Disney’s Unwanted Animation Record Extends To 4 Years (& It’s KPop Demon Hunters’ Fault)

Disney, including Pixar, is used to being the King of animated movies, but it has one unwanted streak that’s now been running for four years. The 2020s have been a difficult time for both Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. Due to the impact on moviegoing from the pandemic, the decision to shift several releases to Disney+, and some misfires in terms of quality, some of their films have struggled more than you’d ordinarily expect. That’s certainly true in terms of original movies: while sequels like Moana 2, Inside Out 2, and Zootopia 2 have been billion-dollar hits, the likes of Elemental, Turning Red, Wish, and Strange World have struggled.

Even where there has been box office success, however, it hasn’t necessarily guaranteed awards. Again, Disney and Pixar used to be the dominant players in this field, but that’s no longer the case. They’ve slipped, and other studios have caught up and in some cases surpassed them in terms of invention. With KPop Demon Hunters winning the Best Animated Feature Film prize at the Golden Globes 2026, it’s now four years since a Disney or Pixar movie won that award, going back to its win for Encanto in 2022, as the table below breaks down.

Will Disney Reclaim Its Animation Awards Crown?

That three-year streak was already a record period without a win for Disney or Pixar, the latter of which dominated the award from its inception in 2007, winning the first five in a row, and now it’s been extended. It’s also going to be a similar story at the Oscars: again, the last win came with Encanto, and it’s difficult to look past the cultural behemoth (and genuinely brilliant) KPop Demon Hunters when it comes to the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

So, if not now, could Disney or Pixar’s 2026 movies see them reclaim their former awards glory? There are some huge things ahead. Pixar will begin the year with its original movie, Hoppers, on March 6th, 2026, and follows an animal love whose brain is transported into the body of a beaver. Pixar has had mixed success with its animated movies in recent years, though it’s been more about commercial viability than quality. If this can recapture some of the old magic, though, it may have a chance.

Perhaps more likely is Toy Story 5. The Animated Oscar wasn’t introduced until 2002, so the first two Toy Story movies weren’t eligible. Since then, however, both Toy Story 3 and 4 took home the prize, so there’s very good form for this franchise. If Toy Story 5 can get close to matching their quality, it’ll be among the favorites. It is a slightly different story at the Golden Globes: while Toy Story 3 won, Toy Story 4 did not.

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As for Disney, it also has a new original animation coming out at Thanksgiving, titled Hexed. Little is known about it, but it’s set to focus on a young girl with magical powers, who is transported to a world where said magic can run free. If this can, like Encanto, be an original Disney movie that casts a spell on audiences, critics, and voters, then maybe we can finally see the Mouse House returning to the very top of animation in 2026. This is an exciting year for animated movies, though, with the likes of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island, and Sony Pictures Animation’s Goat just some potential rivals.

Beyond this year, there’s a lot of sequels in the works. Toy Story aside, neither the Oscars nor Golden Globes have typically rewarded Disney/Pixar sequels: the likes of Incredibles 2 and Frozen II didn’t win (indeed, Frozen II didn’t even land an Oscar nomination). The studios’ slate includes sequels to both of those movies, as well as Coco 2, but they’ll have to break with history to take home a prize. Pixar also has Gatto, following a cat in Venice who is indebted to a local (feline) mob boss, which might be the kind of thing to play well. An original Pixar movie hasn’t won since Soul, but that’s surely got to change eventually.

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