The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles took the sting out of the mixed reception for "Cars 2," awarding Pixar's chief, and co-director of that sequel, its highest honor on Tuesday.
"Cars 2" made $66.1 million in its opening weekend to became the 12th consecutive Pixar film to debut atop the box-office charts, but the sequel broke Pixar's string of rave reviews, becoming the company's first film to receive largely negative reviews.
At 33 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes, it is far and away Pixar's least-celebrated film; the original "Cars," also directed by John Lasseter, is second-worst at 74 percent positive. Every other Pixar film is between 91 and 100 percent positive, with nine of them at 95 percent or higher.
On the plus side, BAFTA Los Angeles has just voted Lasseter (left) the Britannia Award, which will be handed out Nov. 30 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Lasseter, who oversees all films from Pixar as well as all of Disney's animated features, will receive the Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment.
David Yates, who directed the final four installments of the Harry Potter series — "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and both parts of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" — will receive the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing.
Previous Britannia Award recipients include Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Chris Nolan, Helen Mirren, Colin Firth, Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro.
The Britannia Award was established to celebrate "individuals and companies that have dedicated their careers or corporate missions to advancing the entertainment arts."
Additional awards will also be presented at the Britannia ceremony, including the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film, the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year and the Charlie Chaplin Award for Excellence in Comedy. The recipients of those awards have yet to be named.
(Photo by Claudine Gossett/AMPAS)
