Disney's Big 2019 Awards Campaign Promotes 5 Movies: Endgame Is In, Here's Who Was Left Out

Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame

(Image credit: (Marvel))

Awards season is upon us! After Disney spent the majority of the year racking up astronomical box office numbers with its MCU installments, live-action remakes, and tear-jerky animated films, you best bet the studio is going to campaign for some gold trophies too! Walt Disney Studios has just launched its “For Your Consideration” website with five films to boast about.

The House of Mouse has set up campaigns for Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, Toy Story 4, The Lion King, and Frozen II. So far, special award voters screenings have been set up for Endgame and Toy Story 4 in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and London, per the official website, but Disney has not announced the specific awards the films will be lobbying for.

However, this leaves Captain Marvel, Dumbo, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker without awards campaigns. Considering the franchise set in a galaxy far, far away has previously scored big during awards season, Rise of Skywalker may still come in later? Or is Disney is gunning for Avengers: Endgame to clear the big categories without competition of Star Wars this year? A John Williams score nomination is in order in the least, right?

Following the success of Black Panther last year at the Oscars, including three wins and contending for Best Picture, Disney will likely give similar treatment to Endgame. The MCU culmination may be campaigning for Best Visual Effects, Best Director, Best Picture, and even a Best Actor nomination for Robert Downey Jr, after a decade of playing Tony Stark.

If the Academy nominates Endgame in categories besides comic book movies’ frequent Visual Effects attention, they’d be honoring Marvel’s masterful universe-buiding and the highest-grossing movie of all time. How Endgame does during award season will make clear if Black Panther was an exception to the rule or a sign of changing tides toward the genre.

In the “Best Animated Movie” category, Toy Story 4 and Frozen II will likely score a nomination. Both Frozen and Toy Story 3 won the award in their respective years. However, Disney’s two sequels last year resulted in the studio losing its six year streak in the category to Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Additionally, Frozen II’s new songs may score a “Best Original Song” category, following in the footsteps of “Let It Go."

Disney may be competing against itself for “Best Original Song” with the Aladdin new song “Speechless” also in contention. Oscar-winning La La Land lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote the song with Alan Menken. Beyoncé’s new The Lion King song “Spirit” could also join the category.

Aladdin could also score nominations for the Costume Design and Production Design categories as the people behind them are past Oscar nominees. The Lion King could go up against Endgame for Best Visual Effects considering the photo-realistic animation the Jon Favreau film achieved.

There’s certainly a lot in the mix for Walt Disney Studios this year! What awards do you think the House of Mouse deserves for its huge movies this year? Sound off in the comments below!

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.