NINE

19905

5 the twentieth century drew to a close, studios continued to release full—length features

as entertainment for all ages. Baby boomers wanted to take their children to the

movies and enjoy “family” entertainment together. Full—length animated films were

revitalized by the Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg team at Disney, whose witty kid—friendly

movies included the Oscar—nominated Beauty and the Beast (1992) and director John Lasseter’s

revolutionary Toy Story (1995). The proliferation of excellent animated films was so pronounced

that the films soon earned their own Academy Award category. Established costume designers like
Joseph Porro were even drafted to design costumes for animated casts, as in Stuart Little (1999).

Yet the 19905 were perhaps most notable for the rising popularity of the independent film.

The mainstream studios first took notice of this trend after the success of Quentin Tarantino’s

Pulp Fiction (1994), which cost $8 million and took in more than $100 million at the US. box

office. By the time of the 1996 Academy Awards race, four of the five best picture nominees were

from independents. The “indies” constituted an industry that ran not so much against Hollywood

OPPOSITE: “I think there‘s no way you can plug characters without liking them. You have to get behind
their eyes and look at the world from their perspective. " —Annette Bening. American Beauty (1999) -
Julie Weiss. costume designer