Now go see it, for God's sake.
https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/6/18168997/spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-oscars-golden-globes-2019
https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/6/18168997/spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-oscars-golden-globes-2019
In the history of the Academy Awards — which celebrate their 91st ceremony this February — only three animated movies have ever managed to break into the race for Best Picture: Beauty and the Beast in 1991, Up in 2009, and Toy Story 3 in 2010. As the fervor around it grows, will the buzzy Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse be the next animated film to grab the brass ring?
The fact that animated features have largely been shut out of the Best Picture race has as much to do with the perception of animation as being meant "for kids" — or otherwise not as lofty an art form as its live-action counterpart — and the relatively recent introduction of the Best Animated Feature category in 2001.
Even therein, the category has largely been dominated by Disney and Pixar (only four films have bucked that trend), meaning the cards are stacked against everyone's favorite friendly neighborhood superhero, even before reckoning with the way that summer blockbusters — read: superhero movies — generally fail to come into awards contention.
Spider-Verse's win for Best Animated Feature at the Golden Globes, however, may signal the tide turning in its favor. The win establishes the film as one carrying significant awards season weight, as it beats out Incredibles 2 and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's penchant for Disney's animated films.
The movie has also been building up momentum through word of mouth — Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talkdirector Barry Jenkins is among the film's biggest fans — as well as other not-insignificant wins, including taking Best Picture and Best Animated Feature in the Utah Film Critics Association. The idea that Spider-Verse could snag a Best Picture Oscar nomination seems to be less and less of a distant possibility.
The fact that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has laid out an entirely new blueprint for animated films and the superhero genre is worthy of recognition. As the Academy begins to change as well, taking action to increase diversity and bring fresh blood into the pool, maybe this February will find Spider-Man swinging away not only with a Golden Globe, but with an Oscar as well.
