Golden Globes Tweaks Animation Rules

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has revised the eligibility rules in the animation category — and replaced “miniseries” with “limited series” — for the 2015 edition of the Golden Globe Awards. The announcement was made by HFPA president Theo Kingma, who explained that member committees dealing with the TV and movie nominations, as well as those who tot up the eligible projects each year, went over different sets of rules to compile a comprehensive document for the first time.

Kingma told The Hollywood Reporter that defining what qualifies an “animated” film was a top priority. The committees resolved that the film under consideration must be at least 75 percent animated, “where the work is done by an animator or through hand-drawings or stop-motion or pixelation.” The new definition excludes full or partially motion-capture flicks like The Polar Express and Avatar.

HFPA also loosened animated movie submission requirements for foreign films, allowing entries in all languages even without a U.S. release as long as the film has played in its home country. However, now that they are eligible for the animation category, foreign language toons will no longer be accepted in the foreign film race.