And the Award Goes To…! Wicked, Timothée Chalamet, and Tim Burton Win Big in PETA’s Oscats
For Immediate Release:
February 26, 2025
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
The results are in! Ahead of the 97th Academy Awards, PETA is announcing the recipients of its eighth annual Oscat Awards, a mix of traditional “best” categories and cheeky titles honoring stars and films that put kindness to animals in the spotlight with powerful performances, exceptional storylines, and special effects.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’sTim Burton won Best Director for portraying animals through cutting-edge technology—including CGI, props, animatronics, and figurines—and casting his own dog, Levi. Wicked stars and real-life vegans Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo proved to be popular with PETA, nabbing the Friendship For Good Oscat for fighting for the rights of all animals both on- and off-screen. And call him Mr. Mice Guy, the name of the Oscat Timothée Chalamet won for his sand-sational performance in Dune: Part Two as Paul Atreides, who names himself after the fictional desert mice, the Muad’Dib—who are shown to be smart and resourceful, just like real mice.
The astounding artistry in Mufasa: The Lion King, as well as its message—that “every being has a place in the circle of life”—roared at the global box office after an initial quiet opening, earning the film Best Sleeper Hit. Borderlands star Cate Blanchett won Best Actress for her role as the bounty hunter who rescues a bunny ears-wearing young girl from cruel experiments in a laboratory, while Robbie Williams won Best Actor for his compelling performance as a chimpanzee in biopic-with-a-twist Better Man, proving that VFX is the key to responsibly depicting primates onscreen.
“Hollywood put animal advocacy center stage in 2024, from exposing the cruelties of animal testing to bringing lions, mice, and other animals to life with impressive, humane technology,” says PETA’s Director of Animals in Film and Television, Lauren Thomasson. “PETA is celebrating Cynthia, Ariana, Timothée, and the other compassionate artists and projects who wowed audiences worldwide with powerful storytelling that left animals in peace.”
The winners will each receive a framed certificate. The full list of awards is available here.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out thatEvery Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
