CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film

award given for short films

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ917808
Source-derived summary

The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1931–32, to the present.

From 1932 until 1970, the category was known as Short Subjects, Cartoons; and from 1971 to 1973 as Short Subjects, Animated Films. The present title began with the 46th Awards in 1974. During the first 5 decades of the award's existence, awards were presented to the producers of the shorts. Current Academy rules, however, call for the award to be presented to "the individual person most directly responsible for the concept and the creative execution of the film." Moreover, "[i]n the event that more than one individual has been directly and importantly involved in creative decisions, a second statuette may be awarded."

Only American films were nominated for the award until the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) was nominated for The Romance of Transportation in Canada in 1952. The first non-English-language international short to win was Zagreb Film's Ersatz (The Substitute) in 1961.

The first film to win in this category was Flowers and Trees by Walt Disney, who has since held the category's record for most nominations (39) and most wins (12). MGM's Tom and Jerry (1940–67) is the category's most lauded animated series over all, being nominated for a total of 13 Oscars and winning 7. Warner Bros.'s Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series also had a big amount of 16 Oscar nominations and winning 5. Among international studios, the NFB has the most wins in this category, with 7 Oscars.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film” as award given for short films. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1931, 1932, 1970, 1971—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1932. The account is most persuasive where Academy, Award and Best can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as award given for short films. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q917808. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1931, 1932, 1970 and 1971.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film primary sources, Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film archive and Academy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.