Neil Patrick Harris Sings and Dances During Opening Number to 'Honor Hollywood's Best and Whitest'

The curtain rose on the 87th Annual Academy Awards and...

Host Neil Patrick Harris sang and danced! And did a little magic via a cool trick with a digital rabbit in a digital hat! Now, this isn’t the Golden Globes, so we weren’t expecting Tina Fey and Amy Poehler-level wisecracks, but NPH did kick off his opening number with a zinger:

“We’re here to honor Hollywood’s best and whitest. I’m sorry-- brightest,” he cracked, referencing the fact that this year’s nominations are overwhelmingly white. (Which is funny, sure, but can we change that next year, Academy?)

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From there, Neil broke into a song about the nominees: How “no one’s drunk and bitter yet, because no one’s lost,” as Benedict Cumberbatch angrily drank from a flask. How he “secretly hopes someone pulls a Kanye West” and pointed towards an unsuspecting Clint Eastwood.

Into the Wood’s Anna Kendrick joined Harris onstage in full Cinderella mode to put their love of cinema into song. Kendrick’s best lyric? When she sang about “happy endings, except in Gone Girl when that lady slit your throat!”

Then Jack Black crashed their duet to sing-rant about superhero movies, something about “screens in our jeans” (we think he meant cell phones?), and the downfall of Hollywood. It all ended with Harris dancing amid a giant group of princesses, gladiators, Storm Troops and gangsters.

For his final joke, NPH discussed the millions that the Best Picture nominees made at the box office this year. “Everyone on this side of the theater is the seven other nominees, and American Sniper is Oprah.” The camera cut to a confused looking Oprah. “Because you’re rich,” Harris clarified.

Not that we didn’t love NPH, but anyone curious to see what Anna Kendrick would do as host?

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