Animated movies sweep up box office records and critical praise, yet the Oscars’ top prize has stayed almost out of reach for them. Only three animated motion pictures have ever broken into the category. The 2026 ceremony didn’t change that, since the nominees were all live action.
The three films that made it came from two studios, Disney and Pixar, across just three years. Each one arrived under different rules and different circumstances.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film to be , in 1991, and it eventually lost to The Silence of the Lambs. The nomination came at the Academy Awards held in 1992. That was nine years before the Best Animated Feature award was introduced.
The loss still left a mark. Disney and other studios reportedly sent their animation teams back to the drawing board after the film failed to win. Producer Don Hahn later described the nomination as a big turning point.
Up (2009)
It took nineteen years for another animated film to follow. In 2009, the Academy expanded Best Picture from the usual five nominees to ten. That year, Disney and Pixar’s Up became the second film ever to earn a Best Picture nod.
Up didn’t leave empty handed. It won Best Animated Feature but lost Best Picture to The Hurt Locker. Its two wins that night, according to Filmaffinity’s record, came from five nominations.
Toy Story 3 (2010)
The following year, Toy Story 3 repeated the feat. The story follows Andy’s toys as they cope with their owner growing up and heading to college. That grown-up theme may have helped it connect with Academy voters.
Toy Story 3 won Best Animated Feature but lost Best Picture to The King’s Speech. It also won the Oscar for Best Original Song. No animated film has been since.
That remained true even in 2026. The Academy listed 201 films eligible for Best Picture at the 98th Oscars, and several animated features made the initial cut, yet animation has historically been left out of the nominations. KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature that night.
