Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invites a selection of film artists to become Academy members in craft-specific branches. Here we meet four TAG members who were inducted
into the Animation Branch in 2025.
Neysa Bové
Head of Costume Design
In the realm of wishful thinking, Neysa Bové says that she would have loved to collaborate with legendary Costume Designer Edith Head on the Oscar-winning movie Sabrina, “designing the exquisite wardrobe that follows Sabrina’s evolution from a chauffeur’s daughter to a chic, Parisian-inspired young woman.”
A passion for costume design has driven Bové’s career, which includes Moana and Encanto. It has also led to an Academy milestone—with Bové’s Academy membership, costume design is being honored in the Animation Branch for the first time. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see years of hard work and risk-taking recognized alongside such talented peers,” she says.
If the Academy were to expand its animation categories, Bové thinks they should reflect those in live-action movies: “Every department contributes immense artistry. In costume design, for example, we don’t get anything for free; every stitch, button, fabric, textile is created from scratch. It would be wonderful to see that level of craftsmanship recognized.”
Ricardo Delgado
Visual Development Artist/Story Artist
Being invited to join the Academy was a family affair for Ricardo Delgado. “Mostly I was happy for my parents, who were immigrants, working hard to raise us kids in a new country… This was for them,” he says. It was also for his grown children so they could “see their dad look kinda cool for a change.”
Delgado has numerous films under his belt, from The Emperor’s New Groove to How to Train Your Dragon, and if he could choose an Academy Award-winning movie to have worked on, Disney’s Fantasia is at the top of the list. “I would have loved to help develop the picture visually,” he says, noting the use of multiple storylines and a wide variety of styles. “[It’s] truly a terrific example of what an art film can be capable of in animation.”
When it comes to an animation category Delgado would like to see added to the Oscars, he says: “Perhaps it’s time that the directors also get the accolades that their live-action peers receive.” He notes iconic shots and sequences in animation, “like the amazing upside-down Spidey shot in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse or the sweeping ballroom shot in Beauty and the Beast. There’s terrific direction in all of these films.”
Heidi Jo Gilbert
Head of Story
Calling her Academy membership “a long-time dream come true,” Heidi Jo Gilbert also considers it an honor because she was recommended by Directors Joel Crawford and Chris Sanders. “They have been my closest mentors,” she says. “To have their support and vote of confidence meant the world to me.”
Gilbert built a career on DreamWorks’ films like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and The Wild Robot that blend CG and traditional techniques. “I love hand-drawn animation so much,” she says, adding that if she could have worked on an Oscar-winning movie from the past, it would be a Disney Renaissance film like Beauty and the Beast.
Overall, Gilbert would love to see more knowledge, curiosity, and respect for the medium and how these films are made at the Oscars. As for a specific award, she notes how different animation writing is from live action, with collaboration between the Head of Story and the entire story team throughout the filmmaking process. “I wish they shared in the honor,” she adds, “when the story they helped to create is being recognized.”
Cinzia Angelini
Director
Since joining the Academy, Cinzia Angelini says that every Academy event brings her joy: “The invitation to become part of the Academy is one of the brightest highlights of my career.”
Angelini also has Animator and Story Artist credits that range from Meet the Robinsons to Minions, and she says she feels honored and humbled to be included in the Academy’s “prestigious group of talented filmmakers.” She would love to see the Oscars expand to include a category for independent feature filmmakers. “It was great to witness the incredible success that Flow had last year,” she says, “but I feel that many more independent films deserve a chance to compete and be recognized.”
When reflecting on what Oscar-winning movie she would have liked to work on, she chooses Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. “It’s a film that totally changed the industry,” she says. “Artists have been pushing for years to allow animation to expand in so many different directions, but it was always hard, if not impossible, to break that wall. Spider-Verse didn’t just crack the wall—it demolished it.”
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