1996 the clout of Disney would have made Hunchback of Notre Dame won over James and Peach because name recognition means a lot. Even though James and the Giant Peach is under Disney, it’s not Disney’s James and the Giant Peach.
At first I though this would be an easy question to answer but them looking into the question I thought maybe it would be harder and then that voter website and it because easy again. Talk about a roller coaster.
What do you think? Do you think Hunchback could have won Best Animated Movie if the ward existed in 1996?
Disclaimer, I might hate the Academy Awards.
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While the animation in HOND is beautiful, in ’96 everyone was still so impressed by CGI. So I think James and the Giant Peach would have beaten out HOND. Personally, I’ve never seen James and the Giant Peach so I can’t really go into details about story and songs to make a comparison to HOND.
Another fun fact about the Academy is that there is no criteria for which they base winner and losers of the awards. So, even for the members who go see the movies-they’re just voting on pure personal preference.
I suppose it would have all come down to the preferences of those member who are judging. Both movies have great animation so it hard to say what they would have presence since there is no criteria other than it has to be an animated movie.