Top 10 Animated Movies that Didn't Win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature

These are the animated films that are revered for their greatness by audiences but didn't receive the coveted Oscar gold. Some were beaten out by stiff competition. Some were absolutely snubbed by the committee. Some weren't even nominated for the award at all.

Anyhow, this list basically serves as a best-of-the-runners-up list for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. They may not have won the award, but they won many hearts across the world.

These are only films that have been released after 2001, as that is when the award was first introduced.

The Top Ten

How to Train Your Dragon

2010 Winner: Toy Story 3
How to Train Your Dragon is, in my opinion, DreamWorks Animation's finest film. It has everything: great humor, a fantastic story, relatable characters, and stunning animation. I love this movie dearly, but I can totally see why Toy Story 3 won the award. 2010 was a great year for animated movies in general.

Why am I not surprised that almost all of the awards were stolen by Disney?
The Lego Movie

2014 Winner: Big Hero 6
(The Lego Movie wasn't even nominated!)
The fact that The Lego Movie wasn't even nominated for this award will go down as one of the biggest Oscar snubs in animation history. You can even make a case that it should have WON the award, let alone been nominated for it.
Anyway, this is a great, creative movie with an unforgettable sense of humor and a fantastic message about the creative spirit.

Man, I usually prefer Disney/Pixar, but I was upset this great movie was beat out by Big Hero 6, a movie I also really like.
Shrek 2

2004 Winner: The Incredibles
DreamWorks constantly gets overshadowed by Pixar and Disney when it comes to the Academy Awards. I don't really know why that is. Anyway, Shrek 2 is an overall great sequel to a great movie. In my opinion, it's actually BETTER than the original Shrek. It has great jokes, a great story, and a surprising surplus of heart as well. However, it's hard to beat the absolute awesomeness that is Pixar's The Incredibles.
Monsters, Inc.

2001 Winner: Shrek
Monsters, Inc. is a classic for a reason. It has a genius concept for an animated movie, tons of great characters and jokes, as well as Pixar's signature brand of emotional impact. Shrek narrowly beat it in the first year the award was handed out.
How to Train Your Dragon 2

2014 Winner: Big Hero 6
How To Train Your Dragon 2 was a great follow-up to one of the greatest animated films ever. The characters continue their story with plenty of funny and dramatic moments. However, when it comes to Disney vs. DreamWorks, the committee will usually pick Disney every time.
Kung Fu Panda 2

2011 Winner: Rango
One thing that DreamWorks has really mastered is the ability to make high-quality sequels that continue the protagonist's journey. Kung Fu Panda 2 improves upon the original with numerous emotional scenes and stunning kung fu sequences. The Western Rango just narrowly beat it out in 2011.

This movie was pure cinema, but so was Rango.
Wreck-It Ralph

2012 Winner: Brave (unfortunately)
When Brave beat Wreck-It Ralph in 2012, many people (myself included) were ticked off. It didn't feel right that one of Pixar's weakest films got the upper hand over one of the greatest movies that Walt Disney Animation Studios has ever made. Even though it didn't win, Wreck-It Ralph has the consolation prize of being remembered much more fondly today than Brave will ever be.

Oh my gosh, this film is just the best in the universe. This movie totally deserved to win against Brave.
Brave was literally just Brother Bear! It probably only won because of Merida's hair anyway!
Also, I'm so sick and tired of people saying, "Waah, this movie didn't have enough cameos. I hate it so much." Like, come ON, people!
I really hope that the subplot in the sequel gets an animated short. That would be amazing! Writes cringey fanfiction anyway.
Tangled

I can understand this one. Disney's 2D movies, while good, didn't really resonate with audiences who wanted 3D animation, and its 3D efforts went from good (Meet the Robinsons) to downright awful (Chicken Little). But this was basically the start of the 2010s Renaissance, and it barely got any recognition! Toy Story 3, while good, pales in comparison to 1 and 2. (Let's not talk about 4 or the upcoming 5.) And this movie, in my opinion, is one of the best Disney films of the decade!
Also, I know this isn't usually important, but Tangled cost $260 million to make, while Toy Story 3 cost $200 million - a $60 million difference! It makes Tangled look like it was made yesterday.

2010 Winner: Toy Story 3
(Tangled wasn't even nominated!)
I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I really like Tangled. The characters are lovable, the story is genius, and the songs are pretty catchy too. Without Tangled, we wouldn't have gotten Frozen, and I greatly respect this movie and its impact.
It's really weird that it wasn't even nominated, though. "I See the Light" was even overlooked for the Best Original Song Oscar as well.
Ice Age

2002 Winner: Spirited Away
It feels really bad that when people think of Ice Age, they usually think of brainless, stupid kiddy films made just to make money. The thing is, the first Ice Age is actually really, REALLY good. All the characters are funny and work off each other well. The journey they go through is filled with adventure, and the movie actually has a lot of heart to it. An Ice Age movie with HEART?! What has the world come to?!
While this movie is a classic of my childhood and still one of my favorite animated movies ever, it can't compete with the utter genius of Hayao Miyazaki.
The Simpsons Movie

2007 Winner: Ratatouille
(The Simpsons Movie wasn't even nominated!)
I love The Simpsons. It's one of my favorite TV shows and one of the greatest cartoons ever made. The movie is just a great adaptation and sums up everything that's so awesome, funny, and touching about the show. But since it's a TV-to-film adaptation, many Academy voters didn't necessarily think it was "Oscar material." And that's a shame because I think it could have actually given Pixar and Ratatouille a run for their money. And that's saying a LOT.

Even if it did get nominated, it would most likely be hard for this movie to beat the gold that is Pixar's Ratatouille.

The Newcomers

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Ponyo
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Klaus

It lost to Toy Story 4. Who wouldn't love to watch a movie with J.K. Simmons voicing Santa Claus?

The Contenders

Megamind

2010 Winner: Toy Story 3
(Megamind wasn't even nominated)
Pity any animated movie that came out the same year as the masterpiece Toy Story 3, as they were doomed from the start when going up against it. Any other year, however, this wonderfully quirky and fast-paced superhero-villain movie would have easily gotten a nomination, and maybe even a win.
The Polar Express

2004 Winner: The Incredibles
(The Polar Express wasn't even nominated)
If I had the Oscars my way, The Incredibles would still win the award, and Shrek 2 would still be nominated, but this would be nominated instead of Shark Tale, the worst DreamWorks film of all time. And no SpongeBob, because that movie sucked as well.
Howl's Moving Castle
Coraline
Song of the Sea
Corpse Bride
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

2004 Winner: The Incredibles
(The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie wasn't even nominated)
To be honest, while this movie is great, it would still be hard to beat out The Incredibles.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Persepolis
ParaNorman
Cars
Isle of Dogs
Despicable Me 2

I actually really enjoyed this movie, but it did not really deserve an award. A nomination? Possibly.
The Boxtrolls
The Pirates! Band of Misfits