9 Animated Movies That Deserved An Oscar Nomination For Best Picture!

Think of your first memory of watching a movie. Chances are, it is going to be an animated film. Since the 1930s, animated movies have been captivating audiences with their bright colors and unique ways of storytelling for decades, and as such, the Academy Awards has always been sure to acknowledge their importance. For a majority of the Oscars, there has been a category for animated short films (that has changed titles here and there), and in the early-2000s, they introduced a category for Best Animated Feature with the honor going to Shrek, of all things.

Still, throughout all of that history, only 3 animated films have ever been nominated for the big boy award of Best Picture. Two of those films (Up in 2009 and Toy Story 3 in 2010) had the benefit of being in the first couple years of the Academy allowing up to 10 movies to be nominated, while the only film ever able to make that achievement when it was just 5 was Beauty and the Beast. In recent years, even with the ability to nominate 10 whole movies for Best Picture, the Academy has yet to bestow another animated movie with that honor, despite many worthy options. So, let’s recall some animated films that should have been nominated for the honor of Best Picture!

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) AND Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

It’s not an understatement to say that these two films have been some of the most influential pieces of animation in the last 10 years. Everywhere you go, you can see the faces of movies that have borrowed from the incredible visual style of the Spider-Verse -- From blending CG animation with elements of 2D, to all of the dynamic ways they incorporate comic book paneling, to the different styles of animation to fit the character in their universe, and so much more. These films are a visual marvel (pun absolutely intended) that have already gone down in not just animation history but cinematic history as a whole. Oh, and did we mention that these movies are about your favorite web slinger(s) in some beautifully told stories that transcend cultures and generations? Yeah, that’s pretty cool for any lifelong fan of Spider-Man. The Academy has acknowledged both of these movies with a nomination for Best Animated Feature each, with Into the Spider-Verse winning the award, while The Bird and the Herron beat Across the Spider-Verse this past year in a tight race. Still, when your animation changes the way animation animations, that’s some stuff worthy of a Best Picture nomination. (Stream on fuboTV and Netflix, respectively)

2. The Lion King (1994)

What else do we have to say except, NAHHHH SIBENIA! Well, don’t quote us on our accuracy of singing on the keyboard, though when you have an opening as iconic as The Lion King, it’s hard to resist. This Disney film is what many consider to be one of the peaks of the Disney Renaissance Era and did see itself to 4 Oscar nominations in music categories, taking home 2 for Best Original Score (long live Hans Zimmer) and Best Original Song for “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?”. So, with praise aplenty from pretty much everyone who saw it, why not give it a Best Picture nomination? Wait, what do you mean it’s the same year as Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, and The Shawshank Redemption?! Well, all 4 are legends in our books. (Stream on Disney+)

3. Guillermo Del Toro’sPinocchio (2022)

You know you’re a good director when your movie is marketed with your name in the title… Okay, a lot of that might have to do with Disney’s live-action remake coming out around the same time, but that’s besides the point. Our point is the tip of Pinocchio’s nose, which might give you a splinter as this adaptation of the classic fairy tale was indeed stop-motion. Odd as it may be, stop-motion is often treated as the black sheep of animation given how the basis of 2D animation is essentially stop-motion. This film marks the first animated feature Oscar to go to a stop-motion since Wallace and Gromit won the award for The Curse of the Were-Rabbit back in 2006. With a poignant version of the story, wonderful animation to the eyes, and a strong soundtrack of songs and scores, it is odd how this film was ignored in other categories (especially music and sound) with Del Toro being an Oscar darling. Well, either way, Netflix made a good bet on this Pinocchio, that’s for sure. (Stream on Netflix)

4. Fantasia (1940)

Going from a 2-year time gap to a whopping 84-year time difference, we head back to the House of Mouse with one of their most influential “cartoons”, Fantasia. Released the same year as their original version of Pinocchio, Fantasia was originally conceived as a comeback for Mickey Mouse at the time, which then expanded into several anthologies to the tune of classical music. What might seem like an odd combo ended up being one of the most influential pieces of filmmaking to date, becoming one of the building blocks of the modern day music video and so much more. Oh, and did we mention that this film is really, really pretty with its combo of animation and music? Well, the Academy certainly didn’t snuff at this film, as they gave it two honorary Oscars for its innovations in sound, music, and visual storytelling, so if this movie came out nowadays, that sounds worthy of a Best Picture nomination if you ask me. (Stream on Disney+)

5. Inside Out (2015)

Hey, you remember that one Pete Docter animated film that made you cry? Well, we might have to get a little more specific for a second and delve deep into our emotions with Inside Out. In case you need a recap, by 2015, the internet had already deemed Pixar so dead, 'cause if you make one bad movie or start making sequels, then game over, man! Yeah, that sentiment didn’t stay in people’s heads as long as this movie did when it released in theaters 9 whole years ago. Capturing the imagination in the most literal sense, Inside Out had a way of characterizing people’s emotions in a manner so mature, you’d think this film was therapy. The original Inside Out holds the title of the last animated film to earn a nomination for writing at the Oscars as of this writing. So, it’s safe to say that many pundits like ourselves will be campaigning for Inside Out 2 to not let history repeat itself this year, unlike its Best Picture-less run back in 2015. (Stream on Disney+)

6. Spirited Away (2001)

If I had a nickel for every time that Hayao Miyazaki won an Oscar for the film that brought him out of retirement, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. On his first go around in that scenario, Spirited Away captivated audiences across the globe when it released back in the early-2000s. Released in Japan in 2001 and internationally in 2002, this film just captivated audiences -- very similar to many films of Studio Ghibli’s treasured past, though there was something different about the fervent levels of support for this movie. Sometimes, it can be hard to put into words why a film works on as many levels as it does, so we’ll just recommend you give Spirited Away a viewing instead to see for yourselves what the Best Picture race was missing back in 2002. (Stream on Max)

7. Soul (2020)

Right back to Pete Docter’s wheelhouse, it’s Soul. Having started development in a manner similar to Inside Out, Soul began its path on the basis of Docter and the rest of the folks at Pixar pondering that very question of life. With those levels of existential expectations, fans were waiting to see this film for months as, unfortunately, the Pandemic in 2020 kept this movie away from theaters with delay after delay, eventually settling on a holiday streaming release. Still, even from the comfort of people’s homes (many of which is where Pixar animators completed their work on this project), audiences were still shook by the poignant displays of life that Soul had to offer. It was an easy win for Best Animated Feature, along with Best Original Score for the dynamic combo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross with Jon Batiste, though it should have also been an easy nomination for Best Picture, period. (Stream on Disney+)

8. Flee (2021)

Riddle me this, Batman: how does your film earn a nomination for Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best International Feature, yet somehow lose in all 3 categories?! That question revolves around the 2021 film Flee, an animated documentary that follows Amin Nawabi and his story of escaping Afghanistan to Denmark, along with so much more. Sounds like an emotional wallop? It sure was, as this film earned so much love and praise from festivals and audiences around the globe. Again, this film has the record of being the only film to earn all 3 of those Oscar nominations listed above, so even if the competition may have been stiff — from Encanto in Animated Feature to Questlove’s Summer of Soul in Documentary — this film certainly had the trappings of a Best Picture contender. (Stream on Hulu)

9. Finding Nemo (2003)

We find ourselves with another Pixar entry in a list that could have been entirely comprised of them. Heck, we were very close to including Andrew Stanton’s other Oscar-winning venture, Wall·E, especially given that movie’s 6 nominations. Still, we landed on this film that also has a boatload of appreciation from anyone who has ever seen a movie. If you’re reading this article, you’ve seen this movie and have loved it, and for many Gen-Z readers, as long as you can remember. So why harp on the point of “Finding Nemo is so good” when you already know that? Well, it is Finding Nemo, can you blame us for blasting this movie as much as Dory sings “Just Keep Swimming”?! …just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming swimming. (Stream on Disney+)

With The Wild Robot bound to release soon, these discussions about animation seeing its place in the Best Picture race will be sure to continue!