Disney's "Paperman" and "Brave" win Academy Awards
"Disney's "Paperman," a tale of a young office worker trying to woo the girl of his dreams from an adjacent skyscraper, won the Oscar for animated short on Sunday night.
Director John Kahrs accepted the award, which represents his first Academy Award win and nomination.
"Paperman" screened in theaters alongside "Wreck-It Ralph," itself a nominee for animated feature.
The 7-minute black-and-white romance was one of two shorts backed by a major studio this year.
The other was Fox's "Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare,'" which follows the youngest member of the Simpson clan through a day of misadventures.
That film was directed by David Silverman, who has helmed many episodes of the hit TV show "The Simpsons" as well as 2007's "The Simpsons Movie."
In addition to "The Longest Daycare," "Paperman" beat out "Adam and Dog," a tale of the world's first man and dog befriending each other in the Garden of Eden; "Fresh Guacamole," a surreal stop-motion film in which household objects are sliced and diced into the eponymous green dip; and "Head Over Heels," a tale of a marriage literally turned upside-down (the husband lives on the floor, the wife on the ceiling).
"Paperman" also won the equivalent Annie Award on Feb. 2.
The 85th Academy Awards are being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday night, in a televised ceremony hosted by Seth MacFarlane."
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""Brave," the story of a rebellious, red-headed princess, won the Oscar on Sunday for Best Animated Feature.
The fairy tale from Disney's Pixar studio is set in the ancient Scottish highlands and centers around horseback-riding teen Princess Merida, who defies her mother, breaks with tradition and does her own thing.
When a witch grants Merida an ill-fated wish and turns her mother into a bear, the girl must gather all her resources to bring her family back together.
Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, "Brave" was a departure for Pixar because it was the studio's first film to feature a strong female as the lead character.
The film also had a scarier feel than many of Pixar's previous movies, which include "Toy Story" and "Cars."
During its 17-year history making films, Pixar has shown a knack for both making hit movies and winning Oscars.
The win for "Brave" gave Pixar its 7th Best Animated Feature Oscar since the category was first introduced at the Academy Awards in 2001.
Eight years in the making, "Brave" involved two research trips to Scotland where the creative team studied Celtic mythology.
Merida was voiced by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald.
Chapman was the first woman to direct a Pixar feature, but she was replaced by Andrews in 2010 due to creative differences."
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