Early this morning the nominations for the 89th Annual Academy Awards were released with Pixar Animation Studios receiving a nomination for Best Animated Short Film (Piper). The endearing short film has come a long way as it was originally crafted only to support a technical test within the studio, but shortly thereafter (with the encouragement from John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton), director Alan Barillaro developed the idea into the short film, Piper.
Pixar Animation Studios has always supported the talent within their creative walls and we were thrilled to see Borrowed Time (the independent project written and directed by Pixarians Lou Hamou-Lhadj & Andrew Coats) receive a nomination alongside Piper.
This past year has been remarkable for animated feature films and as the race for the Academy Award nomination drew near, Finding Dory was ultimately omitted from The Best Animated Feature Film category (see above for a complete list of nominations).
This will mark the fourth Pixar film that the Academy has not recognized – following Cars 2, Monsters University, and The Good Dinosaur. Even with the strength and popularity of a Billion dollars in box office revenue (on top of technical achievements accomplished in the film), the quest for a nomination isn’t guaranteed.
For a complete history of Pixar’s wins and nominations, see below.
History of Pixar Wins & Nominations at the Academy Awards
FEATURE FILMS
| Toy Story | • Original Score: Randy Newman – Nominated • Original Song: “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated • Special Achievement Award: John Lasseter – Won |
| A Bug’s Life | • Original Score: Randy Newman – Nominated |
| Toy Story 2 | • Original Song: “When She Loved Me” – Nominated |
| Monsters, Inc. | • Animated Feature Film – Nominated (Shrek, Won) • Original Score: Randy Newman – Nominated • Original Song: “If I Didn’t Have You” – Won • Sound Editing – Nominated |
| Finding Nemo | • Animated Feature Film: Andrew Stanton – Won • Original Score: Thomas Newman – Nominated • Sound Editing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| The Incredibles | • Animated Feature Film: Brad Bird – Won • Sound Editing: Michael Silvers & Randy Thom – Won • Sound Mixing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| Cars | • Animated Feature Film – Nominated (Happy Feet, Won) • Original Song: “Our Town” – Nominated |
| Ratatouille | • Animated Feature Film: Brad Bird – Won • Original Score: Michael Giacchino – Nominated • Sound Editing – Nominated • Sound Mixing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| WALL•E | • Animated Feature Film: Andrew Stanton – Won • Original Score – Nominated • Original Song: “Down to Earth” – Nominated • Sound Editing – Nominated Best Sound Mixing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| Up | • Animated Feature Film: Pete Docter – Won • Best Picture – Nominated • Original Score: Michael Giacchino – Won • Sound Editing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| Toy Story 3 | • Animated Feature Film: Lee Unkrich – Won • Best Picture – Nominated • Original Song: “We Belong Together” – Won • Sound Editing – Nominated • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| Cars 2 | No Academy Award nominations |
| Brave | • Animated Feature Film: Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapman – Won |
| Monsters University | No Academy Award nominations |
| Inside Out | • Animated Feature Film: Pete Docter & Jonas Rivera – Won • Original Screenplay – Nominated |
| The Good Dinosaur | No Academy Award nominations |
| Finding Dory | No Academy Award nominations |
SHORT FILMS
| Luxo, Jr. | Nominated (A Greek Tragedy, Won) |
| Tin Toy | John Lasseter & William (Bill) Reeves – Won |
| Geri’s Game | Jan Pinkava – Won |
| For The Birds | Ralph Eggleston – Won |
| Mike’s New Car | Nominated (The ChubbChubbs!, Won) |
| Boundin’ | Nominated (Harvie Krumpet, Won) |
| One Man Band | Nominated (The Moon & The Son: An Imagined Conversation, Won) |
| Lifted | Nominated (The Danish Poet, Won) |
| Presto | Nominated (La Maison en Petits Cubes, Won) |
| Day & Night | Nominated (The Lost Thing, Won) |
| La Luna | Nominated (The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, Won) |
| Sanjay’s Super Team | Nominated (Bear Story, Won) |
| Piper | Alan Barillaro – Won |
With the award season underway, be sure to share your thoughts with other Pixar fans in the Pixar Post Forum or leave a comment below — what are your thoughts on the omission of Finding Dory?, what are your predictions in the Best Animated Short Film category? Congratulations to the Finding Dory team on a fantastic film and we look forward to the upcoming BAFTAs, VES and Annie Awards.
