Before 'Flow,' This 2003 Indie Animated Film Took on Disney and Pixar at the Oscars

From its initial inception in 2002, the Oscar for Best Animated Feature has usually been dominated by Disney and/or Pixar. With some exceptions sprinkled throughout the years, like Spirited Awayor Rango,many of the best films by Disney and Pixar won the Oscar in a no-real-contest fashion. Sometimes it wasn't always that bleak, as 2004 saw an impressive underdog try to take a shot at the kings, a wildly designed French extravaganza called The Triplets of Belleville. An indie darling equally indebted to classic silent cinema and every era of French art, it gave Academy voters a flavor much zestier and downright stranger than what the ultimate victor was offering, making it more than just a fascinating footnote.