Pixar's 'Inside Out' wins Oscar for best animated feature

In this image released by Disney-Pixar, the character Joy appears in a scene from 'Inside Out.' (Disney-Pixar via AP)

LOS ANGELES -- 'Inside Out,' the Pixar animated feature that brings to life the inner emotions of an 11-year-old girl, won the Oscar for best animated feature on Sunday.

The win represented the second directing Oscar for 47-year-old Pete Docter, who also won for "Up" in 2009, and was a 16th Oscar win for Pixar. It is the storied Disney-owned studio's eighth animated feature Oscar win since the category was created in 2002.

"This film is really born from watching our kids grow up, which is not easy," Docter told the Oscars audience.

"Inside Out," available to stream to Starz subscribers in the U.S., has been a critical and commercial success, having garnered $777 million at the worldwide box office, not including digital and disc sales.

The film tracks the adventures of five key emotions inside Riley's mind -- Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger -- as they struggle to help her.

Docter has said the main character, Riley, who is uprooted from her Minnesota home to move with her parents to San Francisco, was inspired by his own daughter, Elie.

Docter is also a native of Minnesota and Emeryville, California-based Pixar is across the bay from San Francisco.

In a message to children watching, he added, "There are days you're going to feel sad, angry ... make films, draw, write. It'll make a world of difference."

The win continues the category's domination by alumni of the California Institute of the Arts, the Southern California art school Walt Disney pushed to establish, in part to provide his studio with a pipeline of young animators.

With Docter's win, CalArts alumni have hauled in nine Oscars, including wins by Brad Bird for "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille," according to the campus.

Associated Press writer John C. Rogers in Los Angeles contributed to this report.