Which film won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature instead of Ice Age?

Spirited Away won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature instead of Ice Age.

Ice Age was one of the nominees at the 75th Academy Awards, which honored films released during 2002. Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away won the category, becoming the first Japanese film to receive the award.

The result is sometimes confused with the other nominated animated features from that ceremony, including Lilo & Stitch, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and Treasure Planet. Shrek won the inaugural Best Animated Feature Oscar at the previous ceremony, not in 2003.

Ice Age’s nomination was an important early recognition for Blue Sky Studios. The film’s success helped establish the studio as a major producer of computer-animated theatrical features.