Five Times Disney Animated Characters Have Handed Out Oscars

Disney animated characters are no strangers to the Academy Awards, sometimes even attending them “in person” to hand out prizes.

Their presence has, at times, added a welcome bit of levity to the proceedings. Other times, things felt almost nepotistic, like when Disney-Pixar characters Woody and Buzz Lightyear announced that Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out had won best animated feature in 2016.

And in 1988, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck engaged in a slapstick spat that felt awkward and incongruous when Mickey then announced that Frédéric Back’s The Man Who Planted Trees, an ethereal tale about a shepherd trying to reforest a barren valley, had won the award for best animated short.

Below, we look back at five times that Disney animated characters have presented Academy Awards. Four were in the animated short category and one was for best animated feature.

With 2023 marking the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, we wouldn’t be surprised if one or more of the studio’s animated actors shows up at Sunday night’s ceremony.

Category: Animated Short, 1988

Winner: The Man Who Planted Trees – Frédéric Back

Presenters: Mickey Mouse, Tom Selleck

Category: Animated Short, 1992

Winner: Manipulation – Daniel Greaves

Presenters: Belle, Beast, Chip

Animated Short: 1993

Winner: Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase – Joan C. Gratz

Presenter: Snow White

Animated Short: 2003

Winner: The Chubbchubbs! – Eric Armstrong

Presenters: Mickey Mouse, Jennifer Garner

Animated Feature: 2016

Winner: Inside Out – Pete Doctor, Jonas Rivera

Presenters: Buzz Lightyear, Woody