Best Animated Feature Film

The Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film is an accolade presented annually to honor best animated feature film during the Golden Globe Awards ceremony conducted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). This award honors the groundbreaking animated movie that has emerged as the best in the genre among other nominations through its creator’s unique imagination skill, remarkable animation using cutting edge technology and its overall ability in producing great entertainment to and captivating the audience with a heartfelt story.

The HFPA, which is formed of reporters and photographers, who cover the US showbiz for publications predominantly in non-American media markets, revised its rules in 2007 which saw introduction of the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film as a separate award category for animated films that year. Since then animated films compete in this new category and became ineligible for nomination in the Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy categories. Movies that garner nomination for Best Foreign Language Film are however eligible for Best Animated Feature. Animated films that have won Golden Globe Award prior to 2007 includes Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Toy Story 2 all three of which won in the Golden Globe Award category for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy in 1992, 1995 and 2000 respectively.

The inaugural Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film presented during the 64th Golden Globe Awards in 2007 went to the animated sports comedy film Cars produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Films produced by this computer animation studio have thus far garnered most nominations as well as wins in this category with 16 nominations and 9 wins. The other 8 films produced by Pixar for Walt Disney Pictures that won the award includes the animated comedy-drama Ratatouille in 2008, the animated sci-fi romance film WALL-E in 2009, the animated comedy-drama adventure Up in 2010, the animated comedy-drama Toy Story 3 in 2011, the animated fantasy film Brave in 2013, the animated coming-of-age film Inside Out in 2016, the animated fantasy film Coco in 2018, and the animated fantasy comedy drama Soul in 2021. Pixar is followed by Walt Disney Animation Studios that have bagged 3 wins (out of 12 nominations ) – for the animated musical fantasy film Frozen in 2014, the animated buddy cop action comedy Zootopia in 2017 and the animated musical fantasy comedy Encanto in 2022.

Initially three films used to get nominated in this category, however after members of the HFPA voted to amend certain rules, the organization on November 17, 2009, announced that there will be five nominees in the category at the 67th Golden Globe Awards in 2010. Duration of the films should be at least 70 minutes and the films must not include more than 25% live action. The award will be presented during the ceremony only when at least 8 films qualify in this category otherwise the films would become eligible for Best Picture. Only three films will be nominated in the Best Animated Feature Film category in a year in case less than twelve animated films qualify in this category for that year.

List of Winners - Golden Globes Best Animated Feature Film