Stream turned the primary indie movie ever to win on this class.
Gints Zilbalodis accepts the award for finest animated characteristic movie for ‘Stream’ onstage in the course of the 97th annual Academy Awards on the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on March 2, 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP through Getty Photos
Stream gained the Oscar for finest animated characteristic on Sunday (March 2), turning into the primary indie movie to win on this class. It beat The Wild Robotic, Memoir of a Snail and sequels to 2 previous winners on this class, Inside Out 2 (Inside Out gained in 2016) and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Wallace & Gromit within the Curse of the Have been-Rabbit gained in 2006).
Animated movies have a wealthy historical past on the Academy Awards. Walt Disney acquired a particular award in 1938 for the earlier yr’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which was “acknowledged as a major display innovation which has charmed tens of millions and pioneered an excellent new leisure discipline for the movement image cartoon.”
Fifty years later, Richard Williams acquired a particular achievement award for the animation path of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The movie additionally gained three aggressive Oscars.
But it surely wasn’t till 1991’s Magnificence and the Beast that an animated movie was nominated for finest image. All through the ’90s, the Oscars resisted including a class for animated options, although John Lasseter acquired a particular achievement award in 1996 “for his impressed management of the Pixar Toy Story crew, ensuing within the first feature-length computer-animated movie.”
In 2001, the Academy lastly added a class for finest animated characteristic, with Shrek turning into the primary winner in 2002. Whereas the primary two Toy Story movies had been launched earlier than the introduction of the class, Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 each gained on this class. (Toy Story 5 is scheduled for launch in June 2026.)
Right here’s a year-by-year recap of all of the Oscar winners for finest animated characteristic movie. The years proven are the years of the awards presentation.
2002: Shrek
Studio: PDI/DreamWorks Manufacturing; DreamWorks
Oscar Went to: Aron Warner
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: tailored screenplay (written by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Joe Stillman and Roger S.H. Schulman)
Notes: Shrek was inducted into the Nationwide Movie Registry in 2020. The soundtrack reached No. 28 on the Billboard 200. It comprises two hits by Smash Mouth, the 1999 smash “All Star” and a remake of The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer” recorded particularly for the film.
2003: Spirited Away
Studio: Studio Ghibli Manufacturing; Buena Vista [Japan]
Oscar Went to: Hayao Miyazaki
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Spirited Away was the primary Japanese, hand-drawn and non-English language movie to win within the class. Miyazaki gained an honorary Oscar in 2014. The Academy known as him “a grasp storyteller whose animated artistry has impressed filmmakers and audiences all over the world.”
2004: Discovering Nemo
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Manufacturing; Buena Vista
Oscar Went to: Andrew Stanton
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: unique rating (Thomas Newman); sound enhancing (Gary Rydstrom and Michael Silvers); unique screenplay (screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds; unique story by Andrew Stanton).
Notes: The soundtrack, Discovering Nemo: Ocean Favorites, reached No. 156 on the Billboard 200.
2005: The Incredibles
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Manufacturing; Buena Vista
Oscar Went to: Brad Chook
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: sound enhancing (Michael Silvers and Randy Thom)
Different Oscar Nods: sound mixing (Randy Thom, Gary A. Rizzo and Doc Kane); unique screenplay (Brad Chook).
2006: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Have been-Rabbit
Studio: Aardman Animations Restricted Manufacturing; DreamWorks Animation SKG. [United Kingdom]
Oscar Went to: Nick Park and Steve Field
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar nods: none
Notes: Park and Field had been the primary creatives from the U.Okay. to win on this class. Park had gained three earlier Oscars for brief movie (animated) for Creature Comforts (1990), The Fallacious Trousers (1993) and A Shut Shave (1995). Wallace & Gromit… was the primary cease movement animated movie to win.
2007: Glad Toes
Studio: Kingdom Photos, LLC Manufacturing; Warner Bros. [Australia/U.S.A.]
Oscar Went to: George Miller
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Miller was the primary artistic from Australia to win on this class. This was the one motion-capture-related computer-animated movie to win earlier than a rule change in 2010 disqualified such movies. The soundtrack, which contained such songs as Prince’s “Music of the Coronary heart” and The Seaside Boys’ “Do It Once more,” reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200. Prince’s music gained a Golden Globe for finest unique music, however wasn’t nominated for an Oscar.
2008: Ratatouille
Studio: Pixar Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Brad Chook
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: unique rating (Michael Giacchino); sound enhancing (Randy Thom and Michael Silvers); sound mixing (Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane); unique screenplay (screenplay by Brad Chook; story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Chook)
Notes: Chook was the primary two-time winner within the class. He additionally gained for The Incredibles (2004).
2009: WALL-E
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Andrew Stanton
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: unique rating (Thomas Newman); unique music (“Right down to Earth” by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman); sound enhancing (Ben Burtt and Matthew Wooden); sound mixing (Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt); unique screenplay (screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; unique story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter)
Notes: WALL-E was inducted into the Nationwide Movie Registry in 2021. Stanton was the second two-time winner within the class. He additionally gained for Discovering Nemo (2003). The WALL-E soundtrack reached No. 127 on the Billboard 200.
2010: Up
Studio: Pixar Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Pete Docter
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: unique rating (Michael Giacchino)
Different Oscar Nods: finest image (Jonas Rivera, producer); sound enhancing (Michael Silvers and Tom Myers), unique screenplay (screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter; story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy)
Notes: Up was the second animated movie, following Magnificence and the Beast, to obtain a finest image nomination.
2011: Toy Story 3
Studio: Pixar Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Lee Unkrich
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: unique music (“We Belong Collectively” by Randy Newman)
Different Oscar Nods: finest image (Darla Okay. Anderson, producer); sound enhancing (Tom Myers and Michael Silvers); tailored screenplay (screenplay by Michael Arndt; story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
Notes: Toy Story 3 was the third animated movie to obtain a finest image nomination. This was the fourth consecutive yr {that a} Pixar movie gained this award – a report.
2012: Rango
Studio: Paramount Photos Manufacturing; Paramount
Oscar Went to: Gore Verbinski
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: none
2013: Courageous
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Chapman was the primary lady to win on this class. The Courageous soundtrack reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200.
2014: Frozen
Studio: Walt Disney Function Animation Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: unique music (“Let It Go,” music and lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez).
Different Oscar Nods: none.
Notes: Buck, Lee and Del Vecho had been the primary three-member artistic crew to win on this class. The Frozen soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks. Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go” logged 5 weeks at No. 5 on the Scorching 100.
2015: Massive Hero 6
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Don Corridor, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: none
2016: Inside Out
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: unique screenplay (screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; unique story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen)
Notes: Docter was the third two-time winner within the class. He additionally gained for Up (2009).
2017: Zootopia
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Byron Howard, Wealthy Moore and Clark Spencer
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: None
Different Oscar Nods: None
Notes: The soundtrack reached No. 121 on the Billboard 200.
2018: Coco
Studio: Pixar Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Lee Unkrich and Darla Okay. Anderson
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: unique music (“Keep in mind Me” by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez)
Different Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Unkrich was the fourth two-time winner within the class. He additionally gained for Toy Story 3 (2010). The Coco soundtrack reached No. 39 on the Billboard 200.
2019: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Studio: Columbia Photos and Sony Photos Animation Manufacturing; Sony Photos Releasing
Oscar Went to: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: None
Different Oscar Nods: None
Word: This was the primary five-member artistic crew to win on this class. Ramsey was the primary Black filmmaker to win right here. The soundtrack reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Publish Malone & Swae Lee’s “Sunflower” was the primary music from an animated movie to achieve No. 1 on the Billboard Scorching 100 since Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Cease the Feeling!” from Trolls (2016). “Sunflower” additionally acquired a Grammy nod for report of the yr.
2020: Toy Story 4
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen and Jonas Rivera
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: None
Different Oscar Nods: unique music (“I Can’t Let You Throw Your self Away” by Randy Newman)
Notes: With this win, Toy Story turned the primary franchise to win twice on this class. Rivera was the fifth two-time winner within the class. He additionally gained for Inside Out (2015). The Toy Story 4 soundtrack included Chris Stapleton’s “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy.”
2021: Soul
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Pete Docter and Dana Murray
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: unique rating (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste)
Different Oscar Nods: sound (Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker)
Notes: With this movie, Docter turned the primary three-time winner within the class. He had beforehand gained for Up (2009) and Inside Out (2015).
2022: Encanto
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios Manufacturing; Walt Disney
Oscar Went to: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: unique rating (Germaine Franco); unique music (Lin-Manuel Miranda for “Dos Oruguitas”)
Notes: Merino was the primary artistic from Mexico to win on this class. Spencer and Howard had beforehand collaborated on Zootopia, the 2016 winner on this class. The Encanto soundtrack logged 9 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. “We Don’t Speak About Bruno” logged 5 weeks atop the Scorching 100.
2023: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Studio: Netflix Animation; Netflix
Oscar Went to: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: none
Notes: With this win, del Toro turned the primary individual to win Oscars for each finest image (The Form of Water) and finest animated characteristic movie (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio). del Toro co-wrote, co-directed and co-produced Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. “Animation is cinema. Animation just isn’t a style. And animation is able to be taken to the subsequent step,” Del Toro stated when he acquired the award.
2024: The Boy and the Heron
Studio: GKids/Toho
Oscar Went to: Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: none
Different Oscar Nods: none
Notes: Miyazaki, who gained the 2002 award for Spirited Away, is the primary non-American to win twice on this class. He was born in Japan. Furthermore, he is among the first Asians to win two Oscars in any class, together with Taiwanese director Ang Lee. That is additionally the second Japanese movie to win on this class.
2025: Stream
Studio: Sideshow and Janus Movies
Oscar Went to: Gints Zilbalodis, Mat?ss Kaža, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman
Movie’s Different Oscar Wins: TBD
Different Oscar Nods: worldwide characteristic movie (Latvia)
Notes: This was the primary indie movie to win on this class; solely the second animated movie to obtain a nomination for finest worldwide characteristic movie (following 2021’s Flee) and the primary Latvian movie to gained an Oscar in any class. Zilbalodis directed and co-wrote the movie. He additionally co-composed the music, and oversaw cinematography and enhancing.
