If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

All topics relating to Disney-branded content.
Post Reply
User avatar
DisneyJedi
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3633
Joined: Fri Oct 17, 2008 2:53 pm

If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by DisneyJedi »

I can't say much about this, but it's a what-if kind of topic. Like... What if the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars existed long before 2001 and which films would win if they did?

Think about it, if this category existed back then, some foreign films would get some form of exposure sooner.

I started at 1986 because I don't know which year started seeing massive animated films. Obviously, some of these are no-brainers.

1986: An American Tail
1987: Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise
1988: Probably The Land Before Time or My Neighbor Totoro
1989: The Little Mermaid
1990: The Rescuers Down Under
1991: Beauty and the Beast (Why wouldn't it be? It was the first animated film in history to be nominated for Best Picture)
1992: Aladdin
1993: The Nightmare Before Christmas
1994: The Lion King
1995: Toy Story
1996: either The Hunchback of Notre Dame or James and the Giant Peach
1997: Cats Don't Dance or Anastasia (because Don Bluth deserves some form of gold)
1998: The Prince of Egypt (Because that was a freaking gem)
1999: South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (South Park parodied the Disney animated musical before Shrek was cool) or The Iron Giant (Let's face it, this was pure gold.)
2000: Chicken Run

Now then... Which movies do you personally think would win in these years?
User avatar
Disney Duster
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 13334
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: America

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by Disney Duster »

If the Best Animated Feature Oscar existed since, say, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, I would say every Disney animated feature would win every year it came out. But I am only guessing, because I haven't seen all the other, non-Disney animated films, especially from way back to 1937.

I remember there once being a discussion of what Disney animated features should've been nominated and won for Best Picture starting with Snow White. That was a real great discussion, too.
Image
User avatar
Semaj
Anniversary Edition
Posts: 1260
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 5:22 am
Location: Buffalo
Contact:

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by Semaj »

Allegedly, one Oscar committee member lobbied to get The Jungle Book up for a Best Picture nomination.

The fact was, even with Walt's Honorary awards for Snow White and Fantasia, there was not enough competition that would've firmly established a Best Animated Feature category. Disney has been the only studio with a consistent pipeline for decades, but there were periods even during Walt's lifetime when the future of animated features was in doubt. Then there was a long time when they were only pumping out one new movie every four years. The few competitors that arose during the 1970s were also following sporadic schedules. It took a while until other studios made a permanent commitment to animated features before the Oscars picked up on it. (Though, the Oscars are extremely slow to pick up on cultural changes)
Image
"OH COME ON, REALLY?!?!"
User avatar
Disney's Divinity
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 15767
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 9:26 am
Gender: Male

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by Disney's Divinity »

Wow, the '90s were much harder to pick than the '00s. I wonder why the category wasn't put in effect so much earlier than it was.

1986: An American Tail (but TGMD is my personal favorite.)
1987: The Brave Little Toaster
1988: The Land Before Time
1989: The Little Mermaid
1990: I'd personally say DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp.
1991: Beauty and the Beast (I wish I could see Felix the Cat: The Movie, I only saw it one time at a friend's house when I was around 5 and have never been able to get a copy to see it again since; I remember being mystified by it, but I've always wondered if it's really awful--either way, definitely nothing above B&tB, I'm sure.)
1992: Aladdin (I like Little Nemo, but it's no comparison.)
1993: The Nightmare Before Christmas
1994: The Lion King
1995: Balto (Whisper of the Heart wasn't released theatrically in the U.S., I don't think? It's the best animated film made in 1995 though, imo)
1996: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (would James and the Giant Peach have a high enough percentage of animation to count?)
1997: Cats Don't Dance would be a fair win, imo, but Hercules for me.
1998: Kiki's Delivery Service (hard to say, since The Prince of Egypt and Mulan are both top-tier films, too)
1999: Princess Mononoke (which was released in the U.S. that year, then South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut)
2000: Chicken Run
Image
Listening to most often lately:
Ariana Grande ~ "we can't be friends (wait for your love)"
Ariana Grande ~ "imperfect for you"
Kacey Musgraves ~ "The Architect"
User avatar
DisneyJedi
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3633
Joined: Fri Oct 17, 2008 2:53 pm

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by DisneyJedi »

Disney's Divinity wrote:Wow, the '90s were much harder to pick than the '00s. I wonder why the category wasn't put in effect so much earlier than it was.

1986: An American Tail (but TGMD is my personal favorite.)
1987: The Brave Little Toaster
1988: The Land Before Time
1989: The Little Mermaid
1990: I'd personally say DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp.
1991: Beauty and the Beast (I wish I could see Felix the Cat: The Movie, I only saw it one time at a friend's house when I was around 5 and have never been able to get a copy to see it again since; I remember being mystified by it, but I've always wondered if it's really awful--either way, definitely nothing above B&tB, I'm sure.)
1992: Aladdin (I like Little Nemo, but it's no comparison.)
1993: The Nightmare Before Christmas
1994: The Lion King
1995: Balto (Whisper of the Heart wasn't released theatrically in the U.S., I don't think? It's the best animated film made in 1995 though, imo)
1996: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (would James and the Giant Peach have a high enough percentage of animation to count?)
1997: Cats Don't Dance would be a fair win, imo, but Hercules for me.
1998: Kiki's Delivery Service (hard to say, since The Prince of Egypt and Mulan are both top-tier films, too)
1999: Princess Mononoke (which was released in the U.S. that year, then South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut)
2000: Chicken Run
Umm... Divinity? Little Nemo and Kiki's Delivery Service were released in 1989. The dub for the latter came around nine years later after that while the dub for the former came in 1992.
User avatar
Disney's Divinity
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 15767
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 9:26 am
Gender: Male

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by Disney's Divinity »

The Oscars go by when they were released in the U.S. theatrically, as far as I know??
Image
Listening to most often lately:
Ariana Grande ~ "we can't be friends (wait for your love)"
Ariana Grande ~ "imperfect for you"
Kacey Musgraves ~ "The Architect"
User avatar
estefan
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3195
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 1:27 pm

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by estefan »

The movie also needs to have been released in the last two years to be eligible.

Really, I think the earliest they could have possibly had this category was 1997. That's when other studios besides Disney started finding some major success in the medium, heightened even more the next year when the first DreamWorks animated movies were released. Heck, it took until 2005 to find a year where they didn't have to resort to filler nominations that clearly had no place on a "Best" list (Shark Tale, anyone?).
"There are two wolves and they are always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. Which wolf wins? Whichever one you feed." - Casey Newton, Tomorrowland
ce1ticmoon
Gold Classic Collection
Posts: 438
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 10:42 am

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by ce1ticmoon »

estefan wrote:The movie also needs to have been released in the last two years to be eligible.

Really, I think the earliest they could have possibly had this category was 1997. That's when other studios besides Disney started finding some major success in the medium, heightened even more the next year when the first DreamWorks animated movies were released. Heck, it took until 2005 to find a year where they didn't have to resort to filler nominations that clearly had no place on a "Best" list (Shark Tale, anyone?).
I agree that the category just wouldn't have been too feasible until this century. As much as animation fans lament Hollywood's obsession with CGI in recent years, we have never had so many animated features in such a wide variety until now.

There were definitely some 'filler' nominations in the early years of the awards, but judging from the list of submissions (link provided by Sotiris), I would say that there didn't have to be. Considering films like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence or even The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie were eligible in 2004, Shark Tale just had no business being nominated. Same for Brother Bear the previous year, where Millenium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers were submitted. And how did Jimmy Neutron snag a nomination over Waking Life in 2001? The pickings were admittedly slim in the early years compared to recent years, but some of those movies still had no business being nominated.

This is especially true when you consider that the films are nominated by the Animation branch who are required to screen all of the films (unlike the voters who choose the winner from the nominations). The same could perhaps even be said for recent years. A lot of great, but fairly obscure films are submitted, yet fail to be nominated over the more populist films.
DisneyFan09
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3708
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:28 pm

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by DisneyFan09 »

First I want to praise you for an excellent thread, op. I've wondered about that issue myself. But here are my opions.

1986: The Great Mouse Detective.
1987: Care Bears.
1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (if it counts).
1989: The Little Mermaid.
1990: Rescuers Down Under.
1991: Beauty and the Beast.
1992: Aladdin.
1993: Tom & Jerry: The Movie.
1994: The Lion King or The Swan Princess.
1995: A Goofy Movie or Balto.
1996: The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
1997: Hercules.
1998: A Bugs Life or Antz.
1999: The Iron Giant or Tarzan.
2000: Dinosaur or The Emperor's New Groove.
User avatar
DisneyJedi
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3633
Joined: Fri Oct 17, 2008 2:53 pm

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by DisneyJedi »

DisneyFan09 wrote:First I want to praise you for an excellent thread, op. I've wondered about that issue myself. But here are my opions.

1986: The Great Mouse Detective.
1987: Care Bears.
1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (if it counts).
1989: The Little Mermaid.
1990: Rescuers Down Under.
1991: Beauty and the Beast.
1992: Aladdin.
1993: Tom & Jerry: The Movie.
1994: The Lion King or The Swan Princess.
1995: A Goofy Movie or Balto.
1996: The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
1997: Hercules.
1998: A Bugs Life or Antz.
1999: The Iron Giant or Tarzan.
2000: Dinosaur or The Emperor's New Groove.
You sure about some of these? :?

Mainly because I don't think WFRR counts (since it's animated/live-action, not one or the other) and I doubt Tom and Jerry: The Movie would even get nominated because it wasn't a hit at the box office and many folks (including moviegoers and critics) didn't really like it. I myself still enjoy the movie, but it'd kind of be a stretch to say it's Oscar worthy.
DisneyFan09
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3708
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:28 pm

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by DisneyFan09 »

DisneyJedi wrote:Mainly because I don't think WFRR counts (since it's animated/live-action, not one or the other) and I doubt Tom and Jerry: The Movie would even get nominated because it wasn't a hit at the box office and many folks (including moviegoers and critics) didn't really like it. I myself still enjoy the movie, but it'd kind of be a stretch to say it's Oscar worthy.
Fair enough, but I liked "Tom and Jerry The Movie" better than the others released in 1993.
User avatar
estefan
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3195
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 1:27 pm

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by estefan »

DisneyJedi wrote:Mainly because I don't think WFRR counts (since it's animated/live-action, not one or the other)
By Academy rules, an animated movie has to have at least 75% animation to qualify. Looney Tunes: Back in Action was ruled eligible, so I imagine Who Framed Roger Rabbit would also qualify under that percentage. Space Jam and Cool World would also qualify.
"There are two wolves and they are always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. Which wolf wins? Whichever one you feed." - Casey Newton, Tomorrowland
Avaitor
Collector's Edition
Posts: 2181
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:35 pm

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by Avaitor »

DisneyFan09 wrote:
DisneyJedi wrote:Mainly because I don't think WFRR counts (since it's animated/live-action, not one or the other) and I doubt Tom and Jerry: The Movie would even get nominated because it wasn't a hit at the box office and many folks (including moviegoers and critics) didn't really like it. I myself still enjoy the movie, but it'd kind of be a stretch to say it's Oscar worthy.
Fair enough, but I liked "Tom and Jerry The Movie" better than the others released in 1993.
More than Nightmare Before Christmas and Mask of the Phantasm?
User avatar
Mooky
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3043
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 2:44 pm
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by Mooky »

I'll go a bit further in the past...

1981: The Fox and the Hound
1982: The Secret of NIMH (runner-up: The Last Unicorn)
1983: Twice Upon a Time
1984: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
1985: Asterix vs. Caesar
1986: Castle in the Sky (runner-up: An American Tail)
1987: The Brave Little Toaster
1988: Grave of the Fireflies (runner-up: My Neighbor Totoro)
1989: The Little Mermaid
1990: The Rescuers Down Under
1991: Beauty and the Beast
1992: Aladdin
1993: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
1994: The Lion King
1995: Toy Story
1996: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1997: Princess Mononoke (runner-up: Anastasia)
1998: The Prince of Egypt (runner-up: Mulan)
1999: The Iron Giant (runner-up: Toy Story 2)
2000: Chicken Run
Tangled
Gold Classic Collection
Posts: 452
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 7:37 pm
Location: Canada, eh.
Contact:

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by Tangled »

This is hard for the early eighties, let alone before that. Trying to stray a bit from Disney and Don Bluth, but it's just making it harder. :(

1981: Fox and the Hound
1982: The Plague Dogs
1983: Barefoot Gen
1984: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
1985: Ugh...The Black Cauldron, I've seen nothing else (like a large number of people today who vote for this category :lol:)
1986: Castle in the Sky
1987: The Brave Little Toaster
1988: Akira, with Who Framed Roger Rabbit getting a special award anyways (best year for animation of the 80s, which isn't saying much. Setting up the renaissance though.)

Oh, and here comes the Disney train now. :milkbuds:

1989: Kiki's Delivery Service. I lied. :wink:
1990: The Rescuers Down Under. NOW it begins.
1991: Beauty and the Beast
1992: Aladdin
1993: Nightmare Before Christmas, although, like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Thief and the Cobbler should get something anyways to make up for all of those lost years.
1994: Pom Poko :P (these are my picks afterall, and I already stated I'm straying away from Disney)
1995: Toy Story
1996: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1997: Cats Don't Dance (choosing between this and Princess Mononoke tho. They're completely different. :huh: )
1998: The Prince of Egypt... just that film.
1999: The Iron Giant, although again, like Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Thief and the Cobbler, Fantasia 2000 should get a tribute regardless. Same with Tarzan for the innovative "deep canvas" effect that made it, in my opinion, one of the most visually stunning animated films I have ever seen.
2000: Chicken Run, although I honestly enjoyed The Emperor's New Groove and The Road to El Dorado way more. Still, Chicken Run was the most strongly put-together film of the three.
Image
DisneyFan09
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3708
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:28 pm

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by DisneyFan09 »

Avaitor wrote:Fair enough, but I liked "Tom and Jerry The Movie" better than the others released in 1993.
More than Nightmare Before Christmas and Mask of the Phantasm?[/quote]
I didn't care for Nightmare Before Christmas and I haven't seen the latter one.
User avatar
Semaj
Anniversary Edition
Posts: 1260
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 5:22 am
Location: Buffalo
Contact:

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by Semaj »

Tangled wrote: 1993: Nightmare Before Christmas, although, like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Thief and the Cobbler should get something anyways to make up for all of those lost years.
A nomination for The Thief and the Cobbler would only have gone to that half-assed "finished" version. The recobbled cut wouldn't be made until 2006.
Image
"OH COME ON, REALLY?!?!"
Tangled
Gold Classic Collection
Posts: 452
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 7:37 pm
Location: Canada, eh.
Contact:

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by Tangled »

Semaj wrote:
Tangled wrote: 1993: Nightmare Before Christmas, although, like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Thief and the Cobbler should get something anyways to make up for all of those lost years.
A nomination for The Thief and the Cobbler would only have gone to that half-assed "finished" version. The recobbled cut wouldn't be made until 2006.
Oh, I know, but I threw it out there anyways because no one's mentioned it as an option yet. Also, it had been in development hell for almost 30 years with little avail, hence my idea of the Academy attempting to "make up for all of those lost years" and at least give it a pity nominee.

But ehhh, it's "only" an animated film. :roll: I doubt they would have if the animation category existed at the time. :shrug:
Image
User avatar
disneyprincess11
Diamond Edition
Posts: 4363
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 7:46 am
Location: Maryland, USA

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by disneyprincess11 »

1986: An American Tail (Vs. Great Mouse Detective)
1987: Brave Little Toaster (0 other nominations)/Not enough good movies for an Academy Award
1988: Land Before Time (Vs. Oliver and Company)

1989: The Little Mermaid

Other nominations:
All Dogs Go to Heaven
Kiki's Delivery Service

1990: Rescuers Down Under (0 other nominations)
1991: Beauty and the Beast (Vs. An American Tail: Fievel Goes West)
1992: Aladdin (0 other nominations)
1993: Nightmare Before Christmas

Other Nominations:
Once Upon a Forest
Thief and the Cobbler
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

1994: The Lion King

Other Nominations:
Thumbelina
Swan Princess

1995: Toy Story

Other Nominations:
Pocahontas
Balto
The Pebble and the Penguin

1996: The Hunchback of Notre Dame or James & the Giant Peach (Nose-to-nose)

Other Nomination:
All Dogs Go To Heaven 2

1997: Hercules or Anastasia (Nose-to-nose)

Other Nomination:
Princess Mononoke

1998: Prince of Egypt

Other Nominations:
Mulan
A Bug's Life
Antz


1999: Toy Story 2

3 other Nominations:
Fantasia 2000
The Iron Giant
Tarzan

2000: Chicken Run

2 other Nominations:
Dinosaur
Road to El Dolerado
The Emperor's New Groove
User avatar
estefan
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3195
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 1:27 pm

Re: If the Best Animated Film Oscar Existed Before 2001

Post by estefan »

It should be noted that the Academy goes by American release dates, so The Thief and the Cobbler would not have been eligible until 1995 (when it was released in the United States by Miramax under the title "Arabian Night") and Princess Mononoke until 1999. And even then, there's a rule that says a movie has to be less than two years old to qualify. So if the Animated Feature category existed back then, Miramax would have probably given them a qualifying run a year earlier.
"There are two wolves and they are always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. Which wolf wins? Whichever one you feed." - Casey Newton, Tomorrowland
Post Reply