From dazzling animation to award-season dominance, these films did not just win hearts—they won trophies.
Between 2006 and 2025, BAFTA, the Golden Globes, and Critics Choice have each celebrated the best of animated cinema. Sometimes all three awards selected the same film. Other years produced surprising disagreements.
This is a year-by-year comparison of the Best Animated Feature winners from three major film-award organizations.
Watch closely: the years when all three awards agree often reveal the animated films that defined their era. The years when they disagree reveal how diverse animation has become.
These awards do not always judge animation in exactly the same way. BAFTA brings a British and international perspective, the Golden Globes often recognize major audience favorites, and Critics Choice reflects the response of professional film critics.
Because award ceremonies usually take place after a film’s release year, this article uses the film-award year shown in the comparison table.
| Year | BAFTA | Golden Globe | Critics Choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Happy Feet | Cars | Cars |
| 2007 | Ratatouille | Ratatouille | Ratatouille |
| 2008 | WALL-E | WALL-E | WALL-E |
| 2009 | Up | Up | Up |
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | Toy Story 3 | Toy Story 3 |
| 2011 | Rango | The Adventures of Tintin | Rango |
| 2012 | Brave | Brave | Wreck-It Ralph |
| 2013 | Frozen | Frozen | Frozen |
| 2014 | The Lego Movie | How to Train Your Dragon 2 | The Lego Movie |
| 2015 | Inside Out | Inside Out | Inside Out |
| 2016 | Kubo and the Two Strings | Zootopia | Zootopia |
| 2017 | Coco | Coco | Coco |
| 2018 | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse |
| 2019 | Klaus | Missing Link | Toy Story 4 |
| 2020 | Soul | Soul | Soul |
| 2021 | Encanto | Encanto | The Mitchells vs. the Machines |
| 2022 | Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio | Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio | Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio |
| 2023 | The Boy and the Heron | The Boy and the Heron | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse |
| 2024 | Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl | Flow | The Wild Robot |
| 2025 | Zootopia 2 | KPop Demon Hunters | KPop Demon Hunters |
The first year immediately produced a split. BAFTA chose Happy Feet, while both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice selected Cars.
After that disagreement, the three organizations entered a remarkable four-year agreement. Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, and Toy Story 3 all won across the board.
This period showed the strength of Pixar’s emotional storytelling and the growing status of animated films as serious awards contenders.
The agreement ended in 2011. BAFTA and Critics Choice selected Rango, while the Golden Globes chose The Adventures of Tintin.
In 2012, BAFTA and the Golden Globes went with Brave, while Critics Choice preferred Wreck-It Ralph. The following year, however, all three awards united behind Frozen.
In 2014, BAFTA and Critics Choice recognized The Lego Movie, while the Golden Globes selected How to Train Your Dragon 2. Then in 2015, Inside Out restored complete agreement.
In 2016, BAFTA chose the stop-motion fantasy Kubo and the Two Strings, while the Golden Globes and Critics Choice selected Zootopia.
The next two years brought another powerful consensus. Coco won everywhere in 2017, followed by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018.
The 2019 results were completely divided. BAFTA selected Klaus, the Golden Globes chose Missing Link, and Critics Choice selected Toy Story 4.
In 2020, all three awards agreed once again, choosing Pixar’s jazz-infused and deeply emotional film Soul.
The 2021 awards produced another split. BAFTA and the Golden Globes selected Encanto, while Critics Choice chose The Mitchells vs. the Machines.
In 2022, all three organizations recognized Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, a visually ambitious stop-motion film that brought a darker and more mature tone to the classic story.
The 2023 awards divided between Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, chosen by BAFTA and the Golden Globes, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, selected by Critics Choice.
The 2024 results were split three ways: BAFTA chose Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, the Golden Globes selected Flow, and Critics Choice honored The Wild Robot.
In 2025, BAFTA selected Zootopia 2, while both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice chose KPop Demon Hunters. The latest results show how animation now stretches across theatrical franchises, streaming releases, independent filmmaking, and international storytelling.
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- All three awards agreed in 11 of the 20 years.
- The strongest agreement streak came from 2007 to 2010.
- 2019 and 2024 were the most divided recent years, with three different winners.
- Pixar remained highly influential, but stop-motion, anime, independent animation, and international films gained greater recognition.
- Unique visual styles became increasingly important, especially with films such as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Flow.
Final thought: when all three awards agree, the winning film often becomes a defining title of its generation. When they disagree, the split reminds us that animation is not one style or one tradition—it is a constantly expanding art form.
Which award body has the strongest record: BAFTA, the Golden Globes, or Critics Choice? Share your favorite winner in the comments.
