The Oscars are an award ceremony notorious for snubbing some of the best names in film, creating uproar after uproar every year with whatever newest gem they exclude. This year brought some big and rather unjust snubs, one of the biggest being the fact that Greta Gerwig, whose groundbreaking hit, Little Women, was nominated in several departments, was not nominated for Best Director.
In the animation department, indie films are getting more recognition than they did in past years. This is a good thing, but it most definitely has not always been this way, with whatever the newest Disney/Pixar animated film being almost guaranteed the award.
Let’s take a look at some of the best animated films to be unjustly snubbed at the Oscars.
The Polar Express (2004)
The Polar Express is based on Chris Van Allsburg’s 1985 children’s book of the same name. In 2004, it was adapted into a film using motion-capture animation, a technique that is not that popular today but was even less popular back when this movie hit theatres.
Due to its unique visuals and animation style, an Oscar nomination for this film would have come as no surprise, but nonetheless, The Polar Express ended up being snubbed in 2004, the same year that Finding Nemo took home the award for Best Animated Feature Film.
The Good Dinosaur (2015)
The Good Dinosaur is a 3D computer-animated Disney Pixar film, so the fact that it was never even nominated for an Oscar is pretty shocking. The aforementioned production companies normally dominate the Best Animated Feature Film category.
The film followed a dinosaur who befriends a wild cave boy on an adventure to find his way back home. While it was met with positive reviews, it struggled commercially. The Good Dinosaur proved to actually be Pixar’s first box office bomb, and it lost Disney upwards of $85 million.
The Tale Of Despereaux (2008)
The Tale Of Despereaux was based on Kate DiCamillo’s classic 2003 novel of the same name. Like the book, the movie followed the story of a young, adventurous mouse named Despereaux Tilling in his many misadventures. The film even had a well-known cast of voice actors, such as Sigourney Weaver, Stanley Tucci, and Emma Watson, to name a few.
Despite everything it had going for it, The Tale Of Despereaux was not nominated that year at the Oscars, and the book before it remains the more memorable counterpart of the story.
Ponyo (2009)
A rare Studio Ghibli film not nominated in the Best Animated Feature Film category, Ponyo was released in 2009 and today, is not one of the most popular films from the studio. It was well-received by critics, earning a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and, as all Ghibli films tend to be, it was beautifully animated.
Still, the stunning designs and key animation were not enough to get Ponyo the award that year - and not even enough to get it nominated.
The Adventures Of Tintin (2011)
The Adventures Of Tintin was originally a series of comic books by a Belgian cartoonist known as Hergé. The series was very successful and remains well-loved to this day. We cannot say the same, however, for the 2011 film adaptation created by none other than Steven Spielberg.
The Adventures Of Tintin was made with 3D animation, which looked starkly different from the original cartoons from the comic series. Nevertheless, it was fairly well-received, but surprisingly did not coin an Oscar nomination, despite Spielberg’s hand in the film.
The Lorax (2012)
The Lorax was developed by the same producers that brought you Despicable Me and hit theatres in 2012. It was of course based upon the classic Dr. Seuss story of the same name, which was about a character called the Lorax who “speaks for trees.”
Despite having a talented voice acting cast, being loved by audiences, and making $348 million at the box office worldwide, The Lorax did not receive an Oscar nomination that year.
Despicable Me (2010)
It might come as a surprise that Despicable Me - which is now known for cursing the film world with the Minions but was quite a popular film when it was first released - was never nominated for an Oscar. This is somewhat understandable because the animation quality in this film - and in every film in its franchise - was severely lacking and displeasing to look at compared to others.
Still, many consider the first Despicable Me to be hilarious, especially considering that Steve Carrell voices the main character.
Moomins On The Riviera (2014)
None of the adaptations of Tove Jansson’s classic children’s stories based on a lovable family of Moomins had ever been nominated in an American Award ceremony when Moomins On The Riviera was released in 2014. With the new TV series, Moominvalley, based on the stories paving new ground for the Moomins, that’s changing now.
But a few years ago, there was little to no recognition for the Moomins, which is why it’s such a shame that Moomins On The Riviera, a perfectly decent film, was snubbed that year.
Abominable (2019)
DreamWorks released Abominable in 2019 to critical and audience acclaim. The film utilized 3D animation but managed to make the settings and characters look appealing and quite stunning, and the story was nothing to ignore either. Many believed that Abominable would be a contender for the Oscars last year.
Surprisingly, the adorable, heartwarming film was not even nominated. Since it had such a loving fanbase, this would leave many viewers in dismay, as Toy Story 4 eventually took home the award for Best Animated Feature Film that year.
From Up On Poppy Hill (2012)
Another rare Studio Ghibli film to be snubbed at the Oscars, From Up On Poppy Hill, was released in 2012 to positive reception from critics and audiences alike. This film is not one of the most well-know Ghibli pictures, but it was a Ghibli film nonetheless.
It had beautiful visuals, nice character designs, and a compelling story. To add insult to injury, the winning film in the Best Animated Feature Film category that year was the mediocre Rango.
