Two California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) alumni went home with a shiny gold award Sunday night following the Golden Globe Awards.
Directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore, who both graduated from CalArts in 1987 with degrees in Film/Video, won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Motion Picture for their work on “Zootopia.”
“We wanted ‘Zootopia’ to be a film that not only entertained kids, but also spoke to adults about embracing diversity even when there are people in the world who want to divide us by using fear,” Howard said in his acceptance speech.
The film, which took five years and 800 people to create, tells the story of an investigation of a rookie bunny cop and a con-artist fox as they work together to solve a mystery in their city of anthropomorphic animals.
“Zootopia” was praised for its message of diversity and its ability to address topics of racism and prejudice through animation.
“And on top of all that we still managed to fit in a joke about a sloth working at the DMV and that, my friends, is a big victory for all of us,” Moore joked in his acceptance speech.
Prior to winning the Golden Globe, “Zootopia” won 20 other awards for excellence in animation including the Critic’s Choice Award for Best Animated Feature and the American Film Institute (AFI) Award for Movie of the Year.
Howard and Moore were among five CalArts alumni nominated for Golden Globes by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
CalArts alumnus and Director John Musker was nominated for his work on “Moana,” and alumni and producers Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst were nominated for their work on “Transparent.”
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