Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was first awarded at the 74th Academy Awards ceremony held on the 24th of March 2002. This decision fundamentally altered the trajectory of the animation industry after decades of resistance from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
An animated feature film must have a running time of greater than 40 minutes with at least 75 percent of the picture's running time being animation. The award is not presented in a year if fewer than eight eligible films open in theaters.
Pixar holds the most wins for a studio with 11 awards and the most consecutive wins of 4 between 2007 and 2010. Walt Disney Animation Studios follows with 4 wins, and both studios are owned by the Walt Disney Company which has 15 wins for the category in total.
Hayao Miyazaki became the oldest winner in 2024 at the age of 83 for The Boy and the Heron. He previously held the record between 2003 and 2023 before briefly being succeeded by Mark Gustafson for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.
Flow is the first independent film to win the award and the first to win the category in three consecutive years alongside Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio and The Boy and the Heron. It is also the only film with a seven-figure budget to win the top prize.
Critics and fans have argued that the category prevents animated films from having a chance of winning Best Picture and that Academy members refuse to vote for films they consider mere children's fare. The dominance of Disney and Pixar is alleged to be injuring the credibility of the award.