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The 87th Academy Awards: Animation Nominees React

Oscar nominees for Best Animated Feature and Best Animated Short at the 87th Academy Awards write and call in with their reactions.

Following this morning’s announcement of the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards, animation nominees have been writing and phoning in with their reactions.

See below for statements from nominees such as Big Hero 6 directors Don Hall and Chris Williams, Princess Kaguya director Isao Takahata, Song of the Sea director Tomm Moore, and more.

Disney’s Big Hero 6

As kids growing up in Canada and Iowa, Chris and I both dreamt of becoming Disney animators. Never could we have imagined that, one day, we would get to make a film like Big Hero 6, and that one day, the film and all of the talented artists who made it would be recognized by the Academy. Roy, Chris and I are deeply honored by the nomination and thank everyone at Disney Animation who made this possible.

-- Big Hero 6 director Don Hall, on behalf of Chris Williams and Roy Conli

LAIKA’s The Boxtrolls (distributed by Focus Features)

One word -- HONORED! We are honored and humbled to accept this nomination in recognition of our amazingly talented cast and crew - the artists, actors, craftspeople, and freaks who brought The Boxtrolls to life. We are eternally grateful to them and to our fearless leaders, producers Travis Knight and David Bleiman Ichioka, for making it all possible. Thank you so much, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, for including us in this great list of nominees! We would be thrilled to sit in the dark and clap for any one of them.

-- Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable, directors of The Boxtrolls

What an odd and lovely way to greet the day. I’m overjoyed that the Academy has honored us with this nomination. Cobbled together over well-nigh a decade, The Boxtrolls was a labor of unwavering love crafted one frame at a time by a superb community of actors, artists, mad geniuses, steely-eyed pragmatists, and starry-eyed dreamers. I'm so pleased with the recognition of their artistry. It shows that original stories are valued, along with the weird people who make them.

-- Travis Knight, producer, The Boxtrolls

DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon 2

When you work in animation, a moment like this only comes around about once every four years, and the anticipation leading up to this morning is like Christmas Eve all over again…not being able to sleep, having lucid dreams!   And then when you hear your film called out - by JJ Abrams no less - it just doesn't get any better.   Thank you, Academy!    I'm so honored to be in the company of such a talented group of nominees and so very proud our entire cast and the over 400 artists at DreamWorks Animation who made all of this possible.

-- Dean DeBlois, writer & director of How to Train Your Dragon 2

I could not be more thrilled for our artists by this recognition from the Academy and just so proud of our fearless leader, writer / director Dean DeBlois.    There is a great line from the script that Cate Blanchett's character says to Hiccup:  'You have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon.'  The same can be said of our entire cast and crew.   They are the soul of this movie and we could not have gotten this far without each and every one of them; they make my job such a pleasure!

-- Bonnie Arnold, producer, How to Train Your Dragon 2

Cartoon Saloon’s Song of the Sea (distributed by GKIDS)

It was really just a pleasant surprise, we didn’t think that both the GKIDS films would get nominated and I personally thought that Princess Kaguya was such a beautiful film that it was sure to get a nomination. So the fact that we got nominated alongside a masterpiece like that, and all the other great nominations, is just amazing to me. The other films on the list are really fantastic as well, so it’s just great.

-- Tomm Moore, director, Song of the Sea

Studio Ghibli’s The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (distributed by GKIDS)

We are deeply honored that the Academy has chosen to nominate ‘The Tale of The Princess Kaguya’ for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of the Academy.  I thank everyone who has contributed to the film’s success in US as well as those who saw the film and gave it high recognition. I also thank the many people who worked on this film.

-- Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli co-founder and director of The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

The Bigger Picture by Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees

We had an amazing run of festival selections and awards last year and to start 2015 with a BAFTA and now an Oscar nomination is fantastic. The team put so much work into achieving The Bigger Picture so it is great to see the film being enjoyed by so many audiences, including the academy members. We're very proud of what we have achieved so far and we'll luck forward to the ceremony in February.

-- Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees

The Dam Keeper by Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi

On behalf of the crew of ‘The Dam Keeper,’ thank you to the Academy! Making ‘The Dam Keeper’ has already been such a rewarding experience. Being nominated is beyond our wildest filmmaking dreams. We are humbled to be in the company of such great films and thankful to be able to share our love for filmmaking with our follow nominees and this amazing community of filmmakers.

-- Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi

Feast by Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed

In a year with so many beautiful animated shorts, we are surprised, humbled, thrilled to be included among the nominees by the Academy. Making “Feast" alongside my favorite artists and best friends at Disney Animation was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is their hard work and talent that made the film what it is and I am so excited to share this nomination with them.

-- Patrick Osborne, director of Feast

A Single Life by Marieke Blaauw, Job Roggeveen and Joris Oprins

We are very proud our film has been nominated. We think that 'A Single Life,' with its two-minute length, must be the shortest film ever to have been nominated for an Academy Award. We hope our film will entertain and inspire many people.

-- Job, Marieke & Joris

Me and My Moulton by Torill Kove (produced by The National Film Board of Canada)

I am so thrilled about this nomination and I really look forward to meeting the four other nominees. I feel honored to be on the same list as them!

-- Torill Kove, director of Me and My Moulton

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.