The first animated movie to win an Oscar
The fifth Academy Awards ceremony would be notable for a number of reasons. The Oscars had come a long way in just half a decade, shedding categories and combining others to better reflect the constant evolution of the motion picture industry. Separate awards for ‘Best Comedy’ and ‘Best Drama’ had been combined into a single category, ‘Best Picture’ (although at the 1932 ceremony, the category was called ‘Outstanding Production’).
The Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences also decided to create three new categories for short films at the 1932 Academy Awards. Oscars for ‘Best Live Action Short Subject’ were divided into two different categories – one for Comedy and one for Novelty. A third category was established as well, recognising another art form that was revolutionising itself at a rapid pace: animation.
The fifth Academy Awards would be something of a coronation for Walt Disney. The legendary animator established the Disney Brothers Studio with his sibling Roy in 1923. By 1928, he had created his most iconic character, Mickey Mouse, along with animator and cartoonist Ub Iwerks. Disney was leading the charge in progressing animation with the use of synchronised sound and the implementation of Technicolor, and the Oscars saw fit to give Disney a prominent place at the Academy Awards.
In addition to creating a special short animated film specifically for the ceremony entitled Parade of the Award Nominee, Disney was also given an Academy Honorary Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. Disney was only the third recipient of an honourary award after Warner Bros and Charlie Chaplin were both given one at the first Academy Awards. Warner Bros was honoured for producing the first mainstream talking film, The Jazz Singer, while Chaplin was honoured for acting as director, producer, writer, and star of The Circus.
Disney’s night at the fifth Academy Awards wouldn’t be strictly honourary either. For the brand-new ‘Best Animated Short Film’ category, Disney won for the Silly Symphonies cartoon Flowers and Trees. Disney’s win was almost pre-ordained: of the three short films nominated in the category, Disney was responsible for two of them, Flowers and Trees and Mickey’s Orphans. The third was a Merrie Melodies cartoon produced by Leon Schlesinger titled, It’s Got Me Again!
With the award, Flowers and Trees became the first animated film to win an Oscar. That wouldn’t be its only record-setting distinction – Flowers and Trees was also the first Academy Award-winning film to be produced in colour. A feature-length colour film wouldn’t win ‘Best Picture’ until Gone With the Wind more than half a decade later.
Check out Flowers and Trees down below.
