Christmas Gallery Show

Once again, the Animation Guild gallery will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 pm., Monday through Friday, for the annual showing of Ralph Hulett Christmas card designs ...

Ralph Hulett was born in Illinois in 1915, and came to California with his family in 1922. A graduate of Hoover High School in Glendale and Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, Hulett joined Walt Disney Productions in 1938 as an assistant animator who specialized in air brush effects, becoming a background artist in 1943. He remained a Disney background artist until his death in 1974, painting backgrounds on every animated feature from "Song of the South" to "Robin Hood." He was designing backgrounds for "The Rescuers" at the time of his death.

Working at Disney, however, was only a small part of Hulett's artistic career. He painted and exhibited paintings in galleries across the country for decades, becoming known for his watercolor landscapes. In the 1950s and 1960s, Hulett painted magazine and record album covers (mostly for Capitol records), designed beach towels and kitchen ware, and produced his own religious and educational films.

He was also known for Christmas cards, and painted hundreds of designs over four decades.

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The World Is Your Box Office

Animation continues to thrive in global markets:

Foreign Weekend Box Office -- (Total Cume)

Frozen -- $30,600,000 -- ($190,178,000)

Gravity -- $10,700,000 -- ($631,515,254)

Cloudy With Meatballs 2 -- $,100,000 -- ($217,981,165)

Other accumulations:

Planes world total: $219,725,835 (foreign: $129,500,000)

Turbo -- world total: $281,866,271 (foreign: $198,853,386) Click here to read entire post

Smosh Cartoons

Barry Blumberg, long-time Disney exec (also man about town) is currently top-kick of the YouTube channel Smosh and Shut-up Cartoons (which seem similar to Fred Seibert's internet animation empire.)

Ju-osh: You previously served as the President of Walt Disney Television Animation. What are some of the differences between working in an established corporate behemoth and working in a small - albeit hugely successful - internet start-up?

Blumberg: The turnaround is a lot faster now. When people come in and they pitch us on a show, we’re able to make a decision as to whether or not move forward with an idea pretty quickly. There are fewer people who need to be part of the development process and that can be both good and bad. When you’re at a company like Disney, the process can take a bit longer, since there are a lot of very smart people who weigh in and have input into what it is you’re doing. But with Shut Up! Cartoons, you definitely get to see more of the creators vision up on the screen. ...

Ju-osh: A number of your shows are about to enter their second and third seasons. This is still relatively uncharted territory for online animated programs. Could you share some of the secrets you’ve learned for keeping things familiar without feeling stale?

Blumberg: It’s about evolving the shows as they go. Looking at Oishi now in it’s second season, there’s more of a continuous narrative that unfolds throughout the course of the season that will keep people interested.

Ju-osh: What shows are currently the most popular on Shut Up! Cartoons? Do you have a guess as to why?

Blumberg: In addition to Oishi, I’d say Teleporting Fat Guy and SMOSH Babies do really well for us. I think the shows that are the closest to the SMOSH brand wind up being really successful on the channel. ...

Animation isn't just flourishing on broadcast networks, cable channels and in big-screen theaters; it's also connecting on the internet. (What Hollywood calls "New Media." And what DreamWorks Animation is purchasing when the property seems tempting enough to buy.)

Mr. Blumberg isn't the first mainstream animation executive who has found prosperity on the internet. We doubt he will be the last. Click here to read entire post

Visual Effects Award Candidates

Overlooked the early effects hopefuls for the Little Gold Man, but better to post them now than not at all.

Ten films, including Gravity, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Pacific Rim, made the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' shortlist for the visual effects category.

Joining these three films on the list are Elysium, Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger, Oblivion, Star Trek Into Darkness, Thor: The Dark World and World War Z. ...

Commercial demand for visual effects is higher than it's ever been. (Gravity is more animated feature than live-action.) Yet there's never been a time when California-based visual effects artists/tech directors have eaten it more than now.

We can blame the eating on globalization and a fast-growing pool of talent that chases jobs which, in turn, chase big subsidies across the globe. Crappy, but the way thing currently are. Click here to read entire post

Your American Box Office

The cash flows continue.

Home Box Office -- Friday -- (Total)

1) HUNGER GAMES 2 -- $7,700,000 -- ($317,365,000)

2) FROZEN -- $6,815,000 -- ($109,452,000)

3) OUT OF THE FURNACE -- $1,880,000 -- ($1,907,000)

4) THOR: THE DARK WORLD -- $1,292,000 -- ($190,192,000)

5) DELIVERY MAN -- $1,158,000 -- ($22,183,000)

6) HOMEFRONT -- $1,000,000 -- ($12,900,000)

7) THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY -- $789,000 -- ($65,355,000)

8) THE BOOK THIEF -- $755,000 -- ($10,130,000)

9) PHILOMENA -- $625,000 -- ($6,598,000)

10) GRAVITY -- $330,000 -- ($250,605,000)

Friday, Friday, Hunger Games Deux sat atop the box office, taking in $7.7 million to Frozen's $6.8 million. Estimates are that the Jennifer Lawrence picture will collect $27.5 million in three days, close behind Frozen.

Meantime, Free Birds flutter(s) out of the Top Ten, landing at #15.

Add On: Rentrak gives us the weekend estimates... with Frozen coming out on top:

1. Frozen - Disney - $31.6M

2. Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Lionsgate - $27.0M

3. Out Of The Furnace - Relativity Media - $5.3M

4. Thor: The Dark World - Disney - $4.7M

5. Delivery Man - Disney - $3.8M

6. Homefront - Open Road - $3.4M

7. Book Thief - 20th Century Fox - $2.7M

8. Best Man Holiday - Universal - $2.7M

9. Philomena - The Weinstein Company - $2.3M

10. Dallas Buyers Club - Focus Features - $1.5M

11. Last Vegas - CBS Films - $1.3M

12. Gravity - Warner Bros. - $1.2M

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Network of Cartoons

CN continues to thrive.

Across the 1st week of December 2013, Cartoon Network’s Total Day Delivery averages grew by double digits across all kid demos vs. the same week last year ...

Cartoon Network ranked as the #1 television network among boys 6-11 & 9-14 on Monday Night, the #1 network among boys 9-14 on Tuesday Night, and the #1 network among kids 2-11 and all boys 2-11, 6-11 & 9-14 on Saturday Night (7-9 p.m.). Monday and Tuesday nights overall grew by double-digits across all targeted kids and boy demos vs. the same time period last year, ranging between 12% and 59%.

On Monday night, a new episode premiere of Regular Show (7:30 p.m.) scored as the #1 telecast of the week among boys 6-11 & 9-14, #1 telecast for the day among kids 6-11 & 9-14, and #1 in its time period among all targeted kids and boys. Similarly, a new episode of Steven Universe (8 p.m.) ranked #1 in its timeslot on basic cable among all boy demos, while Adventure Time (7 p.m.) ranked #1 among boys 6-11 & 9-14. Adventure Time and Regular Show earned double-digit growth across all kids and boys vs. the same time period last year, ranging between 22% and 60%.

On Tuesday night, a new episode of Total Drama All-Stars (7 p.m.) and The Amazing World of Gumball (7:30 p.m.) each ranked #1 in their time periods on basic cable among all boys 2-11, 6-11 & 9-14. Immediately following, a new episode of Uncle Grandpa (8 p.m.) ranked #1 in its time period among boys 6-11 & 9-14.

Saturday morning episode premieres of Pokémon B&W: Adventures in Unova (8:30 a.m.)and Ben 10: Omniverse (9 a.m.) each ranked #1 in their respective time periods among boys 9-14. ...

I spent some time this week at Cartoon Network, and learned the following ...

Despite (or because of?) the network's powerhouse success, one beloved series will be exiting stage left and the network will soon add two new ones. (I won't say more than that. I only know a teensy bit of additional information, anyway.)

Adult Swim (CN)

Continuing its ratings streak into the 1st week of December, Adult Swim’s Total Day Delivery averages ranked #1 among adults 18-24, 18-34 & 18-49 and men 18-24 & 18-34 on basic cable. Compared to the same week in 2012, Total Day delivery grew among adults 18-34 by 6%, adults 18-49 by 4%, men 18-24 by 14%, men 18-34 by 20% and men 18-49 by 20%.
. ...

Adult Swim programming – including Family Guy, Robot Chicken, American Dad and Aqua TV Show Show –accounted for half (25) of the top 50 telecasts on basic cable for the week among adults 18-34, and 32 of the top 50 among men 18-34, both more than any other network.

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Free Enterprise On Steroids

Britain figures out how to lure our fine conglomerates to the far side of the pond.

The UK's film special effects industry has received a shot in the arm with the government announcing plans to make it easier for Hollywood studios to qualify for UK tax breaks.

George Osborne's autumn statement published on Thursday promises to overhaul the "cultural test", which scores elements of productions to see how British they are, to make it easier for films to qualify for UK relief.

The government has pledged to "modernise" the test to make it more competitive in relation to the incentives offered by other countries. ...

As they say: "Companies are people, junior pally. And some people need government help more than other people." Click here to read entire post

Trimming Back (In Different Ways on Different Shows)

A few less episodes for Seth's live-action show:

... Fox dropped its back-nine order for Tuesday night comedy “Dads” to a back-six, essentially making Season 1 a 19-episode run instead of full 22.

The network explained that it has other comedies launching midseason and simply does not have room on the schedule to fulfill its original intention.

Fox had ordered 13 episodes of the Seth Green/Giovanni Ribisi comedy, later expanding to a full 22-episode season.

But “Dads” has not done well in the ratings in its initial year, struggling to find an audience at 8 p.m. There was also controversy before the show even debuted. ...

Dads is getting trimmed for one reason; Family Guy is going to eighteen episodes in its new season for another ...

A Family Guy staffer told me yesterday:

Seth is just stretched way thin. He's often doing his live-action stuff. Some months he's only here [at Fox Animation] only a couple of days.

We've had board artists who sit on changes from the writers because Seth hasn't approved them, and weeks go by. And then they decide to have us go ahead with the redo, and sometimes Seth approves them and sometimes he says: "This isn't making it. Try something else. You can do this better."

He's delegating more, but we're still doing four less episodes.

And one upcoming FG half-hour?

... Just weeks after the controversial death of "Family Guy's" Brian Griffin, it sounds like we might be seeing America’s favorite atheist pooch again really soon.

Fueling speculation that Brian’s passing was merely a publicity stunt, the official description for the Dec. 15 episode — cryptic as it may be — strongly suggests that Brian (Seth MacFarlane) will be returning to the land of the living.

On the Christmas episode, “Stewie devises a master plan to get the one and only thing he wants for Christmas,” according to the official description from Fox. And, as pointed out by Entertainment Weekly, the network lists Brian as a character on the episode. ...

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Transitions

Front row: Nathan Loofbourrow, Cathy Jones, Nicole Dubuc, Bronwen Barry, Jan Browning, Gordon Kent, Jeff Massie.
Back row: Karen C. Johnson, Jack Thomas, Mike Roth, Dave Thomas, Janette Hulett, Steve Hulett, Larry Smith, Bob Foster, Robert St. Pierre, Chris Simmons, Russell Calabrese, and John Cataldi.

Tuesday night, the Animation Guild had a change of officers and executive board members.

Nathan Loofbourrow, TAG's Vice-President, took the reins as President from outgoing Prez Bob Foster (who steps back onto the board.) New board members Rusell Calabrese, Bill Flores, Robert St. Pierre enter, while board members John Cataldi, Mike Roth, Chris Simmons and Eugene Son departed. Long-time Sergeant at Arms Jan Browning also stepped down. ...

We combined the regular Executive Board meeting with an installation dinner at the Smokehouse Restaurant. There wasn't quite as much ground covered as normal, but it was close.

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Ralph Hulett Christmas, Day 4

Deer in deep winter, deep snow, and bright moonlight. (The subject matter is similar to this and this.) ...

But what's interesting is that there is a big bright disk of moon in one direction, while shadows are being cast in another direction. (And snow is falling!)

But what the hell. It works from a design standpoint. It's a Christmas card, after all. Click here to read entire post

Grudge Match

Stan Lee Media -- no longer controlled by Stan Lee -- refuses to stay down for the count.

The mantra over at Stan Lee Media Inc must be “if first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

Certainly that is its legal strategy. Almost three months after a federal judge in Colorado granted Disney’s request for dismissal of SLMI’s multibillion-dollar Marvel superhero copyright suit, the company is back in Pennsylvania court this week claiming it owns the rights to Spider-Man.

I doubt that Stan Lee Media has much of a chance with this. (Like maybe a snowflake's survival chances in a smelting furnace?) But that doesn't prevent the company attempting a do-over in another court. What do you think the odds are that SLM will prevail in front of the Supremes? Given the SCOTUS's corporatist leanings, I would say nil.

But hey. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

(Marvel/Disney informed me a few days ago that it hadn't made up its minds about doing a fourth season of the animated Spiderman. Somehow I don't think this revived lawsuit has any impact on their final decision.) Click here to read entire post

Beating a Tired Horse

This meme starts to get monotonous.

Frozen's" success shows the house that Walt built can compete with a sibling rival that is enduring layoffs and criticism of its sequel strategy even as box office booms.

The contrast couldn't have been more stark. On Nov. 22, Pixar Animation Studios laid off 67 employees, about 5 percent of its 1,200-person workforce, as the release of its next feature, The Good Dinosaur, was delayed 18 months to November 2015. ...

Splitting time between Pixar in Emeryville, Calif., and Disney's Burbank lot, [John] Lasseter gets credit for breathing life into WDAS, which stumbled through the 2000s with such flops as Home on the Range, Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons. But some question whether he is stretched too thin as his studios and other parts of the Disney empire, including consumer products and park design, vie for his attention.

This is really pretty simple.

The two studios/divisions have different work forces doing different projects with different pipelines. Not unlike a single animation studio with different projects and different crews/pipelines. (Where one project, say, is CGI and one is hand-drawn.)

The Good Dinosaur wasn't delayed because John Lasseter wasn't paying enough attention to Pixar. The Good Dinosuar was delayed because sometimes, here and there, with even the most talented people, stuff happens. Characters don't jell and stories don't come together and retooling is in order. This has been happening since the days of Snow White and Pinocchio.

And Frozen wasn't a hit because John Lasseter was lavishing oodles of loving care on The Hat Building in Burbank. It's because creative projects move to their own rhythms, and sometimes the end results and terrific, and sometimes less than terrific. (Cars 2 ain't up to the creative level of Toy Story 3, even though both were made with many of the same bright minds. And John L. was devoting lots of time to Cars 2 as director. Sometimes the choices made are simply less than sterling.)

Frozen was in development for years before it got a green light, as was Tangled before it. You didn't see the press saying the problem was John Lasseter's inattention. Because when those movies had their hiccups, they hadn't been greenlit and were off the media radar. So nobody was writing, "The Rapunzel picture is stumbling because John Lasseter is spread too thin."
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New MPI Health Plan SPD!!

The Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan has released a new Summary Plan Description (SPD) for the Health Plan! This is good news to all who participate in the MPI Health Plan as the last SPD was printed in 2007, and there have been significant changes to the plan since that time.

Printed copies will be sent as soon as they are available. However, it is immediately available on MPI's website at this link: https://www.mpiphp.org/benefits/active_plan/SPD_Active%20-%202013.pdf

In case the MPI webserver becomes inundated with requests, we've also made a copy available through our website at this link: http://animationguild.org/document/MPIPHP_SPD_Active-2013.pdf

We encourage all MPI Health Plan participants to download a copy of this document for your records and review. The Health Plan assumes you have made yourselves aware of the plan limitations and restrictions which are explained in the book. Becoming familiar with those guidelines will make sure you don't incur any extra costs when seeking medical care.


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Ralph Hulett's Christmas, Day 3

So here's a mixed media still-life ...

Candle on pine bow in traditional Disney-style background paints, painted over a collage. The entire piece is on illustration board. Click here to read entire post

DVD Blu Ray Charts

It appears to have Diz Co. on top with a Cars spin off, with other animated features trailing behind.

1) Planes

5) Turbo

6) Monsters University

And in 9th place for rentals is DWA's The Croods ...

Nice to see at least some little silver disks are selling. There was a time when they made huge money, but those days have faded into the mists of time.

Even so, animated cartoons perform better than most live-action features. Click here to read entire post

UnCrazy Acquisition

Once, the business press questioned Disney's decision to pay big bucks for a smallish animation studio. Now, not so much.

... When Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, it hoped to reinvigorate its flagging animation division – once the company’s crown jewel.

Rivals such as DreamWorks Animation and Fox had eclipsed Disney at the box office, as had Pixar,. [Disney Chairman Robert] Iger acknowledged weakness at the studio that created Mickey Mouse, telling the New York Times, “I want to return Disney to greatness in this area, and this was the way to do it fastest.”

Seven years later, the deal has accomplished just that – though not in the way some may have expected. The rest of Disney is ascendant again, while some of the shine is off Pixar. ...

Disney’s recent movies, from “Planes” to ”[Frozen"] have fit into its broader corporate strategy – enabling the sale of toys and games. They also restore luster to a brand that had suffered in recent years.

“People looked at ‘Cars 2′ and said Pixar stumbled,” Phil Contrino, editor-in-chief of BoxOffice.com, said. “No they didn’t; it happened because ‘Cars 2′ sells more toys than tickets could ever hope to attain at the box office.”

That same line of reasoning motivates the revitalization of these other divisions, which permit Disney to release multiple blockbuster animated films in any given year — boosting corporate earnings throughout the year. ...

The thing of it is, nobody knew at the time what kind of impact the Pixar acquisition would have on Diz Co.'s bottom line. The merger only became a snazzy business move after the fact.

Just like nobody knew that Disney acquiring Robert Zemeckis's Image Movers would end up being a deep sink hole that swallowed up the conglomerate's money. (Or that Universal partnering with Chris Meledandri's Illumination Entertainment would garner vast riches for both corporate entities.)

Any partnership or acquistion is a calculated risk. But I don't think anyone now questions that buying Pixar for a sum north of $7 billion was worth it. Disney was buying a management team, after all, and that team has spun out billions of dollars worth of hits.

(For the life of me, why people keep slagging Monsters University because it's a, you know, icky sequel, is a mystery. The flick was well reviewed and made over $700 million at the box office. And wasn't Toy Story III a sequel? Or did I miss something?)

But does the Big Mouse care? Probably not. Most of their acquisitions are paying off handsomely, and if the corporation Walt built is now the Berkshire Hathaway of entertainment conglomerates, well .... Chairman Iger is probably crying all the way to Fort Knox. Click here to read entire post

VFX Soldier Talks!

Daniel Lay (aka VFX Soldier) speaks his mind on a fx guide podcast interview ...

Daniel speaks of his background, motivations and goals in this hour-long talk. And he explains how the protest at DreamWorks a week or so back wasn't a take down of DWA or the President, but an attempt to get the word out that visual effects is in trouble in Southern California, and not growing. Click here to read entire post

Your Annies and Mine

The Annie announcement, as delivered this date:

... The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced nominations today for its 41st Annual Annie Awards™ recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. The Annie Awards cover 30 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Special Production, Commercials, Short and Outstanding Individual Achievements.

The slate of nominations for Best Animated Features this year include: A Letter to Momo (GKIDS), Despicable Me 2 (Universal Pictures), Ernest & Celestine (GKIDS), Frozen (Walt Disney Animation Studios), Monsters University (Pixar Animation Studios), The Croods (DreamWorks Animations), and The Wind Rises (Studio Ghibli and The Walt Disney Studios).

“I am very excited about this year’s slate of nominees!” remarked ASIFA-Hollywood president, Frank Gladstone. “We had more submissions to choose from this year running the gamut from big studio features to indie films, television series to internet shows, games, shorts and student films, as well as a wonderful group of juried award recipients, all showcasing the huge variety of venues, creativity, technical innovation and story-telling that our art form has to offer.”

Juried awards, honoring career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation, will also be presented. Three Winsor McCay recipients have been selected by the ASIFA-Hollywood Board of Directors – Katsuhiro Otomo, Steven Spielberg and Phil Tippett for their career contributions to the art of animation; June Foray Award – Alice Davis for her significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation; and Certificate of Merit – “I Know That Voice” (Documentary).
Winners will be announced at the 41st Annual Annie Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 1, 2014 at UCLA’s Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, CA. For a complete list of
Annie Award nominations, ticket and event information, please visit www.annieawards.org.
The Annie Awards black-tie ceremony will feature a lively mix of animation luminaries, celebrity presenters and comedic talent to celebrate the animation industry’s best of the best. A pre-reception and press line begins at 5:00 pm with the awards ceremony following at 7:00 pm. A post-show celebration immediately follows the ceremony. All events will be held at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA. ...

And the nominees are ...

2013 ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

#1 - Best Animated Feature

A Letter to Momo - 
GKIDS
Despicable Me 2 - 
Universal Pictures
Ernest & Celestine
 - GKIDS
Frozen - 
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Monsters University - 
Pixar Animation Studios
The Croods
 - DreamWorks Animation
The Wind Rises
 - The Walt Disney Studios

#2 - Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production
Chipotle Scarecrow
 - Moonbot Studios
Listening Is an Act of Love
 - StoryCorps
Room on the Broom - 
Magic Light Pictures
Toy Story OF TERROR!
- Pixar Animation Studios

# 3 - Best Animated Short Subject

Despicable Me 2 - Puppy
 - Universal Pictures
Get A Horse!
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Gloria Victoria
 - National Film Board of Canada
My Mom is an Airplane
 - Acme Filmworks
The Numberlys - 
Moonbot Studios

# 4 - Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial

Despicable Me 2 - Cinemark
 - Universal Pictures
Sound of the Woods – Acme Filmworks
The Polar Bears Movie
 - CAA Marketing

#5 - Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children

Bubble Guppies
 - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Disney Sofia the First
 - Disney Television Animation
Doc McStuffins
 - Disney Television Animation
Justin Time
 - Guru Studio
Peter Rabbit - Nickelodeon Animation Studio

#6 - Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience

Adventure Time - 
Cartoon Network Studios
Beware the Batman
 - Warner Bros. Animation
Disney Gravity Falls
 - Disney Television Animation
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness - 
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Regular Show - 
Cartoon Network Studios
Scaredy Squirrel - 
Nelvana Ltd.
Teen Titans Go!
 - Warner Bros. Animation
The Legend of Korra
 - Nickelodeon Animation Studio

#7 - Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Archer
 - FX Networks
Bob's Burgers - 
Bento Box Entertainment
Disney Tron Uprising
 - Disney Television Animation
Futurama
 - 20th Century Fox Television
Motorcity
 - Titmouse Inc.

#8 - Best Animated Video Game

Diggs Nightcrawler
 - Moonbot Studios
Tiny Thief
 - 5 ANTS
The Last of Us - 
Naughty Dog

#9 – Best Student Film

Chicken or the Egg
 - Ringling College of Art and Design
Kellerkind - Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
Miss Todd
 - Kristina Yee
Move Mountain
 - Kirsten Lepore
SEMÕFORO - 
University of Southern California
The Final Straw
 - Ringling College of Art and Design
Trusts & Estates
 - CalArts
Wedding Cake - 
Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

#10 – Animated Effects in an Animated Production

Alen Lai, David Quirus, Diego Garzon Sanchez, Ilan Gabai - Epic
 - Blue Sky Studios
David Jones - Dragons: Defenders of Berk
 - DreamWorks Animation
Joshua Jenny, Jason Johnston, Matthew Wong, Eric Froemling, Enrique Vila - Monsters University
 - Pixar Animation Studios
Jeff Budsberg, Andre Le Blanc, Louis Flores, Jason Mayer - The Croods - 
DreamWorks Animation
Greg Gladstone, Nikita Pavlov, Allen Ruilova, Matt Titus, Can Yuksel - Turbo
 - DreamWorks Animation

#11 – Animated Effects in a Live Action Production

Jonathan Paquin, Brian Goodwin, Gray Horsfield, Mathieu Chardonnet, Adrien Toupet - Man Of Steel - 
Weta Digital
Ben O’Brien, Karin Cooper, Lee Uren, Chris Root - Star Trek: Into Darkness - Industrial Light & Magic
Dan Pearson, Jay Cooper, Jeff Grebe, Amelia Chenoweth - Star Trek: Into Darkness - 
Industrial Light & Magic
Michael Balog, Ryan Hopkins, Patrick Conran, Florian Witzel - Pacific Rim
 - Industrial Light & Magic

#12 - Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production

Brad Schaffer - Friendship All-Stars of Friendship: Wrong Number
 - Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
Eric Urban - Ubermansion
 - Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
JC Tran Quang Thieu - Toy Story OF TERROR! - Pixar Animation Studios
David DeVan - Toy Story OF TERROR! - Pixar Animation Studios Character
Kureha Yokoo - Toy Story OF TERROR! - Pixar Animation Studios Character
Keith Kellogg - Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Lucasfilm Animation

#13 - Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production

Thom Roberts - Epic
 - Blue Sky Studios
Jonathan Del Val – Despicable Me 2
 - Universal Pictures
Jakob Jensen - The Croods - 
DreamWorks Animation
John Chun Chiu Lee - Monsters University
 - Pixar Animation Studios
Kitaro Kosaka – The Wind Rises - 
The Walt Disney Studios
Tony Smeed - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Patrick Imbert - Ernest & Celestine
 - GKIDS

#14 - Character Animation in a Live Action Production

Jeff Capogreco, Jedrzej Wojtowicz, Kevin Estey, Alessandro Bonora, Gino Acevedo - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Gollum
 - Weta Digital
Dave Clayton, Simeon Duncombe, Jung Min Chan, Matthew Cioffi, Guillame Francois - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Goblin King
 - Weta Digital
Hal Hickel, Chris Lentz, Derrick Carlin, Steve Rawlins, Kyle Winkelman - Pacific Rim
 - Industrial Light & Magic 


#15 – Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Craig McCracken - Disney Wander Over Yonder
 - Disney Television Animation
Paul Rudish - Disney Mickey Mouse
 - Disney Television Animation
Andy Bialk - The Awesomes
 - Bento Box Entertainment 

Ben Adams - Regular Show - Cartoon Network Studios
Danny Hynes, Howard Colin - Steven Universe
 - Cartoon Network Studios

#16 – Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

Carter Goodrich, Takao Noguchi, Shane Prigmore - The Croods
 - DreamWorks Animation
Sylvain Deboissy, Shannon Tindle - Turbo - DreamWorks Animation
Craig Kellman – Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 - 
Sony Pictures Animation
Chris Sasaki - Monsters University - 
Pixar Animation Studios
Christophe Lourdelet - A Monster in Paris
 - Shout! Factory 

Eric Guillon – Despicable Me 2 - 
Universal Pictures
Bill Schwab - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

#17 – Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Colin Heck - The Legend of Korra
 - Nickelodeon Animation
Elaine Bogan - Dragons: Defenders of Berk
 - DreamWorks Animation
Stephan Franck - The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow
 - Sony Pictures Animation
John Aoshima - Disney Gravity Falls
 - Disney Television Animation
Aaron Springer - Disney Mickey Mouse - 
Disney Television Animation
Angus MacLane - Toy Story OF TERROR!
 - Pixar Animation Studios
Harold Harris - Justin Time - Guru Studio

#18 – Directing in an Animated Feature Production

Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco - The Croods
 - DreamWorks Animation
David Soren - Turbo - 
DreamWorks Animation
Chris Wedge - Epic
 - Blue Sky Studios
Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier - Ernest & Celestine
 - GKIDS
Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

#19 – Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Alan Williams - Estefan - Silverscreen Music
Guy Moon - T.U.F.F. Puppy - 
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Peter Luyre, Stuart Kollmorgen, Peter Zizzo - Peter Rabbit
 - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Kevin Kliesch, Craig Gerber, John Kavanaugh - Disney Sofia the First
 - Disney Television Animation
Christopher Willis - Disney Mickey Mouse
 - Disney Television Animation
Andy Bean - Disney Wander Over Yonder
 - Disney Television Animation

#20 – Music in an Animated Feature Production

Alan Silvestri - The Croods - 
DreamWorks Animation
Henry Jackman - Turbo
 - DreamWorks Animation
Mark Mothersbaugh – Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2
 - Sony Pictures Animation
Heitor Pereira, Pharrell Williams – Despicable Me 2
 - Universal Pictures
Danny Elfman - Epic - Blue Sky Studios
Randy Newman - Monsters University
 - Pixar Animation Studios
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, Christophe Beck - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios 

Dominic Lewis - Free Birds - 
Reel FX

#21 – Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Angela Sung, William Niu, Christine Bian, Emily Tetri, Frederic Stewart - The Legend of Korra
 - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Liz Artinian, Ray Feldman, Chris Fisher, George Fort - The Venture Bros.
“What Color is Your Cleansuit?” - Titmouse Inc.
Steven Sugar, Emily Walus, Sam Bosma, Elle Michalka, Amanda Winterstein - Steven Universe
”Gem Glow” - Cartoon Network Studios
Lynna Blankenship, Dima Malanitchev, Debbie Peterson, Charles Ragins, Jefferson R. Weekley - The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox TV
Christophe Vacher - Transformers Prime ‘Beast Hunters’
- Hasbro Studios
Nick Jenings, Sandra Calleros, Teri Shikasho, Ron Russell - Adventure Time - Cartoon Network Studios

#22 – Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

Christophe Lautrette, Paul Duncan, Dominique R. Louis - The Croods
 - DreamWorks Animation
Yarrow Cheney, Eric Guillon – Despicable Me 2
 - Universal Pictures
Michael Knapp, Greg Couch, William Joyce - Epic
 - Blue Sky Studios
Zaza, Zyk - Ernest & Celestine - GKIDS
Ricky Nierva, Robert Kondo, Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi - Monsters University
 - Pixar Animation Studios
Michael Giaimo, Lisa Keene, David Womersley - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios 


#23 – Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Piero Piluso - Monsters vs. Aliens
 - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Douglas Lovelace - Dragons: Riders of Berk
 - DreamWorks Animation
Adam Ford, Deke Wightman, Kevin Mellon, Justin Wagner, Benji Williams - Archer
 - FX Networks 

Alonso Ramos-Ramirez - Disney Mickey Mouse
 - Disney Television Animation
Daniel Chong - Toy Story of TERROR! - Pixar Animation Studios
Alonso Ramos-Ramirez - Gravity Falls - 
Disney Television Animation
Guillermo Del Toro, Guy Davis, Ralph Sosa - The Simpsons -- "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" -- Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox TV
Paul Watling - Justin Time - 
Guru Studio

#24 – Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

Steven MacLeod - The Croods
 - DreamWorks Animation
Eric Favela – Despicable Me 2 - 
Universal Pictures
Dean Kelly - Monsters University
 - Pixar Animation Studios
Jason Hand - Planes
- Disneytoon Studios
John Ripa - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

#25 – Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Eric Bauza as the voice of Foop - Fairly Odd Parents
 - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Bill Farmer as the voice of Goofy - Disney Mickey Mouse - 
Disney Television Animation
Chris Diamantopoulos as the voice of Mickey Mouse - Disney Mickey Mouse - 
Disney Television Animation
Mark Hamill as the voice of Skips and Walks - Regular Show
 - Cartoon Network Studios
Tom Kenny as the voice of Ice King - Adventure Time - 
Cartoon Network Studios

#26 – Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

Paul Giamatti as the voice of Chet - Turbo
 - DreamWorks Animation
Terry Crews as the voice of Earl – Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2
 - Sony Pictures Animation
Kristen Wiig as the voice of Lucy – Despicable Me 2
 - Universal Pictures
Steve Carell as the voice of Gru – Despicable Me 2
 - Universal Pictures
Pierre Coffin as the voice of Minions - Despicable Me 2
 - Universal Pictures
Billy Crystal as the voice of Mike – Monsters University – Pixar Animation Studios
Josh Gad as the voice of Olaf - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

#27 – Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Katie Matila - Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
 - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Ian Maxtone-Graham, Billy Kimball - The Simpsons
- Trocadero Holdings
Lewis Morton - Futurama
 - 20th Century Fox Television
Matt Price, John Infantino, Mike Roth, Michele Cavin, Sean Szeles - Regular Show - 
Cartoon Network Studios 

Michael Price - The Simpsons
- The Simpsons

#28 – Writing in an Animated Feature Production

Daniel Pennac - Ernest & Celestine
 - GKIDS
Daniel Gerson, Robert L. Baird, Dan Scanlon - Monsters University - 
Pixar Animation Studios
Miyazaki Hayao – The Wind Rises
- The Walt Disney Studios
Jennifer Lee - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

#29 – Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Adam Arnold, Hugo Morales, Davrick Waltjen - Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness - 
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Myra Lopez, Ana Adams, Justin Baker - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Lynn Hobson - Dragons: Defenders of Berk - 
DreamWorks Animation
Illya Owens - Disney Mickey Mouse - 
Disney Television Animation
Axel Geddes, Kathy Graves, Chloe Kloezeman - Toy Story OF TERROR!
 - Pixar Animation Studios
Paul D. Calder - Futurama
 - 20th Century Fox Television
Paul Douglas - Adventure Time
 - Cartoon Network Studios
Jason W.A. Tucker - Star Wars: The Clone Wars - 
Lucasfilm Animation

#30 – Editorial in an Animated Feature Production

Darren Holmes - The Croods
 - DreamWorks Animation
James Ryan - Turbo
 - DreamWorks Animation
Fabienne Alvarez-Giro - Ernest & Celestine - 
GKIDS
Greg Snyder, Gregory Amundson, Steve Bloom - Monsters University
 - Pixar Animation Studios
Jeff Draheim - Frozen - 
Walt Disney Animation Studios

JURIED AWARDS

Winsor McCay Award – Katsuhiro Otomo, Steven Spielberg &
Phil Tippett

June Foray – Alice Davis

Certificate of Merit – “I Know That Voice” (Documentary)

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Disney Cartoon Grosses (The Modern Era)

BuzzFeed offers rundown (inflation adjusted) that shows what Disney animated features have taken in domestically since TLM (The Little Mermaid):

Disney Grosses -- Opening Weekend -- Total

1) Lion King (1994)-- $78,744,000 -- $600,726,200

2) Frozen -- (2013) $66,713,000 -- * * * *

3) Pocahontas -- (1995) $54,650,000 -- $262,003,900

4) Tarzan (1999) -- $54,229,700 -- $271,071,000

5) Chicken Little (2005) -- $50,296,500 -- $169,911,500 ...

And so on.

BF also has a handy bar graph comparing domestic grosses. Scroll to the bottom to see it ...

The early 1990s was a heady time at Disney Feature Animation.

There was a feeling of momentum and invincibility that was palpable (or so it seemed to the frequent visitor.) I remember walking through the Flower Street studio midway through Aladdin. The first Gulf War was happening, and the creative staff had abruptly changed the city named "Baghdad" to a city named "Agrabah." The story department had spent a frantic three and a half weeks reworking the middle of the feature. (Years after, the story supervisor told me that he, directors John Musker and Ron Clements, and Jeffrey Katzenberg spent a lot of time in the directors' office arguing story points.) Yet nobody thought it was going to be anything but successful.

Despite the tumult, the picture was a blockbuster hit. And Lion King which came directly after under equally trying circumstances -- the first director was replaced -- was even bigger. It was only with Pocahontas that the box office started to decline, but even then the picture had a big opening and a healthy gross.

The other points to keep in mind is that, twenty years ago, foreign box office was a much smaller slice of the money pie. And the production costs for the films were half the budget outlays here in the 21st century.

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Your Global B.O.

It's a long way from stinking up the place.

Foreign Weekend Grosses -- (World Grosses)

Frozen -- $16,700,000 -- ($110,056,000)

Gravity -- $25,400,000 -- ($615,347,041)

Free Birds -- $2,400,000 -- (65,744,908)

Cloudy with ... Meatballs -- $3,200,000 -- ($213,329,676)

In fact, international box office appears robust.

... [Gravity] brought in $25.4 million from 55 foreign markets this weekend. In the process, it upped its international total to $365 million. Coupled with its $249 million domestic haul, the global total is now at $615 million. ...

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” was easily the week’s biggest overseas earner, with $92 million from roughly 80 foreign markets. The Jennifer Lawrence sequel, on which Lionsgate pre-sold most foreign markets, has already taken in $276.4 million internationally and $573 million worldwide.

Disney’s 3D animated family film Frozen opened in 17 foreign markets – about 19 percent of its eventual overseas rollout – and took in $16.7 million.

Disney’s Thor: The Dark World is heading for the $600 million worldwide mark as well. The Marvel superhero saga added $12.2 million this week from 72 foreign markets, raising its international total to $404 million. With its $186 million domestic total, it worldwide haul stands at $591 million.

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