Did you know that the Academy Awards’ category for Best Animated Feature has only existed since 2002 and the first recipient was one of the best kids movies, Shrek? It makes us wonder what other classics of the medium would have received the honor had the category been introduced prior to their release. Let’s explore the idea by recalling some of the most acclaimed animated movies of all time that deserved the Oscar (including some that were either recognized or won in another category or received a special statuette).
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
As the first feature-length animated film ever made, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs likely would have earned the award for that grand achievement alone. In fact, the film did earn Walt Disney an honorary Oscar that was specially designed with seven miniature statuettes surrounding it, in reference to the Seven Dwarfs.
Toy Story (1995)
Toy Story was a game-changer in the mid-1990s as the first fully computer-generated feature length film — a feat that did earn Pixar a Special Achievement Oscar, in addition to nods for its screenplay and Randy Newman’s score and iconic original song, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” It probably would have won Best Animated Feature on that fact alone, if not for the ingenious plot and heartwarming themes of friendship, as explored through the complicated relationship between string-activated cowboy doll, Woody (Academy Award winner Tom Hanks), and “high-tech” spaceman, Buzz (Tim Allen).
The Lion King (1994)
It makes sense when you learn that The Lion King is an adaptation of King Lear because the story is on par with even the most powerful works of William Shakespeare. Throw in gorgeous animation of the Pride Lands of Africa and Oscar-winning music by Elton John and Hans Zimmer and you have yourself a masterpiece.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The only thing more unique than the story of The Nightmare Before Christmas — the disillusioned Halloween King tries to bring Christmas to his spooky town — is its stop-motion animation style. The fascinatingly freaky aesthetic of producer Tim Burton and director Henry Sellick's cult favorite did earn it an Oscar nomination for Visual Effects, but we imagine it would have received a Best Animated Feature Oscar win had the category existed.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
As one of the all-time most beloved anime film classics, Akira very likely could have received the Best Animated Feature honor in 1989. Yet, Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro — which follows the adventures of two young girls and the spirits of the forest — is the more irresistibly whimsical anime fantasy, making it more of a shoe-in.
The Iron Giant (1999)
The BAFTAs have a category for Best Feature Film in a division reserved for children’s entertainment that, in 2000, was received by Brad Bird's feature-length directorial debut, The Iron Giant. This might be a good indication that the highly original, intelligently crafted, and heartwarming B-movie throwback had a great chance of winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar, too, despite what would have been fierce competition with Toy Story 2, Disney's Tarzan, Fantasia 2000, and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
The year 1997 was another iconic one for animated cinema, with Disney's Hercules, Anastasia, Cats Don't Dance, and Perfect Blue among its most acclaimed examples. However, an epic, visually stunning fantasy adventure by Studio Ghibli like Princess Mononoke seems like the best bet.
Aladdin (1992)
This beloved animated adaptation of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights was nominated for five Oscars and won two for Alan Menken's score and the original song, "A Whole New World." In an alternate world, Aladdin — one of the all-time best Disney animated films for its sweeping, romantic, adventurous tone and, especially, the late Robin Williams’ extraordinary performance as the voice of Genie — just might have won a third statuette.
Chicken Run (2000)
The last year before the Best Animated Feature Oscar was created saw the release of the hilarious The Emperor's New Groove, the thrilling Titan A.E., and Dinosaur, which boasted some unusually realistic animation. However, the most acclaimed animated film from that year was the funny claymation-style escape thriller, Chicken Run, which could have ended up being the most acclaimed pick from that year by the Academy.
The Little Mermaid (1989)
This beautiful adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s aquatic fairytale might have faced some competition in the Best Animated Feature category with Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and, perhaps even, Peter Jackson’s Meet the Feebles. However, considering The Little Mermaid did earn Alan Menken two Oscars for Best Original Song (for “Under the Sea” against “Kiss the Girl”) and Original Score, it very likely would have swam its way to the top, as well.
Mulan (1998)
The most noteworthy theatrically released animated films of 1998 included Quest for Camelot, The Rugrats Movie, The Prince of Egypt, Antz, and its Pixar twin A Bug’s Life. However, the one with the best chance of taking home the gold would have probably been Disney’s funny, action-packed, period epic, Mulan, which did earn a Best Original Score nod at that year’s Oscars.
Beauty And The Beast (1991)
Disney’s retelling of the classic fairytale, Beauty and the Beast, was the first animated film to receive a nomination for the Best Picture Oscar — in addition to five other nominations, including Original Song and Score, which it won. Later, 2009’s Up and 2010’s Toy Story 3 also earned nods in the grand prize category and wound up taking home the Best Animated Feature Oscar in their respective years. Thus, if the category existed in 1992, this timeless story of the prevailing power of true love would have had no competition.
The Jungle Book (1967)
Disney’s first adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s seminal novel about a young boy (voiced by Bruce Reitherman) living among wild animals was recognized by the Academy with a nomination for Terry Gilkyson’s original song, “The Bare Necessities.” When taking a look at the other animated films from 1967 — including Rankin/Bass’ The Wacky World of Mother Goose and Cyborg 009: Monster Wars — it seems like the The Jungle Book would have had this in the bag.
Peter Pan (1953)
Disney’s animated adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s seminal fairytale about a wondrous world with pirates and an ageless boy with the ability to fly did not get much awards attention, save a Grand Prize nomination at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. That kind of praise for Peter Pan probably would have given the Academy something to think about, at least, had they created the Best Animated Feature adaptation then.
Castle In The Sky (1986)
Even with acclaimed animated features like An American Tail (which was nominated for Best Original Song), The Great Mouse Detective, and Transformers: The Movie released in the same year, we still have the most confidence in Castle in the Sky. This gravity-defying adventure was the first feature-length film by Studio Ghibli and is still remembered as one of the studio’s finest efforts.
Bambi (1942)
Based on a novel by Felix Salten, the iconic, devastating Bambi received Academy Award nominations for Best Sound, Song, and Score, which alone makes a good case for its Best Animated Feature eligibility. Not to mention, its only competition in that race would have been another, much-forgotten, Disney film called Saludos Amigos and a lost Chilean feature called 15 mil dibujos.
Fantasia (1940)
The year's animated feature to compete at the Academy Awards was Pinocchio, which did take home statuettes for Original Score and Original Song (“When You Wish Upon a Star”). The only other feature-length animated flick released that year was an anthology called Fantasia, which received two honorary awards for its then unique combination of music and visuals and “contribution to the use of sound in motion pictures." Fantasia’s groundbreaking technical achievements, wondrous aesthetic, and sense of variety probably would have given it the edge for Best Animated Feature over Pinocchio, which would have meant a win for Disney either way.
Watership Down (1978)
Inspired by Richard Adam’s novel, Watership Down is the harrowing tale of a group of rabbits desperate to find refuge from humans intent on destroying their home, which received a Hugo Award nomination for “Best Dramatic Presentation.” To us, this suggests that it might have been favored by the Academy as well, considering its biggest competition would have been Ralph Bashki’s divisive The Lord of the Rings and a few Disney cartoon compilations.
Lady And The Tramp (1955)
While the Academy Awards did not have a Best Animated Feature category in 1956, the BAFTAs did and one of their nominees that year was Lady and the Tramp. While a Canadian short film called Blinkity Blank ended up winning, we imagine the heartwarming tale about a pampered Cocker Spaniel (voiced by Barbara Luddy) who falls for a stray mongrel (voiced by Larry Roberts) would have been treated better by the Academy.
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
George Burns’ original score for this adaptation of Charles Perrault’s seminal fairytale, Sleeping Beauty, did get a nod from the Academy, but probably would have taken home Best Animated Feature. Fun fact: the Disney film’s most notable competition might have been an adaptation of the “Aladdin” segment from One Thousand and One Arabian Nights by Columbia Pictures.
Dumbo (1941)
Perhaps one of the reasons why the Academy had not created a Best Animated Feature category by 1942 is because victories were pretty much inevitable at the time. In other words, Dumbo — which did win Best Score that year — probably would have beaten out The Reluctant Dragon (an anthology also from Disney) and Princess Iron Fan, which was China’s first animated feature, but its colorless animation might have hurt its chances.
Cinderella (1950)
Three Academy Award nominations — namely Best Original Song ("Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo"), Score, and Sound — went to, arguably, the most definitive Disney animated movie. Without even taking the other animated features released in 1950 into account, it is hard to imagine anything else but the timeless love story in Cinderella winning over the Academy’s hearts in the Best Animated Feature category for that year.
Charlotte’s Web (1973)
Disney certainly would have had a good chance at winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 1974 with Robin Hood, which did earn a nod for George Burns’ original song, “Love.” However, we can’t help but feel that Paramount’s original, uplifting adaptation of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web would have been the radiant victor.
One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1961)
In 1962, the BAFTA for Best Animated Film was given to Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians. If this category existed in the Oscars at that time, we imagine it would have also gone to this iconic adaptation of Dodie Smith’s novel about a family of puppies kidnapped by ruthless fashionista, Cruella de Vil.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1996)
While there is a case to be made that the largely stop-motion animated James and the Giant Peach could have been eligible and that Beavis and Butt-Head Do America deserved a chance, it might be safest to say the Best Animated Feature Oscar would have gone to The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1997. Disney’s adaptation of Victor Hugo’s esteemed French novel did received an Academy Award nomination for Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz’s score, however.
The Secret Of NIMH (1982)
The 1983 Best Animated Feature Oscar race might have had a pretty stellar line-up with two acclaimed Rankin-Bass fantasies (The Flight of the Dragon and The Last Unicorn), the U.K. adaptation of Richard Adam’s The Plague Dogs, and (if they counted it) the visually groundbreaking Tron. However, our money would have been on The Secret of NIMH, which is one of the legendary Don Bluth’s most wild and wondrous adventures.
The Aristocats (1970)
To modern audiences, The Aristocats is a seen as an animated Disney movie that has not aged very well, due to some racial insensitivities. However, in 1971, that would have had no effect on the Academy, who probably would have given it the Best Animated Feature Oscar for its incredible musical moments.
Alice In Wonderland (1951)
Disney’s original adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s surreal novel was one of only three feature-length animated films released in 1951, the others being a Czechoslovakian stop-motion film called Prince Bayaya and a Soviet adaptation of The Night Before Christmas. Not only would this have helped its chances in the Best Animated Feature Oscar race, but its score also received a nod from the Academy.
Animal Farm (1954)
Because Disney did not release an animated film in 1954, that very likely would have left Animal Farm as a shoe-in for the Best Animated Feature Oscar at that time. While not particularly appropriate for family viewing, the adaptation of George Orwell’s clever, anti-fascist satire is a work of great importance.
The Fox And The Hound (1981)
Despite its heart-wrenching story of two creatures whose friendship is threatened when they discover they are meant to be natural enemies, Disney’s The Fox and the Hound was easily one of the most family-friendly animated films from 1981, which probably could have helped its chances in the Best Animated Feature Oscar race. Its greatest competition most likely would have been Ralph Bashki’s American Pop and producer Ivan Reitman’s Heavy Metal — both of which are musicals that, certainly, were not made for younger audiences.
The Rescuers (1977)
The Rescuers was nominated by the Academy for its original song, “Someone’s Waiting For You,” but we are inclined to believe a Best Animated Feature win would have also been in order. In fact, this thrilling adventure’s 1990 sequel, The Rescuers Down Under, more than likely would have won for its year, too.
Yellow Submarine (1968)
If the music in Yellow Submarine (courtesy of The Beatles, whose 1966 song inspired the film) would not win over the Academy, at least the intense visuals likely would have. The film follows John, Paul, George, and Ringo, who are enlisted by Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to help save Pepperland from the anti-musical Blue Meanies.
The animation medium has come a long way, but its greatest admirers would agree that these classics deserved more recognition in their prime. Hopefully, mentioning them in this list served as a worthy consolation to being made before they could have the chance at a Best Animated Feature Oscar.
