Oscar Nominations 2014: 'Frozen,' 'Despicable Me 2' but no Pixar

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Cate Blachett, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o and more took home Oscar statuettes at the 86th Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The glitzy event, hosted by talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, included musical performances and a big win for “12 Years a Slave,” which took home best picture. Here’s a look at some highlights from the show. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images / John Shearer/Invision/AP)

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Actor-producer Brad Pitt, center, accepts the best picture Oscar for “12 Years a Slave.” “Thank you all,” Pitt said. “Thank you for this incredible honor you’ve bestowed on our film.” (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Actor-producer Brad Pitt, left, accepts the best picture Oscar for historic biopic “12 Years a Slave” from actor Will Smith. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Alfonso Cuaron accepts the director Oscar for space thriller “Gravity.” (Rob Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Angelina Jolie honors Sidney Poitier before the pair introduces the nominees for director. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Matthew McConaughey accepts the lead actor Oscar for “Dallas Buyers Club,” a film that took 20 years to come to fruition. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Actress Jennifer Lawrence walks onto stage and asks “Why are you laughing?” to her peers sitting in the audience. She then introduces the nominees for lead actor. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Cate Blanchett accepts the lead actress Oscar for her role in “Blue Jasmine.” She praises her fellow nominees in the category. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Screenwriter-director Spike Jonze accepts the original screenplay Oscar for “Her.” “We made a movie about relationships and intimacy and that’s what we share together.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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John Ridley accepts the adapted screenplay Oscar for “12 Years a Slave.” “All the praise goes to Solomon Northup -- those are his words.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Penelope Cruz and Robert De Niro announce the nominees for adapted and original screenplay. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Jamie Foxx and Jessica Biel announce the nominees for original score. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Idina Menzel sings “Let It Go,” written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez for Disney’s “Frozen.” (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez accept the original song Oscar for “Let It Go’ from Disney’s “Frozen.” The pair wrote a charming, rhyming acceptance speech. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Actress Glenn Close pays tribute to notable movie-industry figures who have died.

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Bette Midler sings “Wind Beneath My Wings” as part of the In Memoriam tribute. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Beverley Dunn, left, and Catherine Martin accept the production design award for “The Great Gatsby.” Dunn emphasized that the win wouldn’t have been possible without the technicians involved in the film. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Jennifer Garner and Benedict Cumberbatch announce the nominees for production design. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Ellen DeGeneres comes out wearing a costume from “The Wizard of Oz.” She pretends to be bummed for missing Pink’s performance. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Pink performs the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in a tribute to the film “The Wizard of Oz.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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TV personality-actress Whoopi Goldberg introduces the tribute to the film “The Wizard of Oz,” which includes a performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Pink. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Kevin Spacey briefly gets into his “House of Cards” character onstage. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Amy Adams and Bill Murray have fun with their speech as they announce the nominees for cinematography. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Director-editor Alfonso Cuaron and editor Mark Sanger accept the editing Oscar for space odyssey “Gravity.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Anna Kendrick and Gabourey Sidibe announce the nominees for film editing.

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Ellen DeGeneres gathers members from the audience for a selfie. Bradley Cooper does the honors. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Ellen DeGeneres gathers members from the audience for a selfie. She aims to see how often the photo is retweeted in hopes of breaking a world record. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Host Ellen DeGeneres gathers all the front-row stars and takes a selfie during the telecast. She aimis to see how often the photo is retweeted in hopes of breaking the world record. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Kevin Spacey grabs a slice of pizza that host Ellen DeGeneres ordered for stars in the audience, assuming they were all hungry. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Host Ellen DeGeneres walks through the aisles with a pizza delivery man. Assuming the audience members were hungry, DeGeneres took it upon herself to order some pizza for all. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Sound editor Glenn Freemantle accepts sound editing Oscar for “Gravity.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Kate Hudson and Jason Sudeikis onstage. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times))

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Brad Pitt, who is nominated for his role in the historic biopic “12 Years a Slave,” walks on stage. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Sound mixers Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Skip Lievsay, and Chris Munro accept the sound mixing Oscar for “Gravity.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron announce the nominees for sound mixing. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Tyler Perry introduces a few of the films up for best picture. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Lupita Nyong’o accepts the supporting actress Oscar for “12 Years a Slave.” “YES!” she began. “Thank you so much [director Steve McQueen] for putting me int his position, it has been the joy of my life.” She ended her heartfelt speech by saying, “No matter where you are from, your dreams are valid.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Sound editor Glenn Freemantle accepts the sound editing Oscar for “Gravity.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Actors Michael B. Jordan and Kristen Bell speak onstage.

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Janet Friesen, director Morgan Neville, producer Caitrin Rogers, and singer Darlene Love accept the documentary feature Oscar for “20 Feet From Stardom.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Actress Sally Field speaks onstage. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Singer Bono of U2 performs “Ordinary Love,” which the band wrote for “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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U2 performs “Ordinary Love,” which the band wrote for “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Actor Bradley Cooper speaks onstage. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Actor Toni Servillo, director Paolo Sorrentino, and producer Nicola Giuliano accept the foreign-language film Oscar for “The Great Beauty.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Actors Ewan McGregor and Viola Davis announce the nominees for foreign-language film. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Visual effects artists Neil Corbould, David Shirk, Timothy Webber and Chris Lawrence accept the visual effects Oscar for “Gravity.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emma Watson announce the nominees for visual effects. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Zac Efron announces Karen O. and “her hauntingly beautiful ballad,” “The Moon Song,” from Spike Jonze’s love story “Her.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Producer Peter Del Vecho, directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck accept the animated feature Oscar for Disney’s “Frozen.” “Thank you so much for supporting this,” Lee said. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Kim Novak and Matthew McConaughey announce the nominees for animated feature. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Filmmakers Nicholas Reed and Malcolm Clarke accept the documentary short film Oscar for “The Lady In Number 6.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Filmmakers Kim Magnusson and Anders Walter accept live-action short film Oscar for “Helium.” (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Filmmakers Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares accept the animated short film Oscar for “Mr. Hublot.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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A group of film students who won a student competition are part of “Team Oscar.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Channing Tatum introduces a group of students that are part of “Team Oscar.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Harrison Ford pays tribute to the best picture nominees this year. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews accept the makeup and hairstyling Oscar for their work in “Dallas Buyers Club.” “You fought for the hair and makeup for this film,” Mathews said. “To Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto,” Matthews continued, “Thank you for letting us transform your looks millions of times.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Catherine Martin wins a costume design Oscar for her work in “The Great Gatsby.” She reached for a piece of paper tucked into her bra. “It’s an Australian thing to do,” she said. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Naomi Watts and Samuel L. Jackson announce the nominees for costume design, and makeup and hairstyling. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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This is Ellen DeGeneres’ second time as Oscars host, an honor she jokingly calls the “highest award there is.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Pharrell Williams performs the song “Happy,” which he wrote for the animated film “Despicable Me 2.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Kerry Washington introduces Pharrell Williams, who performed the song “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Host Ellen DeGeneres takes a selfie showing all the “beautiful” people she’s surrounded by. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Jim Carrey presents a tribute to animation and jokingly reads “animation” as the drug “LSD.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Jared Leto wins the supporting actor Oscar for his role as the AIDS-stricken transsexual Rayon in “Dallas Buyers Club.” Leto said: “To all my fellow nominees, I’m so proud to share this journey with you. This,” he said as he raised his award, “is for the 36 million people who have lost the battle to AIDS.”

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Anne Hathaway presents the nominees for supporting actor. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Jennifer Lawrence, center, laughs as Ellen DeGeneres uses part of her opening monologue to poke fun at Lawrence’s tripping last year. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Ellen DeGeneres resumes her title as host and lets the jokes begin. She opens her monologue poking fun at the rain that’s showered Los Angeles, saying, “We’re fine. Thank you for your prayers.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

By Rebecca Keegan

Jan. 16, 2014 12:30 PM PT

The Oscar nominees for animated feature this year reflect shifts in an art form that has become an increasingly crucial part of the movie business.

There is the return of an industry giant, Walt Disney Animation Studios, which saw its blockbuster musical “Frozen” collect nominations both for animated feature and original song; the validation of a younger studio player, Los Angeles and Paris-based Illumination Entertainment, which secured its first Oscar nominations for “Despicable Me 2” and that movie’s original song, “Happy”; the omission of a category stalwart, Pixar Animation, which was passed over for its prequel “Monsters University”; and the end of an august career, that of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, who was nominated for what he has said will be his final film, “The Wind Rises.”

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“The Croods,” the DreamWorks Animation caveman comedy, and “Ernest & Celestine,” the hand-drawn French-Belgian adaptation from independent distributor GKIDS, rounded out the category.

For the makers of “Frozen,” directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and producer Peter Del Veccho, the Oscar nomination is the culmination of weeks of very good news, including their film becoming the studio’s highest grosser since “The Lion King,” its soundtrack sitting atop the Billboard charts and the announcement that Disney will adapt a Broadway musical from the film.

“Every day it gets more overwhelming -- the response to the movie, the fans and the crowd,” said Lee, who is the first woman to direct a Disney Animation feature. “People keep going back, and they have brought ‘Frozen’ into their lives.”

Illumination Chief Executive Chris Meledandri was also marking a personal first, in the nominations for his studio’s “Despicable Me 2,” the comedy directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin.
“It feels extraordinary,” Meledandri said. “To think that the company didn’t exist seven years ago, and to be recognized in this way for the work that the team has done is an extraordinary feeling of pride.”

Pixar directors are used to being included in the celebration on Oscar nominations morning, but “Monsters University’s” Dan Scanlon seemed to take his movie’s omission from the category in stride.

“Tuxedo for sale” Scanlon tweeted.
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