Globes 'toon' up

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. has 'tooned up its awards, nominating three movies in its inaugural animated feature film race.

The toe-tapping penguins of "Happy Feet," the revved-up vehicles in "Cars" and the spooked suburban neighbors of "Monster House" were each cited in the 64th annual Golden Globe nominations announced Thursday.

For the most part, animation industry veterans delighted in the new Golden Globes recognition. However, some expressed disappointment that only three films, rather than five as in other categories, had been nominated.

"I don't know why there aren't more animated films nominated, as there were so many released this year," said George Miller, director of "Happy Feet."

Nonetheless, he said, he was "thrilled" to see his movie get a nod. "I've been so busy working that the only animated films I've seen are 'Cars' and 'Monster House,' which is funny, come to think of it - I'm thrilled to be nominated with them."

John Lasseter, director of "Cars," said he was also pleased for animation's recognition: "Just to establish the animated film category is phenomenal, and then on top of that to be nominated - it's fantastic."

"Monster House" director Gil Kenan noted that the creation of a new Golden Globes category for animation embraces a host of filmmakers that previously went unrecognized.

"The time has come when it feels like animation is not going away anytime soon," Kenan said. "There were a record number of animated films this year. So anything where the hard work of animation gets recognized is welcomed. It takes so many people so many years to make an animated film that the Golden Globe recognition is a real shot in the arm for hundreds of animators to have their projects recognized."

Bonnie Arnold, producer on 1995's "Toy Story," and a hopeful as producer on Dreamworks Animation's "Over the Hedge" this year, observed that the new Golden Globe category reflects that animation has slowly grown into a legitimate field over the past decade.

"Unfortunately for me and my crew 'Over the Hedge' didn't make it," Arnold said. "But I'm excited that animation is becoming more recognized in terms of industry awareness. I think as family films grow even wider in appeal, more people are able to see the artistry, work and creative effort that legitimizes animated films as real movies not just cartoons."

One animation executive from a studio not represented in the race, who declined to be named for fear of hurting his film's chances in other awards races, observed that having only three Golden Globes nominations made the new animation heat a sub-category amid broader races.

In previous Golden Globes races, animated films occasionally have competed alongside live action films in the best comedy/musical category.

"All the other categories have five nominees and it's not like they didn't have enough animated films to choose from this year," he said. "It almost makes me wish there wasn't an animated category at all so that 'Happy Feet' would have been recognized in the best comedy/musical category it deserved."

Yair Landau, president Sony Pictures Digital the studio behind "Monster House," noted that while limited to three nominees, the picks still reflected the diversity of storytelling that exists in the animation industry.

"There are a lot of different kinds of stories that can be told in animation," Landau said. "The global audience is receptive to lots of styles and stories - all three nominees are indicative of that, from the ways in which they're made to the stories they express."