Academy Awards honors Asians

RYAN POTTER STARS IN “BIG HERO 6” — Ryan Potter plays child-genius Hiro Hamada in Disney’s latest animated film, “Big Hero 6.” Courtesy of Piccolo PR / ©2014 Disney. All Rights Reserved

Tom Cross, who is Vietnamese American, received an Oscar for his film editing on “Whiplash,” the story of a young drummer at a cut-throat music conservatory.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The 2015 Academy Awards, held Feb. 22 at Hollywood, Calif.’s Dolby Theater, included a few wins for Asians in film and animation.

Disney’s “Big Hero 6” won the award for best animated feature film. The film, directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams and produced by Roy Conli, features Disney’s first mixed race lead for an animation feature. The lead character Hiro Hamada is a mixed race superhero voiced by mixed-race Japanese American actor Ryan Potter. Hall spoke about his childhood dreams of working for Disney and thanked his family and coworkers in his speech.

Actress Viola Davis presented a clip honoring the recipients of the honorary Oscars from last year’s Governor’s Award  ceremony held in November. Among the honorees was Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. Davis pronounced Miyazaki’s name as “Ahayo Miyayazaki.”

In memoriam, the Academy honored actor James Shigeta and animator and director Jimmy Teruaki Murakami. Shigeta was known for his role in film and TV such as his role as Wang Ta in “Flower Drum Song.” Murakami was known for his work on “The Snowman.”