Their recent successes began with Paperman in 2012, a story about magic that is tapped into when the all hope has been exhausted. With a throwback design of an American post-industrial city and flat animation with flourishes that make the moving images seem to be drawn in the moment. It’s masterful technical combination of a 2D aesthetic and 3D technologies was a breakthrough for Disney, and a similar throwback vibe with the Mickey Mouse fronted Get A Horse! lead to back to back nominations in the category for the first time in 10 years.

In 2014, Disney made a return to their glory days with their third consecutive nomination for Feast, which is a very complicated movie for me to watch. I feel like I should qualify before I begin this conversation, this has nothing to do witht the story structure or the animation style, both of which I feel are successfully executed. The animation combines an art deco effect to the point that the design almost looks like cut outs from a retro future children’s book. The story follows a small Boston Terrier who is found in an alley and persuaded to trust his human through food. The story continues as vignettes of the dog and his human as happy bachelors, enjoying nachos, burgers, even a falling parade of food at a key big moment in a big football game. Their life is perfect from the little dog's point of view, until his human meets a woman and begins a courtship that trades nachos for salads and spaghetti dinner for kibbles and parsley.



The dog’s human and his girlfriend have a disagreement, and the man returns to his previous slovenly ways with reckless abandon, including his fur covered partner in crime in the post break-up gluttony. All the old staples are back, and more delicacies come to the table. Ice cream, steaks, tacos, it’s all on the menu. Until one day, when a to go order of pasta and meatballs reveals a stray piece of parsley, and the man’s memory is turned back to his former partner who changed his ways. The little dog sees the hints of pain and, choosing between the buffet in front of him and his owners happiness, sprints in a mad dash that forces his robe clad human behind him. His destination? The restaurant where the man’s girlfriend works as a waitress. Seeing each other again and spurred by the little dogs action, they reconcile and marry, and the non bachelor lifestyle settles around the little dog again, parsley and all.