Oscar Nominee Michael Rianda Shows His Mom Meeting Her Favorite Celebrities

He might not have won the Oscar, but animation director Michael Rianda chronicled a great perspective on the award show: his starstruck mother Debbie meeting Hollywood royalty. Rianda’s family was a central inspiration for his film The Mitchells vs. The Machines, so seeing their view of the night was very refreshing and entertaining.

While he may have lost the trophy, Rianda was all-positive online sharing that he was “unbelievably happy” getting to introduce his mom to a ton of actors, and she didn’t even need his help to approach many herself. While his father was also present, Debbie was clearly chief of outreach for the family and seemingly met a ton of A-listers, all of whom seemed delighted by her. The first photos Rianda shared were of Debbie embracing Maya Rudolph, who played the character of Linda Mitchell whom Debbie inspired.

Debbie did what many proud parents of Oscar nominees dream of doing, and didn’t stop at Maya Rudolph. Rianda noted that she was “running wild” and approached stars young and old, including the child actor Jude Hill from Belfast. She even stopped Billie Eilish for a photo with her Oscar in hand. Debbie’s opener, which Rianda said was simply saying, “MY SON WAS NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR!” also got her incredible pictures with Anthony Hopkins and Queen Latifah.

The Mitchells Vs. The Machines lost to Encanto for the Best Animated Feature Oscar Sunday night. It did, however, sweep at the 49th Annie Awards, where it won all eight out of the eight awards it was nominated for including Best Film. Here’s hoping the buzz around this movie means many more awards considerations for Michael Rianda. Any other awards show in the future will be absolutely obsolete without Debbie present.