What distinction did Disney's 1991 animated Beauty and the Beast achieve at the Academy Awards?
Answer
First animated Best Picture nominee
Disney's 1991 animated Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The nomination came at the 64th Academy Awards, honoring films released in 1991. Beauty and the Beast competed against Bugsy, JFK, The Prince of Tides, and the eventual winner, The Silence of the Lambs.
The achievement was especially notable because the Academy had only recently expanded recognition of animated filmmaking through awards such as Best Animated Short Film; there was no separate Best Animated Feature category yet. That category was introduced in 2001.
Beauty and the Beast received six Oscar nominations and won two: Best Original Song for the title song and Best Original Score. Its Best Picture nomination helped establish Disney animation as a major awards contender.