Press Releases

Will a CalArts alum win Oscar # 13 for Best Animated Feature?

Will a CalArts alum win Oscar # 13 for Best Animated Feature?
Co-directed by CalArts alum Sergio Pablos, Klaus is poised to be the 13th film directed by a “Calartian” to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Animated Feature.
Copyright: © 2019 Netflix US, LLC. All rights reserved.  Click here for high rez photo.

Animated Features Directed by CalArts alums: One 2019 Oscar Nomination for Klaus, 12 Academy Awards, More Than $48.825 Billion in Box Office Grosses

Click here for infographic charting box office returns generated by CalArts alumni-directed animated features

Read about CalArts and Oscar nominations in Deadline Hollywood

Valencia, CA, January 13—Since the category of Best Animated Feature was introduced in 2001, 12 of the winning films were directed by alumni of California Institute of the Arts’s (CalArts) renowned animation programs—with the last 7 consecutive Animated Features Oscars going to “CalArtians.”  This year, Netflix’s Oscar nominated Klaus is directed by CalArts alumnus Sergio Pablos.  

New box office totals: Contributing to the creative economy, animated features directed by CalArts alumni have generated more than $48.8.25 billion dollars in returns between 1985 and 2019.

Past Academy Awards recipients: Last year, CalArts alum Bob Persichetti co-directed Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Earlier Oscar-winning films from alumni directors include The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007) directed by Brad BirdFinding Nemo (2003) and Wall-E (2008) by Andrew StantonBrave (2012) by alumni duo Mark Andrews and Brenda ChapmanUp (2009) by Pete DocterFrozen by alumnus Chris Buck with Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho; Inside Out (2015) by Pete Docter with Jonas Rivers, and Zootopia (2016) by alumnus Rich Moore with Byron Howard and Clark Spencer; and Coco (2017), co-directed by first-time feature director and CalArts graduate Adrian Molina and Lee Unkrich. (Alums are indicated in bold.)

The backstory: Founded by Walt Disney, CalArts’s Experimental and Character Animation programs are unrivaled in the world—educating successive generations of filmmakers who define the industry. Click here for more information about prominent alumni of the Character and Experimental Animation Programs.

MORE CalArts alumni nominated for Oscars: Ford vs Ferrari, directed by CalArts alum James Mangold, received for four Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. In the category of Best Animated Short, alum Siqi Song directed Sister and alum Bruce W. Smith, with Matthew A Cherry, and Everett Downing, directed Hair Love.