Can ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ break the Oscars curse against animated sequels?

Daniel Montgomery
·4 min read
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“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” has everything you could ask for from an animated Oscar contender, including sterling reviews, stellar box office and a proven awards track record. There’s one potential hitch, though: it’s a sequel. In the history of Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, only two sequels have ever won, and they were both from the “Toy Story” franchise: “Toy Story 3” (2010) and “Toy Story 4” (2019). Can “Across the Spider-Verse” achieve the same rare feat?

SEEWhat just missed making Oscar’s Best Picture line-up: ‘The Color Purple,’ ‘Air,’ ‘Across the Spider-Verse’ … ? [POLL]

The following 12 sequels have been nominated for Best Animated Feature, with the only two winners highlighted in gold:

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2004: “Shrek 2”

2010: “Toy Story 3”

2011: “Kung Fu Panda 2”

2011: “Puss in Boots”

2013: “Despicable Me 2”

2014: “How to Train Your Dragon 2”

2018: “Incredibles 2”

2018: “Ralph Breaks the Internet”

2019: “Toy Story 4”

2019: “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”

2020: “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon”

2022: “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”

2023: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”

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For the purposes of this list I have excluded the winning 2005 film “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (the first feature film based on the previously established Wallace and Gromit short-film characters) and the nominated 2011 film “Puss in Boots” (a spin-off from the “Shrek” franchise as opposed to a direct sequel). But you’ll notice that other high-profile direct sequels or prequels featuring the same main characters were snubbed by the academy entirely, including “Shrek the Third” and “Shrek Forever After,” “Cars 2” and “Cars 3,” “Finding Dory” and “Monsters University.”

“Across the Spider-Verse” got over the first hurdle by earning the nomination. Now can it win? It’s the front-runner according to the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users, but it looks like it’ll be a close race against the Japanese film “The Boy and the Heron,” directed by master animator Hayao Miyazaki. Given his vaunted reputation in the animation community, it’s perhaps surprising that Miyazaki only has one competitive Oscar to his name so far, for 2002’s “Spirited Away.” This story is especially personal, though, modeled after the filmmaker’s own childhood, so it might be an ideal opportunity to give the 83-year-old director his long-awaited bookend.

As of this writing “Spider-Verse” is backed by 12 out of 16 Expert journalists who have made their predictions so far, six out of 11 Gold Derby Editors, 15 of our Top 24 Users and 19 of our All-Star Top 24. However, “Boy and the Heron” is predicted by four Experts, five Editors, six Top Users and four All-Stars, putting it well within striking distance of the podium. Both films have awards groups on their side. “Spider-Verse” won the Critics Choice Award as well as the National Board of Review prize, along with making the American Film Institute’s top-10 list, while “Heron” took the Golden Globe and awards from critics in New York and Los Angeles.

The question now is whether the motion picture academy will feel the need to reward “Across the Spider-Verse” after already giving the win to 2018’s “Into the Spider-Verse,” especially with at least one more film expected in the franchise. There may be greater urgency to honor Miyazaki this late in his career. It is possible, though, that “Spider-Verse” was such an unqualified success that it’s too big to fail.

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