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Flow made history as the first independent film to win the Oscar for best animated feature.
On March 2, 2025, Gints Zilbalodis took to the stage at the 97th Academy Awards to accept the award for his film Flow, marking a significant milestone in the history of the Oscars. This innovative film triumphed over celebrated entries including The Wild Robot and Memoir of a Snail, as well as sequels to previous winners such as Inside Out 2 and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
The Academy Awards have a longstanding tradition of celebrating animated films. Walt Disney was awarded a special Oscar in 1938 for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a film that introduced a transformative approach to animation and captivated global audiences. It laid the groundwork for what would become a rich legacy of animated storytelling.
The recognition of animated films began to evolve in the following decades. Notably, Richard Williams received a special achievement award in 1992 for his work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which also won three Oscars. However, the first formal nomination for best picture in the animated category came with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in 1991, highlighting the genre’s growing significance.
Despite the enthusiastic reception of animated films from audiences, the Academy was slow to establish a distinct category, resisting the addition through the 1990s. John Lasseter was honored in 1996 with a special achievement award for his work on Toy Story, the first feature-length CGI film that revolutionized animation technology.
In 2001, the Academy finally introduced the best animated feature category, with Shrek becoming the inaugural winner in 2002. While earlier films like Toy Story had set the stage, they did not compete in this new category, although Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 would go on to claim wins after the category’s establishment.
2002: Shrek
Studio: PDI/DreamWorks Production; DreamWorks
Oscar Went to: Aron Warner
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: adapted screenplay (Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman)
Notes: Shrek was added to the National Film Registry in 2020, and its soundtrack peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200, featuring hits by Smash Mouth.
2003: Spirited Away
Studio: Studio Ghibli Production; Buena Vista [Japan]
Oscar Went to: Hayao Miyazaki
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: none
Notes: This film was groundbreaking as the first Japanese animated film to win in the category. Miyazaki was later honored with an honorary Oscar for his impactful storytelling.
2004: Finding Nemo
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Production; Buena Vista
Oscar Went to: Andrew Stanton
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: original score, sound editing, original screenplay.
Notes: The film’s soundtrack, Finding Nemo: Ocean Favorites, hit No. 156 on the Billboard 200.
2005: The Incredibles
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Production; Buena Vista
Oscar Went to: Brad Bird
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: sound editing
Other Oscar Nods: sound mixing, original screenplay.
2006: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Studio: Aardman Animations Limited Production; DreamWorks Animation SKG. [United Kingdom]
Oscar Went to: Nick Park and Steve Box
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar nods: none
Notes: This film marked a significant achievement as the first stop-motion animated winner, with Park being the first U.K. laureate in this category.
2007: Happy Feet
Studio: Kingdom Pictures, LLC Production; Warner Bros. [Australia/U.S.A.]
Oscar Went to: George Miller
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Miller distinguished himself as the first Australian winner in this category, and the film’s soundtrack reached No. 51 on the Billboard charts.
2008: Ratatouille
Studio: Pixar Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Brad Bird
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: original score, sound editing, sound mixing, original screenplay.
Notes: Bird became the first two-time winner for his work on Ratatouille after previously winning for The Incredibles.
2009: WALL-E
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Andrew Stanton
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: original score, original song, sound editing, sound mixing, original screenplay.
Notes: This film was inducted into the National Film Registry, and Stanton became the second two-time winner in this category.
2010: Up
Studio: Pixar Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Pete Docter
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: original score.
Other Oscar Nods: best picture, sound editing, original screenplay.
Notes: Up was nominated for best picture, joining Beauty and the Beast as a pioneering animated film in this prestigious category.
2011: Toy Story 3
Studio: Pixar Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Lee Unkrich
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: original song.
Other Oscar Nods: best picture, sound editing, adapted screenplay.
Notes: This marked the third animated film to achieve a best picture nomination and continued Pixar’s remarkable winning streak in this category.
2012: Rango
Studio: Paramount Pictures Production; Paramount
Oscar Went to: Gore Verbinski
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: none
2013: Brave
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Chapman made history as the first woman to win the award for best animated feature.
2014: Frozen
Studio: Walt Disney Feature Animation Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and Peter Del Vecho
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: original song.
Other Oscar Nods: none.
Notes: This trio of directors were the first to win together in this category, and Frozen‘s soundtrack set records on the Billboard charts.
2015: Big Hero 6
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Don Hall, Chris Williams, and Roy Conli
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: none
2016: Inside Out
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: original screenplay.
Notes: Docter became the third individual to win two Oscars in this category.
2017: Zootopia
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Clark Spencer
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: none
Notes: The film’s soundtrack made it to No. 121 on the Billboard 200.
2018: Coco
Studio: Pixar Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: original song.
Other Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Unkrich became the fourth two-time winner, having previously won for Toy Story 3.
2019: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Studio: Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation Production; Sony Pictures Releasing
Oscar Went to: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: None
Other Oscar Nods: None
Note: This was the first instance of a five-member creative team winning in this category, with Ramsey being the first Black filmmaker to do so.
2020: Toy Story 4
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen, and Jonas Rivera
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: None
Other Oscar Nods: original song.
Notes: With this win, the Toy Story franchise became the first to win twice in this category.
2021: Soul
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Pete Docter and Dana Murray
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: original score.
Other Oscar Nods: sound.
Notes: Docter reached a historic milestone with this award, becoming the first individual to win three Oscars in this category.
2022: Encanto
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios Production; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, and Clark Spencer
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: original score and original song.
Notes: Merino made history as the first Mexican winner in this category, while the film’s soundtrack enjoyed significant commercial success.
2023: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Studio: Netflix Animation; Netflix
Oscar Went to: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar, and Alex Bulkley
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Del Toro made history with his win, becoming the first individual to win Oscars in both best picture and best animated feature categories.
2024: The Boy and the Heron
Studio: GKids/Toho
Oscar Went to: Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: none
Other Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Miyazaki achieved a historic win, becoming the first non-American to win twice in this category.
2025: Flow
Studio: Sideshow and Janus Films
Oscar Went to: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman
Film’s Other Oscar Wins: TBD
Other Oscar Nods: international feature film (Latvia)
Notes: Flow is notable for being the first independent animated film to receive this prestigious award and a significant entry in the realm of international co-productions.
Source
www.billboard.com