The Katie-Bar-The-Door Awards (1988)

A great year for Japanese anime. In fact, I think the two best pictures of the year were both animated features from Japan—Grave of the Fireflies, Isao Takahata's wrenching story of a brother and sister orphaned by the Allies' relentless fire bombing at the tail end of World War II; and on the other end of the emotional spectrum, Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro, a magical tale about a girl and her not-so-imaginary imaginary friend.

If you don't know Miyazaki's work, you've really shortchanged yourself. His film Spirited Away deservedly won the first Oscar for best animated feature back when that category was introduced in 2002. In addition to Totoro and Spirited Away, check out any of the following: Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Porco Rosso, Ponyo ... actually, it's a pretty long list. You really can't go wrong with any Miyazaki.

It was also a great year for comedy—we got Bull Durham, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beetlejuice, The Naked Gun, Big and my pick, A Fish Called Wanda. All of them are better than any film I have penciled in for best drama.

PICTURE (Drama)
winner: Dangerous Liaisons (prod. Norma Heyman and Hank Moonjean)

PICTURE (Comedy/Musical)
winner: A Fish Called Wanda (prod. Michael Shamberg)

PICTURE (Foreign Language)
winner: Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro) (prod. Toru Hara)

ACTOR (Drama)
winner: Jeremy Irons (Dead Ringers)

ACTOR (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Tom Hanks (Big)

ACTRESS (Drama)
winner: Jodie Foster (The Accused)

ACTRESS (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Jamie Lee Curtis (A Fish Called Wanda)

DIRECTOR (Drama)
winner: Isao Takahata (Hotaru no haka a.k.a. Grave Of The Fireflies)

DIRECTOR (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Hayao Miyazaki (Tonari no Totoro a.k.a. My Neighbor Totoro)

SUPPORTING ACTOR
winner: Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
winner: Lena Olin (The Unbearable Lightness of Being

SCREENPLAY
winner: Ron Shelton (Bull Durham)