Jeffrey Katzenberg has been immersed in the world of animation for much of his career. He helped usher-in some of the most beloved Disney animated films of all-time in the late ’80s and early ’90s. And he was instrumental at DreamWorks Animation for more than two decades.

Now Quibi takes center stage. Katzenberg’s streaming service launched on April 6th and has several animated series on the way. In this Animation Scoop Q&A, Katzenberg talks about how Quibi has done so far, its upcoming animation slate and what the 24th Oscar category could be.

Jackson Murphy: How has the response been, overall, since Quibi’s launch on April 6th?

Jeffrey Katzenberg: Well actually, it’s been pretty incredible. We have over 3 million downloads and… hundreds of thousands of people every day watching content and clearly loving what they’re watching, which is the most important thing. It’s been really exciting. The feedback has been great. There are always naysayers as there are with anything. But I have to say the enthusiasm and excitement and appreciation for the content is a thing that has got us most excited. Clearly difficult times, and like everyone else, we’re facing the head winds of COVID-19. But I think we’re weathering the storm okay.

JM: Good. I’m glad. You’ve got so much out there and so much coming soon, especially in animation. I’m good friends with the guys over at Stoopid Buddy Studios, and I know they have three shows in the works with you right now. What excites you the most about what they have to offer?

JK: We have a pretty wide slate of animated projects. Being in business with Justin Roiland – it doesn’t get any better than that. Obviously of “Rick and Morty” fame – and he’s created this show “Gloop World”, which we’re super, super excited about. We have another wonderful project called “Micro Mayhem”, which is a stop-motion animation [show] that Jon Favreau is producing and a wonderful lineup of other animation content coming down the road. As we all know, animation takes a bit longer, so those things will start to show-up later in the summer and into the fall.

JM: And one of them is also with Andy Cohen, right? You’re adapting his “Diaries”. How has it been working with him?

JK: It’s been great. I’m not the one that deals with him every day, unfortunately, because he’s such an incredible talent. But I have seen now, I would say maybe at least half of the shows and they’re really, really charming. They’re these wonderful personal stories that he talks about – things that have happened in his life which have then been brought to life in this sort of bigger than life animated way. He’s got a wonderful power of observation, and he does it with incredible wit and charm. I’m really very impressed with what they’ve done.

We have another show that’s a little bit similar to that. We’ve been doing it with the team… the production company at Coachella. Over the years of Coachella, they’ve gotten so many great artists to tell their stories about Coachella – their first time at Coachella, coming as fans when they were kids. It’s sort of Coachella seen through the eyes of these artists and then in a very abstract, almost impressionistic way, we bring them to life in animation. And I hope that we’ll also have that show for late summer/early fall. I’ve actually seen an episode of it, and it’s very, very fun.

JM: Cool. Yeah, that sounds really interesting. I want to get your take on this: There hasn’t been a new Oscar category since Best Animated Feature almost 20 years ago, when “Shrek” obviously won the first one. I know The Academy just combined the Sound categories, so right now we’re at 23 Oscar categories. But do you think it’s time for the 24th category to be a Voice Performance Oscar category?

JK: Listen… you’re preaching to the choir here having spent many, many decades in animation and probably as much as anybody appreciating how incredible, how invaluable the voice talent is – how much they bring to it. I’ve always felt that our voice actors, in many ways, were almost unsung heroes. Although, when we brought stars in, I think people started to recognize how unique those performances are. You can look back over the years. Whether it was Jeremy Irons doing Scar or Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy doing Shrek and Donkey or Jack Black doing [Po in] “Kung Fu Panda”. And I can go on and on… Robin Williams playing the Genie in “Aladdin”.

These are some of the greatest performances by any actor in any medium. You see the impact that they had on those films and how much creativity they brought. They were not just reading lines. They made characters three-dimensional. They made them real. They gave them heart. I think I’m kind of with you. I don’t think we can give them enough credit. Whether or not that merits a new category in the Oscars, I’m not sure.

JM: I hope it happens. I really do. Do you think your shows on Quibi will be submitted and up for Emmy consideration? That’s just around the corner – summertime with the nominations.

JK: Yes. I do. I think they deserve it. I think this is the new form of film narrative. We’ve seen two generations of film and then television, and I think that Quibi, and most importantly what our filmmakers have set out to do here, is the next generation of film narrative. And [it] deserves to be acknowledged by its peers, judged by its peers, appreciated by its peers. I couldn’t be prouder of the work that Hollywood has turned-out and delivered for us on Quibi. I do hope that they’ll get that recognition in the Emmys.