At the 93rd annual Academy Awards ceremony last night, CalArts alum Pete Docter took home his third Oscar as Pixar’s Soul won the Best Animated Feature Film category. Docter, who directed and served as one of the writers on the film, shared the award with producer Dana Murray.
Since the category of Best Animated Feature was introduced at the Academy Awards 20 years ago, 13 of the winning films were either directed, produced, or written by CalArtians.
When accepting the award from Union Station in Los Angeles (one of several sites for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony), Docter noted that Joe, the protagonist in Soul, was a music teacher. He said during his acceptance speech, “We want to thank music teachers and art teachers everywhere… You make the world a better place.”
In the Short Film (Animated) category, If Anything Happens I Love You (Netflix) was the night’s winner. When directors Will McCormack and Michael Govier accepted their trophies, they thanked the film’s animation director, Youngran Nho (Film/Video BFA 18) as well as animators HaeIn Michelle Heo (Film Video BFA 19) and Julia Rodrigues (Film/Video BFA 19), saying, “Your art astounds us.”
To date, animated films directed by CalArts Experimental and Character Animation alumni have amassed a worldwide revenue of nearly $50 billion (tracked 1985-March 2021). CalArts animation students receive guidance and support to further their artistic practice and start their careers in the film industry. As a result, alumni have continued their box office revenue growth — as well as creating award-winning films — year after year.
CalArts animation box office revenue can be found at boxoffice.calarts.edu.
Previously: CalArtians Among the 2021 Oscar Nominations