All of us have grown up with cartoons that greatly impact us. Educational cartoons, animations about love, friendship, growth, nature, all impacting those of all ages in so many beautiful ways. And yet, despite this deep impact cartoons and animations have, the vast majority of both viewers and judges alike deem the medium of animation as a lesser art form compared to say paintings or film, and it is very blatant.

In fact in awards for films of every medium like the Oscars, this idea of animation being disregarded is clear as day, as journalist Amid Amidi would put it “participants have shown a dismissive attitude toward animation, but more than mere attitude, they’ve also shown themselves uniquely unqualified to judge animated filmmaking, often expressing contempt for the art form and viewing it as a lesser craft than what they produce in live action.” Showing that those organizing this national event doesn’t even care enough about the subject to make sure only those that have greatly researched the art form judges contesting pieces like they do with musicals or live action movies. This view of it being a ‘lesser craft’ to live action ignores all that the medium stands for and what could be done with it but none of the judges see that, and it speaks volumes for the overall viewpoint of this art form and how little everyone really cares.

Even going off of the winners of previous years proves this point further. The Boss Baby, a movie admitted to be made off of a corporate joke with no passion put into it wins over a movie telling the struggles of a young girl living in Afghanistan and having to pretend to be a boy to earn money for her family because her father was arrested for teaching women how to read. A beautiful and passionately written story giving a voice to those with none is silenced in the presence of a box office win made by a studio notorious for not caring about their own animated films. Further expressing how the only 'value' that is seen in the eyes of the public is the amount earned in the box office, even if it means to disregard other films that better understand what the medium is built for.

So many beautiful and touching projects have come from this medium have gotten ignored because of this blatant hate for the art form. This preference for profit over message have made animations like Song of the Sea, The Little Prince, Wolf Children, The Breadwinner, and hundreds more be deemed nothing more than pointless children's movies that underperformed and failed at their only task despite their message voice and artistic wins. The animation industry is being torn apart by the very people that grew up being nurtured and taught by it, and the Oscars only enables its abuse.