ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
March 25, 2002
An Ogre Wins an Oscar!
Shrek is awarded the first-ever Oscar for best animated movie
 Shrek takes top honors. |
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The tale of a grumpy green ogre, a talking donkey and the beautiful princess they are trying to rescue won the top prize in animated moviemaking Sunday night. Shrek made history when it was awarded the first-ever Oscar for best animated feature film at the 74th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California.
The Academy Awards honor the best in moviemaking. Winning an Oscar, a golden statue handed out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences every year, is considered the highest honor for moviemakers, actors and actresses.
|  Halle Berry and Denzel Washington pose with their Oscar trophies. |
A First for African American Actors
African American actors also made history last night, winning for the first time ever in both the best actor and best actress categories. Halle Berry became the first African American actress to earn an Academy Award in a lead role. Denzel Washington became the second African American to win best actor. Sidney Poitier was the first African American to win an Oscar for best actor in 1963. On Sunday night, he was honored again with a career-achievement award.
Lord Casts a Ring Around the Oscars
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring led the Oscars with 13 nominations but failed to win best picture. The movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien's first fantasy tale won awards for best score (or musical work), best cinematography (or movie photography), best visual effects and best makeup.
|  Though it didn't capture the Oscar, Monsters Inc. was a monster hit with moviegoers. |
Animation Mania
Shrek beat out Monsters Inc. and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius for the first animated movie prize. "Thank you, members of the academy for inviting us to the party by creating this animated category to begin with," said Aron Warner, Shrek’s producer. Monsters Inc. did win another award. Songwriter Randy Newman was honored with an Oscar for best song for the tune "If I Didn't Have You," which was featured in Monsters Inc.
Shrek, a classic fairy tale with a funny twist, was one of last year's most popular movies. It earned nearly $268 million in the United States and millions more on home video. The movie stars Mike Myers as the voice of Shrek, Eddie Murphy as a talkative Donkey and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona. John Lithgow also stars as the voice of tiny villain in the movie, Lord Farquaad. A sequel to Shrek, or follow-up movie, is already in the works.
Hollywood Remembers September 11
The awards show was the longest in Oscar history. It lasted 4 hours and 23 minutes! At the beginning of the show, actor Tom Cruise took a moment to remember the September 11 terrorist attacks. Later in the show, a tribute to movies filmed in New York City was shown as a way to remember and honor the victims and survivors of the World Trade Center attacks.
