Three directors made the best films of their careers in 2002 — Todd Haynes, Hayao Miyazaki and Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund. Well, that's four directors, but between them, they made three movies ...
In addition, Peter Jackson reached the midpoint in his mammoth Lord of the Rings trilogy. And some guy named Steven Spielberg made not one but two really good movies.
Lots to choose from.
I went with Miyazaki because the only person who plausibly rivals him for the title of history's greatest animator is Walt Disney. No Miyazaki, no Japanese anime, at least not on this side of the Pacific.
By the way, here's one of my favorite quotes from the late great Roger Ebert about animation generally and Miyazaki specifically:
"Already I have heard from a few people who don't want to see it "because it's Japanese." This is solid-gold ignorance. "Is it only dubbed?" I was asked. You dummy! All animated films are dubbed! Little Nemo can’t really speak!"
The man was a genius. Miss him every Friday ...
My choices are noted with a ★. A tie is indicated with a ✪. Historical Oscar winners are noted with a ✔. Best foreign-language picture winners are noted with an ƒ. Best animated feature winners are noted with an @. A historical winner who won in a different category is noted with a ✱.
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)
Named for Katie-Bar-The-Door, the Katies are "alternate Oscars"—who should have been nominated, who should have won—but really they're just an excuse to write a history of the movies from the Silent Era to the present day.
To see a list of nominees and winners by decade, as well as links to my essays about them, click the highlighted links:
Remember: There are no wrong answers, only movies you haven't seen yet.
The Silent Oscars
And don't forget to check out the Silent Oscars—my year-by-year choices for best picture, director and all four acting categories for the pre-Oscar years, 1902-1927.
Look at me—Joe College, with a touch of arthritis. Are my eyes really brown? Uh, no, they're green. Would we have the nerve to dive into the icy water and save a person from drowning? That's a key question. I, of course, can't swim, so I never have to face it. Say, haven't you anything better to do than to keep popping in here early every morning and asking a lot of fool questions?
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