Here are the 2016 Disney movies that didn’t get an Oscar nomination

Disney got a grand total of 8 nominations for the 89th Academy Awards and that’s great – already well-loved movies like “Moana”, “Zootopia”, and “Rogue One” got their share of recognition, showing us that Disney is still at the top of their game.

But even though Disney earned its share of kudos from the Academy, a number of films actually got snubbed – a few understandably so, a few less understandably so.

The Finest Hours

“The Finest Hours” was Disney’s first movie of 2016. The film was solid and might’ve warranted a Visual Effects nomination, but other Disney movies like “The Jungle Book”, “Rogue One”, and “Doctor Strange” certainly steal the show in that category.

Captain America: Civil War

“Captain America: Civil War” won the hearts of fans all over the world, but apparently did not move the hearts of the Academy. Despite the popularity of the franchise only “Captain America: Winter Soldier” has been nominated for an Oscar, and even that nominee did not win, so it seems like the lack of “Civil War”‘s nomination might have been predictable.

Alice Through the Looking Glass

The latest addition to Alice’s story was, sadly, unsuccessful compared to other 2016 Disney films, so it too was not able to take a nomination. “Alice Through the Looking Glass”‘s effects might have been great, but it’s clear that Visual Effects is an incredibly competitive category, especially for live-action Disney films.

Finding Dory

This is one of the more surprising snubs: “Finding Dory”, one of the most anticipated films of the year, didn’t even get a nomination. Though Disney spent a lot of effort marketing the film, it ultimately gives way to “Finding Nemo”, which was nominated for Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Screenplay, and won Best Animated Film in 2004.

The BFG

Compared to other Roald Dahl adaptations, “The BFG” unfortunately did not resonate with viewers. Though “The BFG” did justice to the classic book, it was not well-received by the audience and the Academy, making it easy to see why it did not gain a nomination.

Pete’s Dragon

Like “The BFG”, “Pete’s Dragon” is based on a very specific niche interest, and as such the movie, while wonderful on its own, did not reach the audience it should have. “Pete’s Dragon” had a good story, a good cast, and a good soundtrack, but ultimately was ignored for the nominations.

Queen of Katwe

“Queen of Katwe” tells a story about family, ambition, and identity, and was able to make even chess games seem intense. Despite the inspirational nature of the film, however, it seems to have hidden in the shadow of Disney’s other, more high-profile movies, and so did not earn a nomination.

None of these movies are bad – in fact, our writers enjoyed seeing and writing about them over the course of 2016. A few were flops, others were snubbed hits, but at the end of the day these movies are still impressive, regardless of whether or not they gained a nomination.