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Academy Award for Best Animated Feature facts for kids

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Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
Matīss Kaža
2025 co-recipients
Presented by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
Country United States
First awarded Shrek (2001)
Currently held by Flow (2024)

The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is a special prize given out every year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It celebrates the best animated feature film of the year.

What makes a movie an "animated feature" for this award? It needs to be longer than 40 minutes. Most of the main characters must be animated using a frame-by-frame technique. Also, at least 75% of the movie's total time needs to be animation. This award was first given out in 2002 for movies released in 2001.

For a long time, the Academy didn't have a regular award for animated movies. They thought not enough animated films were made each year. Instead, they sometimes gave special Oscars for amazing animated movies. For example, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs got an Academy Honorary Award in 1938. Later, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1989) and Toy Story (1996) received Special Achievement Academy Awards. Before this award existed, only one animated movie, Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991), was even nominated for Best Picture.

By 2001, more animation studios like DreamWorks Animation started making many great animated films. This meant there were enough animated movies each year to have their own award. So, the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was created. It was first presented at the 74th Academy Awards on March 24, 2002.

Winners and Nominees

Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki won twice for Spirited Away (2002) and The Boy and the Heron (2023).
Andrew Stanton cropped 2009
Andrew Stanton won twice for Finding Nemo (2003) and WALL-E (2008).
Brad bird cropped 2009
Brad Bird won twice for The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007).
George Miller (35706244922)
George Miller won for Happy Feet (2006).
Pete Docter cropped 2009
Pete Docter won three times for Up (2009), Inside Out (2015) and Soul (2020).
Lee Unkrich cropped 2009
Lee Unkrich won twice for Toy Story 3 (2010) and Coco (2017).
Gore Verbinski 1
Gore Verbinski won in 2011 for Rango.
Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman won in 2012 for Brave.
Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee won in 2013 for Frozen.
Annecy Festival 2019, screening event Toy Story 4 - Jonas Rivera
Jonas Rivera won twice for Inside Out (2015) and Toy Story 4 (2019).
Byron Howard
Byron Howard won twice for Zootopia (2016) and Encanto (2022).
Film directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller won for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).
Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson won in 2022 for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.
Toshio Suzuki, Howl's Moving Castle premiere
Toshio Suzuki won in 2024 for The Boy and the Heron as a film producer.

When the award first started, the people most involved in making the film were nominated. This could be the producer, the director, or both. Over time, the rules changed. For the 76th Academy Awards in 2003, only the director(s) were nominated. Later, for the 86th Academy Awards, one producer and up to two directors could be nominated. For the 91st Academy Awards, up to four people could be nominated, including at least one director and one producer.

The Academy also has a rule that the award won't be given if fewer than eight eligible animated films are released in theaters that year. This helps make sure there are enough movies to choose from.

There's also a rule about "motion capture" films. Motion capture is when actors wear special suits to record their movements, which are then used to animate characters. Movies like A Christmas Carol (2009) and The Adventures of Tintin (2011) used this. The rule says that motion capture by itself isn't considered animation. A film must still have a significant number of animated characters and be at least 75% animation to qualify. This rule helps prevent live-action movies that use a lot of motion capture, like Avatar (2009), from being nominated in this category.

Only a few films have been disqualified for not meeting the 75% animation rule. For example, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) had to prove it had enough animation to be considered. It was a stop-motion film with live-action parts. The Academy decided it was eligible, and it was nominated!

Table key
     Indicates the winner

2000s Winners and Nominees

Year Film Nominees Ref.
2001
(74th)
Shrek Aron Warner
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius John A. Davis and Steve Oedekerk
Monsters, Inc. Pete Docter and 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 and 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 and Steve Box
Corpse Bride Tim Burton and Mike Johnson
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 Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi
Surf's Up Chris Buck and Ash Brannon
2008
(81st)
WALL-E Andrew Stanton
Bolt Byron Howard and Chris Williams
Kung Fu Panda Mark Osborne and John Stevenson
2009
(82nd)
Up Pete Docter
Coraline Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog John Musker and Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells Tomm Moore

2010s Winners and Nominees

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

2020s Winners and Nominees

Year Film Nominees Ref.
2020
(93rd)
Soul Pete Docter and Dana Murray
Onward Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae
Over the Moon Glen Keane, Peilin Chou, and Gennie Rim
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Will Becher, Paul Kewley, and Richard Phelan
Wolfwalkers Tomm Moore, Stéphan Roelants, Ross Stewart, and Paul Young
2021
(94th)
Encanto Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, and Clark Spencer
Flee Charlotte de la Gournerie, Monica Hellström, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, and Signe Byrge Sørensen
Luca Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren
The Mitchells vs. the Machines Mike Rianda, Kurt Albrecht, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller
Raya and the Last Dragon Peter Del Vecho, Carlos López Estrada, Don Hall, and Osnat Shurer
2022
(95th)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Alex Bulkley, and Gary Ungar
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On Dean Fleischer Camp, Andrew Goldman, Elisabeth Holm, Caroline Kaplan, and Paul Mezey
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Joel Crawford and Mark Swift
The Sea Beast Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger
Turning Red Lindsey Collins and Domee Shi
2023
(96th)
The Boy and the Heron Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
Elemental Peter Sohn and Denise Ream
Nimona Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan, and Julie Zackary
Robot Dreams Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé, and Sandra Tapia Díaz
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal
2024
(97th)
Flow Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman
Inside Out 2 Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen
Memoir of a Snail Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, and Richard Beek
The Wild Robot Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann

Award Records

This section shows some interesting facts and records about the award.

Most Wins and Nominations by Individuals

Individual Wins Nominations Films
Pete Docter
3
4 Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out, Soul
Hayao Miyazaki 2 Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, The Wind Rises, The Boy and the Heron
Brad Bird 3 The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Incredibles 2
Byron Howard Bolt, Zootopia, Encanto
Clark Spencer Zootopia, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Encanto
Jonas Rivera 2 Inside Out, Toy Story 4
Andrew Stanton Finding Nemo, WALL-E
Lee Unkrich Toy Story 3, Coco
Phil Lord 1 3 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Christopher Miller
Rich Moore Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia, Ralph Breaks the Internet
Toshio Suzuki The Wind Rises, The Red Turtle, The Boy and the Heron
Chris Williams Bolt, Big Hero 6, The Sea Beast
Nick Park 2 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Chris Buck Surf's Up, Frozen
Don Hall Big Hero 6, Raya and the Last Dragon
Peter Del Vecho Frozen, Raya and the Last Dragon
Mark Nielsen Toy Story 4, Inside Out 2
Chris Sanders 0
4
Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, The Wild Robot
Ron Clements 3 Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog, Moana
Dean DeBlois How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Travis Knight The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link
Tomm Moore The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers
Wes Anderson
2
Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs
Bonnie Arnold How to Train Your Dragon 2, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Sylvain Chomet The Triplets of Belleville, The Illusionist
John Lasseter Monsters, Inc., Cars
John Musker The Princess and the Frog, Moana
Tim Burton Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie
Chris Butler ParaNorman, Missing Link
Yoshiaki Nishimura The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, When Marnie Was There
Osnat Shurer Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon
Arianne Sutner Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link
Paul Young Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers

Most Wins and Nominations by Studios

Studio Wins Nominations Films
Pixar 11 19 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, Inside Out 2
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 15 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, The Wild Robot
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
Aardman Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Shaun the Sheep Movie, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Netflix Animation 4 Klaus, Over the Moon, The Sea Beast, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
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
StudioCanal Shaun the Sheep Movie, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Most Wins and Nominations by Franchises

Franchise Wins Nominations Films
Toy Story 2 Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4
Shrek 1 4 Shrek, Shrek 2, Puss in Boots, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Wallace & Gromit Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Shaun the Sheep Movie, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Incredibles 2 The Incredibles, Incredibles 2
Inside Out Inside Out, Inside Out 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 Records

Record Recipient Film Age
Oldest winner Hayao Miyazaki The Boy and the Heron 83 years, 65 days
Oldest nominee 83 years, 18 days
Youngest winner Matīss Kaža Flow 29 years, 183 days
Youngest nominee 29 years, 145 days

Film Length Records

Record Film Length
Longest winner Spirited Away 125 minutes
Longest nominee Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 140 minutes
Shortest winner Flow 84 minutes
Shortest nominee A Cat in Paris 65 minutes

International Films

Many films from outside the United States, or films that don't have much dialogue, have been nominated or won this award. Winners are shown in bold. Most non-English films on this list have also been released with English voice-overs.

Japanese Nominees

Studio Ghibli Films

Other Japanese Films

  • Mirai

French Nominees

Les Armateurs Films

Other French Films

  • Persepolis
  • The Illusionist
  • A Cat in Paris
  • My Life as a Zucchini
  • I Lost My Body

Other Languages

  • Chico and Rita (Spanish)
  • Boy and the World (Portuguese)
  • Flee (Danish)

Films with No Dialogue or Fictional Languages

Important Milestones and Records

Film Studios and Companies

  • Pixar has won the most awards (11) and received the most nominations (19). They also had the longest winning streak, winning four years in a row from 2007 to 2010.
  • Laika has the most nominations (6) without ever winning the award.
  • DreamWorks Animation has received 10 nominations since their last win.
  • The Toy Story series is the only film franchise to win this award twice, with Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4. These two are also the only sequels to have won the award so far.
  • The Shrek and Wallace & Gromit series have the most nominations (4 each), with one win each.
  • The "Irish Folklore Trilogy" by Cartoon Saloon (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and Wolfwalkers) and the How to Train Your Dragon series are the most nominated franchises without a win, with three nominations each.
  • The Triplets of Belleville was the first PG-13 rated film to be nominated. Anomalisa and Memoir of a Snail are the only R-rated animated films to be nominated. The Boy and the Heron was the first PG-13 rated film to win.
  • Studio Ghibli from Japan has the most wins (two) and nominations (seven) for a non-U.S. studio. Their films Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron are the only non-English language films to win.
  • Flee was the first animated documentary film to be nominated.
  • Since 2019, at least one nominated film each year has been mainly released on streaming services. Two of these films have won: Soul (on Disney+) in 2020 and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (on Netflix) in 2022.
  • 2005 and 2011 are the only years when no Disney or Pixar film was nominated in this category.
  • Flow is the first independent film to win the award.
  • The wins of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, The Boy and the Heron, and Flow from 2022 to 2024 mark the first time a non-Disney/Pixar film won the award three years in a row.

People Records

  • Pete Docter has won the most awards as an individual (3). He is also tied with Hayao Miyazaki and Chris Sanders for the most nominations (4).
  • Hayao Miyazaki has the most wins and nominations for someone not from the U.S.
  • Chris Sanders has the most nominations (4) without winning the award.
  • Hayao Miyazaki became the oldest winner in 2024 at 83 years old.
  • Matīss Kaža became the youngest winner in 2025 at 29 years old. Gints Zilbalodis was the second youngest winner at 30 years old.
  • Brenda Chapman was the first woman to win for Brave.
  • Peter Ramsey was the first Black director to win for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Award's Impact

Academy Award statuette at the Latvian National Museum of Art
Gints Zilbalodis's Academy Award statuette (with Best Animated Feature labeled) was put on display at the Latvian National Museum of Art.

When films from studios other than Disney/Pixar or Dreamworks Animation started winning, it showed how much animated movies were growing. These wins also helped animation get more recognition in mainstream cinema. Sometimes, the Oscar statuettes are even displayed in museums!

  • On March 20, 2024, Studio Ghibli displayed Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar statuette for a short time at Ghibli Park in Japan.
  • In 2025, after Flow won the Best Animated Feature award, its Oscar statuette was displayed at the Latvian National Museum of Art for a week. The Golden Globe and European Film Award it also won were displayed alongside it.

See also

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

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