VIDEO. The Oscar awards for best animated short films are awarded by the American Academy of Film starting with the 5th edition, which took place in November 1932 in Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. It was the first time the event was held outside of Hollywood.
The 5th edition brought to Walt Disney a well deserved honorary Oscar, in recognition of the creation of Mickey Mouse and the innovative use of sound in the world’s first synchronized sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie. Also, the legendary comedian Charlie Chaplin was presented with a special award for writing, directing, producing, and starring in the film „City Lights.” Although the film was a critical and commercial success, it did not receive any nominations in the regular categories due to its release date falling outside the eligibility period.
We offer you the complete list of short films awarded at the Oscars since then: click on the Next button or see here for more navigation options.
Parade of the Award Nominees
Walt Disney created for the Oscar edition of 1932 a special animated short film just for the banquet: Parade of the Award Nominees, which you can see above.
The early awards seem to take us through the important themes of those times: from the innocent age of animation films in the 1930s to the propaganda-heavy era of the war in the 1940s.
The 1950s brought many awards to MGM studios due to the Tom and Jerry series, as well as to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which released the legendary Looney Tunes animations, with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester and Tweety.
Trivia
- Most awards: Walt Disney – 15 awards
- Most nominations: Walt Disney – 49 nominations
- Shortest winning film: The Crunch Bird (1971) – 2 minutes
- Longest winning film: Peter & the Wolf (2007) – 33 minutes
DECADE
1931-1939
1940-1949
1950-1959
1960-1969
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-2009
2010-2023
Short Animated Films Awarded with Oscar 1931-1939
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Flowers and Trees
(Oscar-winning Animation 1931-1932)
It’s springtime and the forest is alive with music and dance. Flowers and Trees is a Technicolor short film directed by Burt Gillett and produced by Walt Disney. It was the first animated short film to use three-strip Technicolor and the first to win an Academy Award.
