Congratulations Disney and Pixar Oscar Winners

Congratulations to the Disney and Pixar Oscar Winners:

• Toy Story 3 for Best Animated Feature. Lee Unkrich
• Toy Story 3 for Best Original Song. “We Belong Together” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• Alice in Wonderland for Best Art Direction. Robert Stromberg (Production Design); Karen O’Hara (Set Decoration)
• Alice in Wonderland for Best Costume Design. Colleen Atwood

Congratulations to Disney and Pixar for their well deserved Academy Awards. When a film like Alice in Wonderland, which was quasi-animated, wins for Best Art Direction, you can imagine a time in the future when enough members of the academy appreciate the skill and talent it takes into making an animated feature that one might actually win. Alas that day is not today.

There was no way Toy Story 3 was going to win for Best Picture. The King’s Speech, which was the big winner of the night, took that honor. But you can chalk up Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. That the academy didn’t penalize Disney for having two songs in that category is nice, also nice is that they gave the oft-nominated but infrequently honored Randy Newman a second gold statuette. Now he has bookends.

I only watched the last hour and a half of the Oscars, which proved that ABC certainly knows how to program commercials. Unfortunately, the team behind the awards ceremony itself still hasn’t figured out the formula for an entertaining evening. I’ve enjoyed longer prior ceremonies that, while longer on the clock, where much funnier and moving. The way they’ve murdered the best songs segment is criminal and I’m a firm believer that except for the opening segment and a few quips here and there, there host and/or hostess is doing their job best when they are unseen. And sadly, with ill-thought out segments (Bob Hope anyone?) The show this year risked become a farce of itself at times.

Did you watch? And if so, did you enjoy the Oscars?