Second Annual WED Awards

I must admit that I love a good awards show. From the Grammy's to the Tony's and of course the Emmy's, if people are congratulating folks for a job well done, I am totally on board! My favorite awards show of them all, though, is the Academy Awards. As you can probably tell from recent posts on this blog, I love movies, and when Oscar season rolls around, I am on cloud nine for a good five months or so. You could also clearly see that I love Disney. This entire blog is dedicated to all things Disney, for instance. However, another thing I love is tradition. Nothing beats a classic tradition. Whether it's something special within your family or maybe it's the tradition of eating a Dole Whip upon every trip to the Magic Kingdom, we all have traditions that we cherish.

Today, I present the second annual WED Awards. With these awards, I hope to annually record my opinions on every aspect of Disney in a unique way. Named in honor of Walter Elias Disney, these awards are my way of paying homage to the best of the best from the House of Mouse throughout its illustrious history. For reference, click here to compare this year's nominees with the inaugural awards.

You might be wondering how these awards could be different from year to year. If you are a Disney fanatic like me, though, you will know that every year, we re-watch movies, experience the attractions at the parks yet again, and devour brand new food every trip. Therefore, every year, my opinions on what I consider to be the best change quite often. In fact, there have been some posts on this blog about some of these categories and this list is totally different than the previous ones! Most of the time, I anticipate consistency to be present, but I would be shocked if my list from this year is exactly the same as next year's list

I must preface these awards by saying that narrowing these categories down to just five nominees and then also narrowing Best Picture down to ten was extremely difficult. There were some that I absolutely love that simply couldn't make the cut. That being said, that should go to show just how much these nominees and winners mean to me. I will separate the awards into two categories: Walt Disney World and movies (live action and animated). The winners will be highlighted. I hope these awards inspire you to revisit some of these movies and attractions soon!

To mark the changes from the first annual awards to the second annual awards, the nominees with a (*) next to them are new additions to the category. A nominee with (**) is a new winner in the category.  

So, without further ado, here are the nominees and winners of the First Annual WED Awards!

Walt Disney World

Best Restaurant
1900 Park Fare, Disney's Grand Floridan Resort & Spa
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, Epcot
Chef Mickey's, Disney's Contemporary Resort
*Be Our Guest Restaurant, Magic Kingdom
Liberty Tree Tavern, Magic Kingdom

Honorable Mentions: Cinderella's Royal Table, Magic Kingdom; Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom; The Garden Grill, Epcot; Boatwright's Dining Hall, Disney's Port Orleans Resort- Riverside

Best Live Entertainment
Boo to You! Parade, Magic Kingdom
Fantasmic!, Disney's Hollywood Studios
Festival of Fantasy Parade, Magic Kingdom
The Festival of the Lion King, Disney's Animal Kingdom
HalloWishes, Magic Kingdom

Honorable Mentions: Wishes, Magic Kingdom; Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, Magic Kingdom

Best Attraction
Toy Story Midway Mania, Disney's Hollywood Studios
*Pirates of the Caribbean, Magic Kingdom
Splash Mountain, Magic Kingdom
**Haunted Mansion, Magic Kingdom
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Disney's Hollywood Studios

Honorable Mentions: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Magic Kingdom; Kilimanjaro Safaris, Disney's Animal Kingdom; Space Mountain, Magic Kingdom; Soarin', Epcot; Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Magic Kingdom

Disney Movies

Best Animated Short
Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
Mickey's Trailer (1938)
Paperman (2012)
Steamboat Willie (1928)
The Band Concert (1935)

Honorable Mentions: Feast (2014); Tangled Ever After (2012); The Skeleton Dance (1929); Piper (2016)*; Geri's Game (1997); The Blue Umbrella (2013)

Best Princess
Aurora, Sleeping Beauty
Belle, Beauty and the Beast
Cinderella, Cinderella
Rapunzel, Tangled
Snow White, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Honorable Mentions: Ariel, The Little Mermaid; Tiana, The Princess and the Frog; Jasmine, Aladdin

Best Sidekick(s)
Dory, Finding Nemo
Genie, Aladdin
Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio
Sebastian, The Little Mermaid
Timon and Pumbaa, The Lion King

Honorable Mentions: Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland; Mushu, Mulan; Pascal, Tangled; Thumper, Bambi; Olaf, Frozen

Best Villain
Captain Hook, Peter Pan
Cruella De Vil, 101 Dalmatians
Hades, Hercules
Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty
Scar, The Lion King

Honorable Mentions: Evil Queen/Witch, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Ursula, The Little Mermaid; Jafar, Aladdin; Shere Khan, The Jungle Book; Gaston, Beauty and the Beast

Best Scene
Ballroom Dancing, Beauty and the Beast
"Circle of Life" Sequence, The Lion King
Snow White's Funeral, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Spaghetti Dinner, Lady and the Tramp
The Finale, Toy Story 3

Honorable Mentions: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," Fantasia; "I See the Light," Tangled; Flight Over London, Peter Pan; Opening Montage, Up; Magic Carpet Ride, Aladdin; 1964 World's Fair, Tomorrowland; "You're Welcome" from Moana*

Best Original Song
"A Whole New World," Aladdin
"Beauty and the Beast," Beauty and the Beast
"Circle of Life," The Lion King
"Feed the Birds," Mary Poppins
"When You Wish Upon a Star," Pinocchio

Honorable Mentions: "I See the Light," Tangled; "Heigh Ho," Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; "You Can Fly!" Peter Pan; "God Help the Outcast," The Hunchback of Notre Dame; "How Far I'll Go," Moana*; "This is Halloween," The Nightmare Before Christmas

Best Director
Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, Beauty and the Beast
Joss Whedon, Marvel's The Avengers
John Lasseter, Toy Story
Robert Stevenson, Mary Poppins
Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, The Lion King

Honorable Mentions: Brad Bird, The Incredibles; Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Jared Bush, Zootopia*; Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, Tangled; JJ Abrams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Gore Verbinski, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; James Bobin, The Muppets

Best Supporting Actress
Angela Lansbury, Beauty and the Beast
Cate Blanchett, Cinderella (2015)
Eleanor Audley, Sleeping Beauty
Ellen DeGeneres, Finding Nemo
Phyllis Smith, Inside Out

Honorable Mentions: Kathryn Beaumont, Peter Pan; Joan Cusack, Toy Story 2; Susan Egan, Hercules; Pat Carroll, The Little Mermaid

Best Supporting Actor
James Woods, Hercules
Jerry Orbach, Beauty and the Beast
Nathan Lane, The Lion King
Robin Williams, Aladdin
Tom Hanks, Saving Mr. Banks

Honorable Mentions: Jason Alexander, The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Ed Wynn, Alice in Wonderland; Cliff Edwards, Pinocchio; Hans Conried, Peter Pan; Alan Tudyk, Wreck-It Ralph

Best Actress
Angelina Jolie, Maleficent
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins
Lily James, Cinderella
Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Honorable Mentions: Mandy Moore, Tangled; Ginnifer Goodwin, Zootopia*; Amy Poehler, Inside Out*; Demi Moore, The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Idina Menzel, Frozen; Paige O'Hara, Beauty and the Beast; Auli'i Cravalho, Moana*; Anika Noni Rose, The Princess and the Frog; Felicity Jones, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*

Best Actor
Billy Crystal, Monsters Inc.
Dick Van Dyke, Mary Poppins
*Jason Bateman, Zootopia
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Tom Hanks, Toy Story

Honorable Mentions: John C. Reilly, Wreck-It Ralph; Neel Sethi, The Jungle Book (2016)*; Craig T. Nelson, The Incredibles; Phil Harris, The Jungle Book; Scott Adsit, Big Hero 6; Scott Weigner, Aladdin; David Spade, The Emperor's New Groove; Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man 3; Dwayne Johnson, Moana*

Best Picture
Aladdin
Beauty and the Beast
Mary Poppins
The Lion King
The Little Mermaid
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tangled
Toy Story 3

Honorable Mentions: Peter Pan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Saving Mr. Banks, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Peal, Marvel's The Avengers, Cinderella

I proudly present the second annual WED Awards! Nominees and winners changed, but one aspect remained consistent: Disney is still king in the entertainment industry!

-Cody Fleenor