Animated movies were in the firing line (again) at this year's Oscars, but Spider-Verse's Chris Miller has the perfect response

Animation was the butt of the joke at this year's Oscars ceremony, but one high-profile director/producer had the perfect response to the poorly received joke from host Jimmy Kimmel. 

Chris Miller, who produced Best Animated Feature nominee Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, tweeted, "Animation is not a genre for children it is a medium for people and that medium is film. Just a reminder a propos of nothing."

The post came after Kimmel introduced the Best Animated Feature category by saying, "Please raise your hand if you let your kid fill out this part of the ballot." Animation fans and filmmakers have long fought back against the dismissive assumptions that the genre is just for kids and not worth the same critical acclaim as live-action, so this joke didn't quite land for viewers. 

This year's Best Animated Feature winner was The Boy and the Heron, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, making it the legendary Japanese director's second Oscar win since Spirited Away took home the gong in 2003. Alongside Across the Spider-Verse, the Studio Ghibli film's fellow nominees included Pixar's Elemental, Netflix's Nimona, and Robot Dreams. 

As well as producing the Spider-Verse movies, Miller and his frequent collaborator Phil Lord are also known for directing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and The Lego Movie and producing The Mitchells vs. the Machines and The Lego Batman Movie. 

Elsewhere at this year's ceremony, Oppenheimer won big with seven awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Christopher Nolan, and Best Actor for star Cillian Murphy.

For more on the Oscars 2024, check out our guide to the full list of winners and our recap of the ceremony.