BURBANK, Calif. — The gathering at Walt Disney Animation here was supposed to be a giddy celebration. The studio had achieved the ultimate validation for its hard-fought creative rebirth: “Frozen,” its Nordic tale of two sisters and a wisecracking snowman, won two Oscars on Sunday, the same day the film crossed $1 billion at the global box office.

Blue snow cones for everyone! But the party Monday afternoon grew unexpectedly serious, as multiple Disney executives became overwhelmed recalling just how far the studio had come after a harrowing transition to computer-aided filmmaking. “There was talk of closing this place,” John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Pixar and Disney animation, said through tears. “And we said: ‘Not on our watch. We will never allow that to happen.' ”

Winning an Academy Award is a coup for any movie company, but the “Frozen” honors carry extra weight for Disney. Ever since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences created the best animated feature prize in 2001, Pixar has dominated the category, winning seven times. Rivals including DreamWorks Animation have won all other years.

Never winning was a humiliation for a lot of artists at Disney, the shop where the art of mainstream animation was essentially born and home to such classics as “Dumbo,” “Cinderella” and “The Lion King.”