The (potential) concerning effects of the academy's new attitude towards animated films.
This'll be a long post so leave if you don't wanna read for 10-20 minutes.
Part 1: Background.
I went back to James' vid about how the academy has changed and picks more obscure picks for best animated feature, those they wouldn't have picked during the 2010s (the "give it to Pixar and sometimes WDAS" era). I feel as if this new approach has some concerning implications about the future of animation.
On the surface, we have here a promising future. Rewarding films with passion and an artistic ambition is what an awards show is supposed to do. In the 2010s, it seemed like the academy didn't take animation seriously and considered all of them as kids stuff (ignorable slop). Disney winning didn't always feel deserved, making viewers with some knowledge not take the award seriously.
But while the premise is good, when you look at the finer details and think about it for a while, another possibility comes into mind which is not very pleasent.
Part 2: Disney and Awards.
Now let's get this out of the way, no, I don't think Disney will lose any sleep hours if the won't win another award. Their priorities are clear as glass (ka-ching). If they had the ability to create non-stop 10/10 masterpieces, but had to choose between this (but unfortunately not making a ton of box office success) or making mid-decent sequels that gross a Billion $ each, we know what they'll pick. Quality is not the goal. They're (somewhat) indifferent to quality.
Now that's not to say they'll stop trying. I said "somewhat" for a reason. If they were 100% greedy and didn't care about good filmmaking at all, they could've done a whole lot worse. We could've had sequels for profitable franchises every 3-4 years (DW do that quite often). But it seems as if Disney recognize they need to make good films to keep interest in their brand, as well as originals (at least for the fact they can milk that original later on with sequels).
Even better, winning an award can silence the haters. I know it's easy to dismiss that, but let's not try to pretend as if there aren't some childish, lifeless nerds who'll hate big corporations like Disney no matter what. They'll behave incredibly hypocritical and take advantage over successes of other studios, weaponising it to fuel their Disney discourse. Some will be mad at Disney for winning and will dismiss the award as if the academy is biased again. But alternatively, those same haters will weaponize other studios' Ws to sh#t on Disney more. Winning awards has benefits.
And even if Disney (the company) didn't care, the people working for them definately do. I feel as if we (the fair, unbiased, consumers) learned to differentiate between the company and their artists. And said artists absolutely want their efforts to be rewarded. While a trophy may mean nothing for a corporation, for the filmmakers it means hecka ton.
Part 3: Awards Nowadays.
So it looks like Disney at least try to make good stuff. They obviously wouldn't have put effort if they thought they could've made a lot of cash regardless of quality. However, some of their lackluster originals this decade bombed hard. They understand that high-quality is necessary. They give a lot of their films the typical dev time they had always given to their films (about 4-6 years). And contrary to what some may try to make you think, they had plenty of beloved films this past decade (Soul, Luca, Encanto, Inside Out 2, Zootopia 2, Hoppers and Toy Story 5).
However, with the way the academy has given their awards these last few years, I'm afraid it might change. It seems like the academy now prioritizes giving awards to smaller studios or indies. Now, at face value, it may be seen as a cool move. Giving a push to films that wouldn't get a lot of attention otherwise is appreciated. But should this really be a factor?
Think about it. We now live in an era where the award isn't necessarily given to the best film in that category. The underdogs might have some unfair bias towards them. We essentially have the inverse of the 2010s. Instead of dismissing animation and just tossing the award onto Disney, they now give the award to an indie just because "it's a film that needs more recognition".
Part 4: Examining the Problem.
Try looking back at the 2022-2025 era. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio won over Puss in Boots the Last Wish. I know Guillermo del Toro is a big name, but if so you would've expected the academy to give that film more than 1 nomination simply because it's Guillermo del Toro (AKA the "AnImAtIoN Is cInEmA" guy). The Boy and the Heron won over ATSV. That could be justified with the anti-sequel bias argument (it's hard to buy when Toy Story 3 beat How to Train Your Dragon). But then Flow also beat The Wild Robot.
It's clear where the academy is heading now. Did any of these picks deserve to win? I'm sure someone could make an argument for each of them. But when you look around the internet, it gets pretty obvious which films the community thinks deserved it more. DW haven't won best animated feature since 2005 with Wallace and Gromit, and if you don't count it then Shrek. There was a lot of push for DW to win with both PiB-tLW AND Wild Robot, especially considering the extended time gap since their last win.
And, to me, it feels like THAT is the real source of concerns. Like I said earlier, Disney may find some value in getting awards as a means to silence haters. All they have to do is craft an amazing film that takes the world by storm and that'll get people to shut up about them. Right? ... RIGHT???????????
If the academy is being harsher on big companies when picking the award winner, what's the point of making amazing films? Sure, you might still make a classic that could turn into a successful franchise. But one of the benefits of quality assurance is less likely to gain now. As far as Disney is concerned, they could make the next Lion King, but they'll still lose the award to an 8/10 indie.
People want to see Disney making more mature and confident films. Those who weaponize DW's success as a way to make Disney worse often say "Disney should make more films such as Last Wish or Wild Robot". Yeah cool, but these films did win either. I'm pretty sure that even if Wild Robot was a Pixar film, had it still lost to Flow (which is likely), many people would still say: "DISNEY SUCK. THEY AREN'T AS GOOD AS THE OTHER STUDIOS".
Part 5: The Consequences (finally).
So if DW can't snatch a W with their "MaTuRe aNd cOnFiDeNt" films, what chance does Disney have? The academy hates them now and won't give them an award, unless everyone else suck d#ck that year. At this point, the right for an award from a big studio is dependent not just on skill or effort, but also on luck. So why should they even try?
With less reasons to make high quality originals, don't you think that'll demotivate Disney to make those and instead double down on making sequels? I'm not saying these sequels will be bad (they seem to be improving with these, seeing how Inside Out 2, Zootopia 2 and Toy Story 5 turned out), but they likely won't win any awards because "bluh bluh anti-sequel bluh bias bluh".
Heck, it's not just a Disney thing. I know DW have a reputation for high quality sequels, but that too is far from perfect for them (Shrek the Third, the Madagascar sequels, KFP4, HTTYD3 (I know James likes it, but it IS divisive), the Trolls sequels, Croods 2, Boss Baby 2, Spirit Untamed). While Wild Robot wasn't a financial failure, grossing 300M$ isn't something to be too proud of. If the Upcoming Forgotten Island doesn't make plenty of cash or loses the award to another animated film, wouldn't that make DW double down on making more sequels too?
When rewarding something becomes an unfair battle, you're gonna negatively effect some of the competitors. I know we replaced one biasness with another (less irritating) one, but that's still not perfect. They should just give the award to the best animated film of the year. Sure, different opinions and stuff, but case in point - you're demotivating big studios to do better. Stuff like that hurts cinema.
Part 6: Answering Counter-Arguments.
One could point out to K-Pop Demon Hunters as a big-studio film that won thanks to originality and creativity. But let's contemplate for a sec and be honest with ourselves... Do we REALLY think that film won because of its quality/filmmaking, or is it because of its songs that made it a phenomenon? Cuz if it's the latter... I mean, Disney still makes musicals. It's probably only a matter of time before their next Spotify dominator. And if this is all it takes to be a best animated feature winner (as long as it's a 6/10 or above), is that really the lesson you want Disney to take from that?
One could also argue that a film like Elemental got a box office comeback thanks to a word-of-mouth publicity. Grossing nearly 500M$ means that it was overall profitable and that quality films can eventually find their audience. But seeing how better films didn't have as much of a financial success, it really puts into perspective just how much effort and how much quality is needed to succeed (apparently, not that much). I thought Elemental was pretty good, but ain't no Wild Robot. So it making more money? Nah chief.
So my finishing thoughts are that the favoring of smaller studios and indies, while good for diversity and exposing stuff that would've otherwise been ignored, could discourage big studios to put in as much effort as they would've otherwise. They're gonna lose anyway so why bother? Just make a decent enough film with banger songs or pray your new film will find an audience. And seeing how, with Disney specifically, people aren't interested in watching mid stuff in theaters when they can wait for it to be on D+ or go "YURRRRRRR", that'll only further push them into making more sequels and less originals.
I don't think this issue would've existed if people hated Disney less. Yes, Disney are making it really hard to like them with all their business practices. But when people actively search stuff to hate, it only makes the company more dismissive towards criticism, even when it comes from the fair people. They'll just consider all internet discourse as morons throwing a tantrum and being unfair.
Regardless, I do hope the academy is not as biased as they seem RN. I hope that, if either Hoppers or TS5 (or Hexed even) turns out to be the best animated film of 2026, it'll win the award it deserves. Yes, I'd love for a smaller studio such as Laika to win, but only if they legit deserve it. Same with DW. If Forgotten Island turns out the best of its category this year, I'd love DW to finally get another W.
We'll see what happens. Sorry for making you read so much. Leave your thoughts on the matter (but PLZ make it civil). Good night oscar awards (Back in the 90s - Holloween edition plays).