Cartoons are just for kids, right? I mean, that’s what we’ve heard, what we’ve always been told. Cartoons and animation in general is something we are expected to grow out of, something we’re suppose to lose interest in and move on to more “adult” pastimes. Like taxes and buying kitchenware.

Despite this, I seem to have gone in the opposite direction. Over the years my interest in animation itself as an art form has continued to grow, along with the level of awareness of how the world views animation. The results are proving to be a bit troubling.

It is something you can take your younger siblings to, but grants you weird looks if you try to convince your friends to tag along to see DreamWorks newest release. Embarrassment when you flip the channel to Cartoon Network. Even if it’s just to study color theory and examine the use of the squash and stretch for Art 246. Viewers, adults especially, seem to skim past the tremendous amount of hard work and skill required in all facets of animation from concept art, to thumbnails, to a finished film.

It just seems that the majority of today’s film consumers are, or at least should be, vastly more educated and interested in animation. Enough to notice the disregard of actual quality and art, instead choosing to focus on the name behind the movie. Mainstream awards fail to recognize – or even nominate – other films because their minimal viewpoint of animation.

The Disney/Pixar film “Big Hero Six” won at the Oscars as Best Animated Feature, and I saw no reason why it shouldn’t have won. The plot was compelling, themes touching and powerful, characters fleshed out, world-building interesting, and the animation was well-done. Something, however, caught my attention, after this win: The majority of Disney films are good, but considered intrinsically the best at producing animated films for a decade?

No corporation has dominated an Oscar’s category like Disney/Pixar has dominated the Animated Feature category. Personally, I believe the majority of this is caused by voters not taking the Animation category seriously and shrugging it off. They areabstaining from voting rather than, in their mindset, wasting their time watching “stuff for kids.” The Academy continues with its limited viewpoint on animated art, a lack of respect for the art form and the practice of engaging in “blind-voting” patterns. When it comes down to the quick of things, the result is individuals with little to none experience or education when it comes to working animation handing out high-profile awards to the movies that their children liked, heard the most about, or has any prominent, recognizable company name plastered to the front.

Artists, as individuals and a community, need to encourage the Academy to make changes to its process.  A start would be having the Oscar voters actually watch and choose the animated film that seems the best to win.

When the same is honored year after year just at name value instead of the quality of their productions, it creates a slump in the animation industry. There is no growth. As long as the Oscars remain a prestigious platform for animated films, we must hold the Academy up to that standard as well.

This isn’t about making another company other than Disney/Pixar come out on top, but rather making sure that whoever wins, the voting was on equal, educated grounds. In the end. it’s about rooting for the art form itself and wanting to see the most deserving film get what it has rightfully earned.