Ringling College alumni take home Oscars

The 89th Annual Academy Awards highlighted Sarasota talent.

By Nick Friedman
| 2:37 p.m. February 27, 2017

Twenty three Ringling graduates worked on the Oscar-winning "Zootopia."

Arts + Culture

It's no secret that Ringling College of Art and Design is home to some serious film-school talent. At last night's 87th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, this fact was broadcast for millions of viewers, as many of the art college's alumni took home Oscars for their work.

Twenty three Ringling graduates worked with Disney Animation Studios on "Zootopia," which won an Oscar for best animated feature film.

"Zootopia co-directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore and producer Clark Spencer accept an Oscar. Courtesy image.

Patrick Osborne, a 2003 computer animation graduate, also earned a nomination for best animated short for his virtual reality film, "Pearl," the first Academy Award nomination of its kind. Osborne won an Oscar in 2014 for his animated short, "Feast."

“We are consistently amazed with the creativity and achievements of our graduates,” Ringling College President Dr. Larry R. Thompson said in a release. “We applaud their recognition by the Academy last night and congratulate them and all of our graduates who have been honored through the nomination process by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for their mastery in telling powerful and moving visual stories.”

Ringling President Dr. Larry R. Thompson, Actor André Holland, Joseph Restaino and Wey Lin of the Sunscreen Film Festival and Ringling College Studio Lab Producer Tony Stopperan touring Ringling College’s soundstage.

Ringling graduates were also credited in two of the other Oscar-nominated animated feature films this year, including "Kubo" (Michael Berger, Brett Carville, Katie Knudson, Tarun Lak, Onyee Lo, Jarred Love and Carolyn Vale) and "Moana" (Jason Figliozzzi, Jorge Garcia, Michael Stieber, Kendra Vander Vliet, Nara Youn, Ryan DeYoung, Bryan Locantore, Brian Scott, Chris Nabholz, Lauren Albers, Dylan VanWormer and Reece Porter.)

Last year's awards ceremony recognized 13 Ringling graduates, who worked on Pixar Studios' Oscar-winning animated feature "Inside Out," and in 2015, 29 graduates worked on Disney's Oscar-winning "Big Hero 6."

Film producer Adele Romanski, a Pine View High School graduate, also accepted the Oscar for ‘Moonlight,’ which won best picture.