Always a champion of animation, Guillermo del Torro’s adaptation of the Carlo Collodi classic took home the Best Animated Feature prize at the 95th Academy Awards. Pinocchio is the second stop-motion animated film to win this award.
While del Torro has won two previous Oscars – specifically Best Picture and Best Director for The Shape of Water, it is his co-director Mark Gustafson’s first. Gustafson is a renowned animator, especially regarding stop motion.
In his acceptance speech, del Torro states, “Animation is cinema. Animation is not a genre. Animation is ready to be taken to the next step.” This is significant as many, including a few who are a part of the Academy, only view animation as a genre meant solely for children’s entertainment. This can be seen because only three animated films have ever been nominated for Best Picture. In addition, none of the movies nominated this year within the Best Animated Feature category got any nominations within any other type.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, del Torro stated: “This is an art form that has been kneecapped commercially and industrially and the kid’s table for so long… And it really is a mature, expressive, beautiful, complex art form. So a win helps, but it is about going forward as a community.”
When examining his repertoire of work, whether it’s the ghosts of Crimson Peak, the fish man from the Shape of Water, or the creatures from Pan’s Labyrinth, it’s no wonder that del Torro wishes to utilize the art form. After all, it is through animation that everything is possible, and the suspension of disbelief is firm.
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