Just announced from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Brave is the best animated film of 2012 as chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A bear-sized congratulations to directors Mark Andrews (who accepted in a kilt) and Brenda Chapman, and everyone at Pixar Animation Studios. Brave‘s achievement follows extreme ups and downs for Pixar. It comes after both Up (2009) and Toy Story 3 (2010) not only won the Best Animated Film award, but were also nominated for Best Picture. 2011’s Cars 2 received no Oscar nominations, a first for a Pixar film since the initiation of the animated film category. That being said, Brave‘s success comes as a comforting reassurance that Pixar isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and is still just a quality studio as it ever was.