Oscars 2020: 'Hair Love' wins Best Animated Short and Matthew A Cherry dedicates the award to Kobe Bryant

Before the win, filmmaker Matthew A Cherry expressed his desire to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short to honor Kobe Bryant
UPDATED FEB 10, 2020
 Karen Rupert Toliver and Matthew A Cherry (Getty Images)
Karen Rupert Toliver and Matthew A Cherry (Getty Images)

The 92nd Academy Awards are set to bring in all the razzmatazz on February 9 night and as the big names in the celebrity world come together, all eyes are on the Oscars 2020 award categories. The Best Animated Short Award went to 'Hair Love' by Matthew A Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver.

In the heartwarming film, an African American father gets a lesson in cosmetology when he tackles doing his little girl's hair for the first time. Before the win, filmmaker Cherry expressed his desire to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short to honor Kobe Bryant. The NBA legend died in a helicopter crash on February 2, along with eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. Cherry is also a former NFL pro. 
 
In an interview with Associated Press, Cherry said, "I know they say awards don’t matter and everything, but I really would love to win, especially since it’s the same category. ... I would love to win so I could shout out his name to honor him and continue his legacy." It's the second time in three years that a professional athlete won this category. Kobe Bryant and animation legend Glen Keane won the trophy in 2018 for Dear Basketball.

'Hair Love' (Sony Pictures)

No sooner did the movie clinch the trophy, fans couldn't stop talking about it on Twitter. "I’m so glad #HairLove won it was so good. #Oscars2020," one tweet read and another said, "Hair Love was such a sweet short...Glad it won." Another viewer wrote: "Hair Love winning an Oscar is the epitome of Black Excellence."

Other nominees in the category include:
'Dcera (Daughter)' — Daria Kashcheeva
'Kitbull' — Rosana Sullivan and Kathryn Hendrickson
'Memorable' — Bruno Collet and Jean-François Le Corre
 'Sister' — Siqi Song

At 6.30 pm, the red carpet special began and it was hosted by Billy Porter, Tamron Hall, Lily Aldridge and film critic Elvis Mitchell.  Moreover, the red carpet started at 7.30 pm, which was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Like last year, Oscars decided to go hostless this time around as well. The ceremony is being held at the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center on Sunday, February 9, 2020 and you can catch all the live updates on ABC.  

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

Ahead of the much-awaited event, we predict the winner in the major categories, and our gut says it's a 'Sinners' sweep
23 hours ago
The MCU faithful have speculated that the much-awaited footage of Tom Holland's fourth film as the web-slinger might finally hit soon
1 day ago
A classic-style Jason movie could finally happen as ‘Friday the 13th’ creator shares updates on rights progress and a completed story treatment.
1 day ago
Following its massive success on Netflix, ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ will return with a sequel directed by the original filmmakers
2 days ago
Pierre will reprise his 'Lanterns' role in 'Man of Tomorrow,' which is a sequel to the 2025 movie, 'Superman'
2 days ago
'Disclosure Day' is based on a story written by Spielberg himself, with the screenplay penned by David Koepp.
2 days ago
Phoebe Dynevor plays a nine-month pregnant woman battling a catastrophic storm and hungry sharks in 'Thrash.'
2 days ago
The singer-songwriter will likely mark her acting debut with the upcoming project by Focus Features after acting in an episode of 'Swarm.'
3 days ago
The film will see Jordan's character go on an epic adventure after his body is mysteriously switched with a bird
3 days ago
'The Hunt for Gollum' is set between the events of 'The Hobbit' trilogy and 'The Fellowship of the Ring'
3 days ago