Disney-Pixar's much-appreciated Inside Out, an adventure epic set inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl, won the best animated feature Oscar at the 88th Academy Awards here.
With sequences devoted to showing abstract thinking and explaining why people forget some things but remember others, was a tricky concept to sell, especially to kids, but the feature gained blockbuster status upon its release.
The Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera-directed film wasn't just one of Pixar's best films, but it was one of the best reviewed and most well-liked films of 2015.
"It's important to watch our kids to grow up. There are days when you feel sad but that's nothing you can choose. But make stuff. Make films, draw, write. It will make a world of difference," Docter said while accepting his trophy.
Many critics thought Inside Out stood a good shot for best picture nod at Oscars as well. The most expensive film in the category, Inside Out, had a reported budget of $175 million.
The movie saw off competition from Brazilian film Boy and the World, Anomalisa, Shaun the Sheep Movie and Japanese animation film When Marnie Was There.
Pixar has dominated the category since 2003, when Finding Nemo won, followed by The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3 and Brave. The Good Dinosaur joins Cars 2 and Monsters University as the only Pixar films that have not have been nominated since the category was created in 2001.
Disney Animation has won the last two animated Oscars with Frozen and Big Hero 6.
Along with Poehler as Joy, Inside Out also starred voice-over work by Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Bill Hader as Fear, Lewis Black as Anger and Mindy Kaling as Disgust with Kaitlyn Dias as 11-year old Riley Anderson.
