CalArtian-studded films are having a moment this awards season, scoring nominations for Best Animated Feature at both the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards and the 80th Golden Globe Awards.
At the Critics Choice, three of five nominees for Best Animated Feature boast CalArtian credits:
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was directed by Joel Crawford (Film/Video BFA 06). In the film, the Shrek franchise’s beloved feline outlaw Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) worries that he’s burned through eight lives already. He embarks on a journey to find the mythical Last Wish and reset the counter to nine.
- Wendell & Wild was directed by Henry Selick (Film/Video MFA 77). The film stars Key & Peele’s Keegan-Michael Key as Wendell and Jordan Peele as Wild, two demonic brothers summoned from the underworld. Lyric Ross, as Kat Elliot, plays a teen girl residing in a rundown town and attending a Catholic school—complete with a demon-expelling nun known as Sister Helly and her terrifying altar boys. (More about Wendell & Wild at 24700.)
- Dean Fleischer-Camp’s Marcel the Shell with Shoes On boast a number of CalArtians on its production team, including School of Film/Video faculty Stephen Chiodo as supervising animation director; Kirsten Lepore (Film/Video MFA 12) as animation director; School of Film/Video faculty Kangmin Kim (Film/Video BFA 09, MFA 11) as an animator, and GeHuang (Film/Video BFA 18) as an assistant animator.
In the film, documentary filmmaker Dean moves into an Airbnb as his marriage dissolves. There, he meets Marcel (Jenny Slate), a precocious one-inch tall shell and one of only two remaining residents of his community. All of Marcel’s other neighbors have mysteriously disappeared. The short film Dean posts online catapults Marcel to stardom and inspires him to find his family.
See the full list of nominees at the Critics Choice Awards’ official site. The awards ceremony will be broadcast live on Jan. 15, 2023, on The CW.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and Puss in Boots also received Best Motion Picture – Animated nods at the Golden Globes, which airs on Jan. 10, 2023, on NBC. Find the full list of nominees at the Golden Globes’ official site.
