As the sun began to rise, so did the anticipation of who would receive the coveted Academy Award nominations. The Livestream of the 90th Academy Award nominations was held approximately at 5:22 am PST with Pixar Animation Studios being honored in three different categories – Coco: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, LOU: Best Animated Short.
We were hoping the Coco team would be honored with nominations for Original Screenplay and Original Score as we believe they would have been very well deserved. In the past, Pixar Animation Studios have received a total of seven Academy Award nominations for Original Screenplay and Original Score – for a complete Academy Award history, see below.
Outside of the recent nominations, we were also thrilled to learn that Pixar will be honored with a Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Award.
Ray Feeney, Academy Award recipient and chair of the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee noted, “This year we are happy to honor a very international group of technologists for their innovative and outstanding accomplishments. These individuals have significantly contributed to the ongoing evolution of motion pictures, and their efforts continue to empower the creativity of our industry.”
The team (listed below) is receiving the Academy Award for their work on Pixar’s in-house animation system named, Presto. Presto allows artists to work interactively in scene context with full-resolution geometric models and sophisticated rig controls and has significantly increased the productivity of character animators at Pixar.
The award will go to – Rob Jensen for the foundational design and continued development, to Thomas Hahn for the animation toolset, and to George ElKoura, Adam Woodbury, and Dirk Van Gelder for the high-performance execution engine of the Presto Animation System at Pixar Animation Studios.
History of Pixar Wins & Nominations at the Academy Awards
FEATURE FILMS
| Toy Story | • Original Score: Randy Newman – Nominated • Original Song: “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated • Special Achievement Award: John Lasseter – Won |
| A Bug’s Life | • Original Score: Randy Newman – Nominated |
| Toy Story 2 | • Original Song: “When She Loved Me” – Nominated |
| Monsters, Inc. | • Animated Feature Film – Nominated (Shrek, Won) • Original Score: Randy Newman – Nominated • Original Song: “If I Didn’t Have You” – Won • Sound Editing – Nominated |
| Finding Nemo | • Animated Feature Film: Andrew Stanton – Won • Original Score: Thomas Newman – Nominated • Sound Editing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| The Incredibles | • Animated Feature Film: Brad Bird – Won • Sound Editing: Michael Silvers & Randy Thom – Won • Sound Mixing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| Cars | • Animated Feature Film – Nominated (Happy Feet, Won) • Original Song: “Our Town” – Nominated |
| Ratatouille | • Animated Feature Film: Brad Bird – Won • Original Score: Michael Giacchino – Nominated • Sound Editing – Nominated • Sound Mixing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| WALL•E | • Animated Feature Film: Andrew Stanton – Won • Original Score – Nominated • Original Song: “Down to Earth” – Nominated • Sound Editing – Nominated Best Sound Mixing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| Up | • Animated Feature Film: Pete Docter – Won • Best Picture – Nominated • Original Score: Michael Giacchino – Won • Sound Editing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| Toy Story 3 | • Animated Feature Film: Lee Unkrich – Won • Best Picture – Nominated • Original Song: “We Belong Together” – Won • Sound Editing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| Cars 2 | No Academy Award nominations |
| Brave | • Animated Feature Film: Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapman – Won |
| Monsters University | No Academy Award nominations |
| Inside Out | • Animated Feature Film: Pete Docter & Jonas Rivera – Won • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| The Good Dinosaur | No Academy Award nominations |
| Finding Dory | No Academy Award nominations |
| Cars 3 | No Academy Award nominations |
| Coco | • Animated Feature Film: Lee Unkrich – Won • Original Song: “Remember Me” – Won |
SHORT FILMS
| Luxo, Jr. | Nominated (A Greek Tragedy, Won) |
| Tin Toy | John Lasseter & William (Bill) Reeves – Won |
| Geri’s Game | Jan Pinkava – Won |
| For The Birds | Ralph Eggleston – Won |
| Mike’s New Car | Nominated (The ChubbChubbs!, Won) |
| Boundin’ | Nominated (Harvie Krumpet, Won) |
| One Man Band | Nominated (The Moon & The Son: An Imagined Conversation, Won) |
| Lifted | Nominated (The Danish Poet, Won) |
| Presto | Nominated (La Maison en Petits Cubes, Won) |
| Day & Night | Nominated (The Lost Thing, Won) |
| La Luna | Nominated (The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, Won) |
| Sanjay’s Super Team | Nominated (Bear Story, Won) |
| Piper | Alan Barillaro – Won |
| LOU | Nominated (Dear Basketball, Won) |
We couldn’t be happier that the LOU team received a nomination for their hard work for Best Animated Short – the story, animation techniques, and camera work add to the playfulness of this sweet film and we are thrilled that the Academy has recognized the team. Be sure to share your thoughts with other Pixar fans in the Pixar Post Forum or leave a comment below — what are your predictions for the 90th Academy Awards?
Congratulations to both the Coco and LOU teams on a fantastic year in animation and we look forward to the upcoming BAFTAs, VES and Annie Awards.
