‘Our films make more money than their films’: Bonnie Arnold takes a jab at animation snobs, and she has her whole career to back up her point

Bonnie Arnold recently stood in front of a packed crowd at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival to offer a blunt reality check to anyone who thinks animation is a lesser form of filmmaking. The producer, whose massive resume includes hits like Toy Story and How to Train Your Dragon, didn’t hold back when addressing the snobbery that occasionally surrounds the medium. She kept her message simple and focused on the undeniable success of the genre.

“Our films make more money than their films,” she said during a masterclass, Deadline reported. She followed that up by noting, “It keeps the lights on,” while making sure the audience understood the idiom. Animation is a powerhouse, and its financial dominance is something that shouldn’t be ignored by critics or industry peers.

In my opinion, her career is a testament to the fact that you can be a top-tier producer while maintaining a reputation as a genuinely good person. Justin Johnson, the lead programmer at the BFI, highlighted this during the event, calling her “living proof that in Hollywood being a good person can go hand in hand with being a good producer.”

It is great to see that kind of recognition, especially considering the challenges she faced in a male-dominated industry

Arnold shared a bit about those early days with a wry observation, stating, “I was used to being in a room full of men, laughing at their jokes.” Looking back at her journey, there is a fascinating connection between her early live-action work and her leap into animation.

When she moved from working on Dances with Wolves to the original Toy Story, she discovered a strange coincidence. “The budget was the same for both,” she said. “It was $17M. And I thought that was a sign.” She clearly has a knack for spotting potential, as she noted that she had a strong intuition about both projects after seeing the test footage.

She remembered the exact moment she knew she was onto something special with Pixar. “I’d finished the Dances with Wolves test, which people said would be a disaster but I said would change people’s perspectives about the Native American experience,” she added. “And for Toy Story I had a tingling in my neck after watching the Buzz and Woody test that said, ‘This is going to change animation’.” That kind of foresight is exactly why she became such a force in the industry, eventually leading to her tenure at DreamWorks after being recruited by Jeffrey Katzenberg.

These days, Arnold is shifting her focus toward the future of the industry with Apple TV’s upcoming film, Snoopy Unleashed. The project follows Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang as they head to the Big City after Snoopy runs away from home. She explained that the production process for this movie is completely different from what she has done in the past, signaling a shift in how films are being made today.

“It’s been a different kind of challenge because there wasn’t a studio building,” said Arnold. “There was [producer] WildBrain, there were people in Canada, independents, director Steve Martino and we called on a lot of people we liked [to work on the movie]. There are still studio movies being made but there is a lot of independent work. Everyone does their bit and the result is quite amazing.”

Toy Story 5 recently had a great opening at the box office. It is an exciting time for animation, and with Arnold at the helm of projects like this, it is clear that the medium is only going to get more dynamic and influential.