Q: Considering the Oscars® just happened, I have an appropriate question. I have searched and searched but can’t locate the source of the following: I read somewhere that Disney was so upset at the Academy for refusing to consider Fantasia worthy of a Best Picture nomination that he pulled all his cartoon shorts from consideration for the 1940 Best Cartoon awards. Indeed, not a single Disney cartoon was nominated for 1940, this after Disney dominated the category the first eight years prior and, skipping 1940, the two years following, winning every time. So what he did would explain the total absence of his work from the 1940 awards. Is this true?
Michael, Irvine, California
A: I cannot imagine that this is true. By 1940, Academy voters had become accustomed to Walt Disney winning the Best Cartoon Oscars each year, so perhaps they felt others should be given a chance. In fact, by then, many of the other studios had improved their cartoon-making capabilities so much that they had some films that would give Walt Disney some definite competition. The winner at the 1941 ceremony was former Disney animator Rudolf Ising’s The Milky Way for MGM.
Dave Smith