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Evergreen alum gets Oscar for ‘Zootopia’

Byron Howard, from left, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer pose in the press room with the Oscar for best animated feature for “Zootopia” at the Academy Awards on Sundayat the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Byron Howard, from left, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer pose in the press room with the Oscar for best animated feature for “Zootopia” at the Academy Awards on Sundayat the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Evergreen alumnus Byron Howard, co-director of “Zootopia,” has an Oscar to add to his Golden Globe.

The Disney film was named Best Animated Feature at Sunday’s Academy Awards.

“We are so grateful to the audiences all over the world that embraced this film with this story of tolerance being more powerful than fear of the other,” said Zootopia co-director Rich Moore.

“Zootopia” was the fourth-highest grossing film of 2016.

Howard grew up in Issaquah and studied storytelling through literature and film at Evergreen. He graduated from the Olympia college in 1990 and has worked as a Disney animator for more than 20 years.

“We wanted ‘Zootopia’ to be a film that not only entertained kids, but also spoke to adults about embracing diversity even when there are people in the world who want to divide us by using fear,” Howard said in his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, where it won Best Animated Motion Picture.

Lisa Pemberton contributed to this report: 360-754-5433, @Lisa_Pemberton

This story was originally published February 27, 2017 at 8:58 AM with the headline "Evergreen alum gets Oscar for ‘Zootopia’."

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