The LA Times may be making a big deal out of nothing. ‘Cars’ won the inaugural Golden Globe award for animated feature. John Lasseter accepted the award and in his acceptance speech thanked everyone at Pixar, but left off Pixar’s long time distribution partners and new owner, Disney.
I would say this is less of a faux pas and more of an insight into the very strict line Lasseter is drawing between Pixar and Walt Disney Animation. Marketing and Consumer Products divisions are seldom mentioned in award speechs. At the time ‘Cars’ was made that’s all Disney was to Pixar. The merge came later. Sure, it would have been politic for Lasseter to mention Iger and WDFA. But award winners are only allotted a small amount of time for their speech. So Disney shouldn’t feel bad about not being mentioned.
What it does say is that Lasseter continues to keep a firm distinction between Disney and Pixar’s animated feature divisions. This is a good sign for those who want to see Walt Disney Feature Animation return to traditional hand drawn films.
LaughingPlace.com has a full list of awards won by Disney at the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.’s ceremony last night.