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Academy Award for Best Animated Feature facts for kids

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Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
2023 co-recipient: Hayao Miyazaki
Presented by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
Country United States
First awarded Shrek (2001)
Currently held by The Boy and the Heron (2023)

The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is given each year for the best animated film. An animated feature is defined by the academy as a film with a running time of more than 40 minutes in which characters' performances are created using a frame-by-frame technique, a significant number of the major characters are animated, and animation figures in no less than 75 percent of the running time. The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was first awarded in 2002 for films released in 2001.

The entire AMPAS membership has been eligible to choose the winner since the award's inception. If there are sixteen or more films submitted for the category, the winner is voted from a shortlist of five films, otherwise there will only be three films on the shortlist.

As of the 96th Academy Awards ceremony, Studio Ghibli's co-recipients Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki are the most recent winners in this category for their work (as director-producer duo, respectively) of The Boy and the Heron, the former marks his third Asian filmmaker to win twice in the same category, shared with Akira Kurosawa (Best International Feature Film) and Ang Lee (Best Director), and the first Asian to do so as well as the oldest winner to win at the age of 83.

History

Recognition of animated films during the late-20th century

For much of the Academy Awards' history, AMPAS was resistant to the idea of a regular award for animated features, considering there were simply too few produced to justify such consideration.

Instead, the Academy occasionally bestowed special Oscars for exceptional productions, usually for Walt Disney Pictures, such as for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1938, and the Special Achievement Academy Award for the live action/animated hybrid Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1989 and Toy Story in 1996. In fact, prior to the award's creation, only one animated film was nominated for Best Picture: 1991's Beauty and the Beast, also by Disney.

Inauguration of the category

By 2001, the rise of sustained competitors to Disney in the feature animated film market, such as DreamWorks Animation (founded by former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg), created an increase of film releases of significant annual number enough for AMPAS to reconsider. The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was first given out at the 74th Academy Awards, held on March 24, 2002. The academy included a rule that stated that the award would not be presented in a year in which fewer than eight eligible films opened in theaters. It dropped the rule on April 23, 2019, to make voting for animated films more acceptable. People in the animation industry, as well as fans, expressed hope that the prestige from this award and the resulting boost to the box office would encourage the increased production of animated features.

Expansion of Best Picture category

In 2009, when the nominee slots for Best Picture were doubled to ten, Up was nominated for both Animated Feature and Picture at the 82nd Academy Awards, the first to do so since the inception of the Animated Feature category. This feat was repeated the following year by Toy Story 3.

Decline of motion-capture films

In 2010, the academy enacted a new rule regarding the motion capture technique employed in films such as A Christmas Carol (2009) and The Adventures of Tintin (2011), directed by Academy Award for Best Director winners Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg respectively, and how they might not be eligible in this category in the future. This rule was possibly made to prevent nominations of live-action films that rely heavily on motion capture, such as Avatar (2009).

First attempt of stop-motion film in a live-action environment

In 2022, it was unclear Marcel the Shell with Shoes On would be eligible for the award at the 95th Academy Awards due to use of a live-action film blends with stop-motion animated. Director Dean Fleischer Camp said that he and A24 had to submit documentation in order to prove the film had enough animation to meet the award's minimum requirements. Nonetheless, the AMPAS officially deemed the film eligible for consideration in the Animated Feature category and was eventually nominated for said category.

Winners and nominees

Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki won in 2003 for Spirited Away and again in 2024 for The Boy and the Heron.
Andrew Stanton cropped 2009
Andrew Stanton won in 2004 for Finding Nemo and again in 2009 for WALL-E.
Brad bird cropped 2009
Brad Bird won in 2005 for The Incredibles and again in 2008 for Ratatouille.
George Miller (35706244922)
George Miller won in 2007 for Happy Feet.
Pete Docter cropped 2009
Pete Docter holds the record for most wins in this category, winning three times for Up in 2010, Inside Out in 2016, and Soul in 2021.
Lee Unkrich cropped 2009
Lee Unkrich won in 2011 for Toy Story 3 and again in 2018 for Coco.
Gore Verbinski 1
Gore Verbinski won in 2012 for Rango.
Frozenfeverdirectors (cropped)
Chris Buck won in 2014 for Frozen.
Annecy Festival 2019, screening event Toy Story 4 - Jonas Rivera
Jonas Rivera won in 2016 for Inside Out and again in 2020 for Toy Story 4.
Byron Howard
Byron Howard won in 2017 for Zootopia and again in 2022 for Encanto.
Table key
     Indicates the winner

2000s

Year Film Nominees Ref.
2001
(74th)
Shrek Aron Warner
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius Steve Oedekerk & John A. Davis
Monsters, Inc. Pete Docter & John Lasseter
2002
(75th)
Spirited Away Hayao Miyazaki
Ice Age Chris Wedge
Lilo & Stitch Chris Sanders
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Jeffrey Katzenberg
Treasure Planet Ron Clements
2003
(76th)
Finding Nemo Andrew Stanton
Brother Bear Aaron Blaise & Robert Walker
The Triplets of Belleville Sylvain Chomet
2004
(77th)
The Incredibles Brad Bird
Shark Tale Bill Damaschke
Shrek 2 Andrew Adamson
2005
(78th)
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Nick Park & Steve Box
Corpse Bride Mike Johnson & Tim Burton
Howl's Moving Castle Hayao Miyazaki
2006
(79th)
Happy Feet George Miller
Cars John Lasseter
Monster House Gil Kenan
2007
(80th)
Ratatouille Brad Bird
Persepolis Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Surf's Up Ash Brannon & Chris Buck
2008
(81st)
WALL-E Andrew Stanton
Bolt Chris Williams & Byron Howard
Kung Fu Panda John Stevenson & Mark Osborne
2009
(82nd)
Up Pete Docter
Coraline Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog John Musker & Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells Tomm Moore

2010s

Year Film Nominees Ref.
2010
(83rd)
Toy Story 3 Lee Unkrich
How to Train Your Dragon Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois
The Illusionist Sylvain Chomet
2011
(84th)
Rango Gore Verbinski
A Cat in Paris Alain Gagnol & Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico and Rita Fernando Trueba & Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2 Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Puss in Boots Chris Miller
2012
(85th)
Brave Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapman
Frankenweenie Tim Burton
ParaNorman Sam Fell & Chris Butler
The Pirates! Band of Misfits Peter Lord
Wreck-It Ralph Rich Moore
2013
(86th)
Frozen Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee & Peter Del Vecho
The Croods Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco & Kristine Belson
Despicable Me 2 Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin & Chris Meledandri
Ernest & Celestine Benjamin Renner & Didier Brunner
The Wind Rises Hayao Miyazaki & Toshio Suzuki
2014
(87th)
Big Hero 6 Don Hall, Chris Williams & Roy Conli
The Boxtrolls Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable & Travis Knight
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Dean DeBlois & Bonnie Arnold
Song of the Sea Tomm Moore & Paul Young
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya Isao Takahata & Yoshiaki Nishimura
2015
(88th)
Inside Out Pete Docter & Jonas Rivera
Anomalisa Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson & Rosa Tran
Boy and the World Alê Abreu
Shaun the Sheep Movie Mark Burton & Richard Starzak
When Marnie Was There Hiromasa Yonebayashi & Yoshiaki Nishimura
2016
(89th)
Zootopia Byron Howard, Rich Moore & Clark Spencer
Kubo and the Two Strings Travis Knight & Arianne Sutner
Moana John Musker, Ron Clements & Osnat Shurer
My Life as a Courgette Claude Barras & Max Karli
The Red Turtle Michaël Dudok de Wit & Toshio Suzuki
2017
(90th)
Coco Lee Unkrich & Darla K. Anderson
The Boss Baby Tom McGrath & Ramsey Naito
The Breadwinner Nora Twomey & Anthony Leo
Ferdinand Carlos Saldanha & Lori Forte
Loving Vincent Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman & Ivan Mactaggart
2018
(91st)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Incredibles 2 Brad Bird, John Walker & Nicole Paradis Grindle
Isle of Dogs Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales & Jeremy Dawson
Mirai Mamoru Hosoda & Yuichiro Saito
Ralph Breaks the Internet Rich Moore, Phil Johnston & Clark Spencer
2019
(92nd)
Toy Story 4 Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen & Jonas Rivera
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Dean DeBlois, Bradford Lewis & Bonnie Arnold
I Lost My Body Jérémy Clapin & Marc du Pontavice
Klaus Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh & Marisa Román
Missing Link Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner & Travis Knight

2020s

Year Film Nominees Ref.
2020
(93rd)
Soul Pete Docter & Dana Murray
Onward Dan Scanlon & Kori Rae
Over the Moon Glen Keane, Gennie Rim & Peilin Chou
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Richard Phelan, Will Becher & Paul Kewley
Wolfwalkers Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young & Stéphan Roelants
2021
(94th)
Encanto Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino & Clark Spencer
Flee Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen & Charlotte de la Gournerie
Luca Enrico Casarosa & Andrea Warren
The Mitchells vs. the Machines Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller & Kurt Albrecht
Raya and the Last Dragon Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer & Peter Del Vecho
2022
(95th)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar & Alex Bulkley
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan & Paul Mezey
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Joel Crawford & Mark Swift
The Sea Beast Chris Williams & Jed Schlanger
Turning Red Domee Shi & Lindsey Collins
2023
(96th)
The Boy and the Heron Hayao Miyazaki & Toshio Suzuki
Elemental Peter Sohn & Denise Ream
Nimona Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan & Julie Zackary
Robot Dreams Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé & Sandra Tapia Diaz
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller & Amy Pascal

Multiple wins and nominations

Studios and franchises with multiple nominations

Studios

Studio Wins Nominations Films
Pixar 11 18 Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Brave, Inside Out, Coco, Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, Onward, Soul, Luca, Turning Red, Elemental
Walt Disney Animation Studios 4 13 Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Bolt, The Princess and the Frog, Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto
DreamWorks Animation 2 14 Shrek, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Shrek 2, Shark Tale, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots, The Croods, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Boss Baby, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Studio Ghibli 7 Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, The Wind Rises, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, When Marnie Was There, The Red Turtle, The Boy and the Heron
Sony Pictures Animation 1 5 Surf's Up, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Netflix Animation 4 Klaus, Over the Moon, The Sea Beast, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Aardman Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Shaun the Sheep Movie, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Nickelodeon 2 Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Rango
Laika 0 6 Corpse Bride, Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link
Cartoon Saloon 4 The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner, Wolfwalkers
Les Armateurs 3 The Triplets of Belleville, The Secret of Kells, Ernest & Celestine
Blue Sky Studios Ice Age, Ferdinand, Nimona
Tim Burton Productions 2 Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie
American Empirical Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs

Franchises

Franchise Wins Nominations Films
Toy Story 2 2 Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4
Shrek 1 4 Shrek, Shrek 2, Puss in Boots, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Wallace and Gromit 3 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Shaun the Sheep Movie, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
The Incredibles 2 The Incredibles, Incredibles 2
Spider-Verse Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
How to Train Your Dragon 0 3 How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Irish Folklore Trilogy The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers
Kung Fu Panda 2 Kung Fu Panda, Kung Fu Panda 2
Wreck-It Ralph Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph Breaks the Internet

Age superlatives

Record Director Film Age
Oldest winner Hayao Miyazaki The Boy and the Heron 83 years, 65 days
Oldest nominee 83 years, 18 days
Youngest winner Andrew Stanton Finding Nemo 38 years, 88 days
Youngest nominee Benjamin Renner Ernest & Celestine 30 years, 63 days

Milestones

Studios and films

  • Pixar has the most wins with 11 and the most nominations of any studio with 18.
    • They won the award in four years in a row with their film released between 2007 and 2010.
  • Laika has the most nominations without a win, with 6 films.
  • Almost all the winners have been computer-animated films. The exceptions are Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron, which are the only hand-drawn animated films, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, the only stop motion animated films to win.
  • Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron (each from Japan) are the first and second non-English language films, respectively, to win.
  • Toy Story is the only franchise with multiple wins, for its third and fourth films.
  • Shrek (with one win) is the most-nominated franchise with four nominations.
  • Of the 12 adult animated films nominated, nine of them —The Triplets of Belleville, Persepolis, The Wind Rises, My Life as a Courgette, The Breadwinner, Loving Vincent, Isle of Dogs, Flee and The Boy and the Heron were each rated PG-13, Anomalisa is the only R-rated animated film to be nominated in this category, and Chico and Rita and I Lost My Body were not rated by the MPA but both were rated TV-MA or due to subject matter and mature themes. The Boy and The Heron became the first PG-13 film to win.
  • There have been years when multiple animated films from the same studio were nominated. They are:
  • Up and Toy Story 3 are the first two films to have won both Best Animated Feature and to have received Best Picture nominations. Their nominations after the Academy expanded the potential number of nominees for Best Picture from 5 to 10.
  • Shrek is the only non-Disney and/or Pixar animated film to be nominated for a screenwriting category, Best Adapted Screenplay, while winning the inaugural Best Animated Feature category.
  • As of 2024, Shrek and WALL-E are the only winners that are inducted in the National Film Registry.
  • Studio Ghibli (Japan) has the most wins for a non-US studio with two wins.
  • Studio Ghibli has the most nominations for a non-US studio with seven films (winning twice for Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron).
  • Flee has the most nominations (3) for both adult animated and documentary film, and was the first film to be nominated in the categories of Best Animated Feature, Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature Film simultaneously in a single year.
  • Two motion capture-related computer-animated films were nominated before a rule change in 2010 disqualified such films: Monster House and Happy Feet (the latter won the award).
  • According to some sources, American indie animated film distributor GKIDS declares the recent film as a "lucky number 13", indicates a loss of previous twelve nominations and winning the latter film in the same category as a good luck charm.

People

  • In 2013, Brenda Chapman was the first woman to win for Brave.
  • After his win in 2023, Guillermo del Toro was the first filmmaker to win both the Best Animated Picture (for his adaptation of Pinocchio) and Best Picture (for 2017's The Shape of Water).
  • Pete Docter has the most wins of any individual, winning three awards for Up, Inside Out and Soul.
  • Hayao Miyazaki has the most nominations for a non-US individual, with four films (tied with Pete Docter).
  • Hayao Miyazaki (Japan) has the most wins for a non-US individual with two.
  • Ron Clements, Dean DeBlois, Travis Knight, Tomm Moore, and Chris Sanders are tied for receiving the most nominations without winning, with three each.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Anexo:Óscar a la mejor película de animación para niños

  • Lists of animated films
  • List of animation awards
  • List of animated feature films nominated for Academy Awards
  • List of submissions for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
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