Every Oscar-winning animated movie from the last 28 years

We're living in a golden age of animation.

Disney is making crowd-pleasing, critically acclaimed work from Pixar and the Disney Animation studio, independent studios are making gems like "Kubo and the Two Strings," and "The Boss Baby" is nominated for an Oscar.

But acclaim isn't always easy to get. Animated movies take years to make, and that effort is often under-recognized by institutions like critics groups and the Oscars. It wasn't until the creation of the best animated feature category in 2002 that the recognition first became regular. Before then, Disney just had to hope one of the songs in their musicals was nominated, or settle for a best animated short award. In other years, the Oscars totally ignored animated movies, so you'll see some gaps on this list.

To honor the animated movies that deserve acclaim, we looked back at the most Oscar-worthy animated films stretching back to 1990, when "The Little Mermaid" won a pair of Oscars and marked a renaissance period in Disney's animation studio. The history of the award is, in some ways, a history of Disney Animation during that time, from its rebirth in the 1990s, to its relationship with Pixar, to the CGI era we're living in now.

Here are the Oscar-winning movies from the last 28 years.

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1990: "The Little Mermaid" brought prestige back to Disney, which went on to dominate Oscars for animated movies. It won Oscars for best score and song.

After around two decades of mostly forgettable movies, Walt Disney Animation Studios produced "The Little Mermaid" to critical acclaim. It won the Oscar for best original score, and "Under the Sea" won for best original song.

1992: "Beauty and the Beast" broke Oscar records.

The movie was nominated for six Oscars, winning for best score and best original song, for the song "Beauty and the Beast.""Be Our Guest" and "Belle" were also nominated in the best song category.

The movie also received a best picture nomination, the first animated movie in history to do so, as well as one for best sound. It retains the title of the animated movie with the most Oscar nominations, tied with 2008's "Wall-E."

1993: "Aladdin" kept up Disney's streak.

The movie received the same awards as its predecessor, for best score and best song, honoring "A Whole New World."

"Friend Like Me" was also nominated in the song category, and the movie received nominations in the best sound and best sound effects editing categories.