The first Pixar film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was Finding Nemo. The underwater adventure won at the 76th Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2003.
Directed by Andrew Stanton, Finding Nemo follows Marlin, an anxious clownfish who crosses the ocean to find his son Nemo after the young fish is captured by divers. The film combines a parent-child journey with a detailed depiction of coral reefs, ocean currents, and marine life, while introducing audiences to characters such as Dory, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres.
The award was especially significant because Best Animated Feature had only recently been introduced, with the first Oscar presented in 2002. Finding Nemo defeated Brother Bear and The Triplets of Belleville. Toy Story was Pixar's first feature film, but it did not win this category because the award did not yet exist; the film received a special achievement Oscar in 1996 instead.