Animated movies were in the firing line (again) at this year’s Oscars, but Spider-Verse’s Chris Miller has the perfect response

Across the Spider-Verse’s producer responds to Jimmy Kimmel’s animation joke

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Animation was the butt of the joke at this year’s Oscars ceremony, but one high-profile director/producer had the perfect response to the poorly received joke from host Jimmy Kimmel.

Chris Miller, who produced Best Animated Feature nominee Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,tweeted, “Animation is not a genre for children it is a medium for people and that medium is film. Just a reminder a propos of nothing.”

The post came after Kimmel introduced the Best Animated Feature category by saying, “Please raise your hand if you let your kid fill out this part of the ballot.” Animation fans and filmmakers have long fought back against the dismissive assumptions that the genre is just for kids and not worth the same critical acclaim as live-action, so this joke didn’t quite land for viewers.

This year’s Best Animated Feature winner wasThe Boy and the Heron, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, making it the legendary Japanese director’s second Oscar win sinceSpirited Awaytook home the gong in 2003. Alongside Across the Spider-Verse, the Studio Ghibli film’s fellow nominees includedPixar’sElemental, Netflix’s Nimona, and Robot Dreams.

As well as producing the Spider-Verse movies, Miller and his frequent collaborator Phil Lord are also known for directingCloudy with a Chance of MeatballsandThe Lego Movieand producingThe Mitchells vs. the MachinesandThe Lego Batman Movie.

Elsewhere at this year’s ceremony,Oppenheimerwon big with seven awards, includingBest Picture,Best Director for Christopher Nolan, andBest Actor for star Cillian Murphy.

For more on theOscars 2024, check out our guide tothe full list of winnersandour recap of the ceremony.

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I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.

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