"Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse" took home the Academy Award for best animated feature on Sunday, marking the first time since 2012 that the big prize did not go to a Disney film.
The Sony film was a front runner headed into Oscar weekend, having taken home awards at The Golden Globes, BAFTA's and Annie Awards earlier this year. This is the first time that Sony Pictures Animation has ever won in this category at the Academy Awards.
"There's 800 filmmakers who pushed boundaries and took risks to make people feel powerful and seen," Chris Miller, a producer on the film, said during the ceremony.
"So when we hear that somebody, somebody's kid was watching the movie and turned to them and said 'he looks like me' or 'they speak Spanish like us' we feel like we already won," Phil Lord, a writer on the film, added.
Since the category was established in 2001 — the first award was given out in 2002 — Disney has won the award a dozen times with films from Disney Animation and Pixar.
| Year | Best Animated Feature | Distribution Company |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Shrek | DreamWorks |
| 2003 | Spirited Away | Studio Ghibli |
| 2004 | Finding Nemo | Disney |
| 2005 | The Incredibles | Disney |
| 2006 | Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | Warner Bros |
| 2007 | Happy Feet | DreamWorks |
| 2008 | Ratatouille | Disney |
| 2009 | WALL-E | Disney |
| 2010 | Up | Disney |
| 2011 | Toy Story 3 | Disney |
| 2012 | Rango | Nickelodeon Movies / Paramount Pictures |
| 2013 | Brave | Disney |
| 2014 | Frozen | Disney |
| 2015 | Big Hero 6 | Disney |
| 2016 | Inside Out | Disney |
| 2017 | Zootopia | Disney |
| 2018 | Coco | Disney |
"Spider-Man" was directed by Bob Persichetti (directorial debut), Peter Ramsey ("Rise of the Guardians") and Rodney Rothman (directorial debut) and it was written by Lord ("The Lego Movie") and Rothman ("22 Jump Street").
Sony employed around 177 animators to create the film, more than double the animation crew typically hired.
"Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse" tells the story of Miles Morales, a half-black, half-Hispanic boy from Brooklyn, as he crosses paths with five other Spider-Man counterparts — Peter B. Parker, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham, Peni Parker and Spider-Man Noir — from separate dimensions. The six heroes must team up to save all of their realities.
The film has hauled in more than $183 million at the domestic box office and more than $358 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.