Disney’s animation drought continues.
At the 98th Academy Awards, KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature, beating nominees that included Elio and Zootopia 2. That result pushed Disney Animation and Pixar to four straight Oscar ceremonies without a win in the category since Encanto took the prize at the 2021 Oscars.
That is more than a one-night disappointment. Disney Animation and Pixar, with 14 Best Animated Feature wins combined, are now in their longest drought of the official era.
Why Disney’s animation drought matters
Best Animated Feature became an official Oscar category in 2001, and the first official winner was Shrek. Since then, Disney and Pixar have defined much of the category’s modern history with 14 wins.
Pixar broke through first with Finding Nemo in 2003. Walt Disney Animation Studios followed with Frozen in 2013, then added wins for Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Encanto. Pixar built an even deeper run with winners that included The Incredibles, Up, Inside Out, Coco, and Soul.
That is why this current Disney animation drought stands out. Disney and Pixar have now gone winless at the 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 awards. In the official category era, that is their longest combined gap.
Hoppers has the right kind of early momentum
That brings the spotlight to Hoppers.
Pixar’s new original film follows Mabel, a 19-year-old animal lover who uses secret technology to “hop” her consciousness into a life-like robotic beaver so she can communicate with animals and help protect their habitat.
Just as important, Hoppers is off to a strong start at the box office. The film opened to about $45.3 million domestically and $88 million worldwide, then held the number one spot in its second weekend with another $28.5 million domestically. Its global total has already climbed to $164.7 million.
That kind of start does not guarantee awards success. Still, it gives Hoppers something Disney and Pixar need right now: momentum. The film is not just another release on the calendar. It is quickly becoming the studio’s most immediate chance to shift the conversation.
Sam’s Disney Diary Take
This is what makes the Hoppers story interesting.
It is not just Pixar’s next original movie. It is arriving at a moment when Disney and Pixar need a win. After losing to KPop Demon Hunters, the studios are now in their longest official Best Animated Feature drought. Hoppers also has the kind of early box office momentum that makes people pay attention. If that momentum keeps building, this could be the film that ends the streak next year.
The bigger Oscar history behind the story
Before Best Animated Feature existed, the Academy used special or honorary awards to recognize major breakthroughs in animation. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs received a special honorary Oscar in 1939. Fantasia earned two special awards in 1942 for its artistic and technical innovation. Then Toy Story received a Special Achievement Award in 1996 for its groundbreaking leap in feature-length computer animation.
Those honors matter because they show Disney and Pixar shaped Oscar history long before animation had its own official feature category.
Oscar Timeline Notes
Special Academy Recognition Before Best Animated Feature
-
Snow White Academy Award – Awarded to Walt Disney 1939 1939 — Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — Special/Honorary Award
- 1942 — Fantasia — Special Award for artistic innovation
- 1942 — Fantasia — Special Award for technical sound innovation
- 1996 — Toy Story — Special Achievement Award
Official Category Timing
- 2001 — Shrek was the first winner in the Official category Best Animated Feature
Pixar Best Animated Feature Wins (Ceremony Year)
2003 — Finding Nemo- 2004 — The Incredibles
- 2007 — Ratatouille
- 2008 — WALL-E
- 2009 — Up
- 2010 — Toy Story 3
- 2012 — Brave
- 2015 — Inside Out
- 2017 — Coco
- 2020 — Soul
Walt Disney Animation Studios Best Animated Feature Wins (Ceremony Year)
2013 — Frozen- 2014 — Big Hero 6
- 2016 — Zootopia
- 2021 — Encanto
Notes
- Disney Animation only: longest completed gap is 5 years, from Zootopia (2016) to Encanto (2021)
- Disney Animation + Pixar together: current drought is 4 straight Oscar ceremonies, from 2022 through 2025 (Now)
- That makes the current combined drought the longest in the official Best Animated Feature era
- Disney also had Oscar-night TV history before today’s ABC era, including Disney Goes to the Oscars, a Wonderful World of Disney special tied to the 1986 awards season.
- Be sure to vote for your favorite film in 2026 Disney Animated Movie Madness.
Every Best Animated Feature Winner Since 2001
2001 — Shrek- 2002 — Spirited Away
- 2003 — Finding Nemo
- 2004 — The Incredibles
- 2005 — Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
- 2006 — Happy Feet
- 2007 — Ratatouille
- 2008 — WALL-E
- 2009 — Up
- 2010 — Toy Story 3
- 2011 — Rango
2012 — Brave- 2013 — Frozen
- 2014 — Big Hero 6
- 2015 — Inside Out
- 2016 — Zootopia
- 2017 — Coco
- 2018 — Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- 2019 — Toy Story 4
- 2020 — Soul
- 2021 — Encanto
- 2022 — Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
- 2023 — The Boy and the Heron
- 2024 — Flow
- 2025 — KPop Demon Hunters
