Disney's 'Zootopia,' 'Moana' will battle it out for Golden Globes' best animated film

The smash "Sing" and the acclaimed "Kubo and the Two Strings" have their work cut out for them at this weekend's 74th Golden Globe Awards ceremony, because here's the thing: Disney rarely surrenders the animation crown.

The Golden Globes (airing at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, on NBC) began honoring best animated feature films a decade ago, and since then, a Disney Animation or Disney/Pixar movie has taken home the trophy eight times. Pixar alone has won this category seven times, including last year's "Inside Out," and Disney Animation's megahit "Frozen" won for 2013.

The only non-Disney winners have been Nickelodeon Movies/Amblin's "The Adventures of Tintin" (2011), the Steven Spielberg-directed action adventure that featured cutting-edge motion-capture effects, and 2013's "How to Train Your Dragon 2," directed by former Disney talent Dean DeBlois ("Mulan," "Lilo & Stitch") and produced by DreamWorks Animation, which Spielberg co-founded. ("Dragon 2" upset Disney's "Big Hero 6," which then went on to win the Oscar.)

So how does that all bode for this year?

Well, the most striking aspect is who's not here: Pixar, so often a lock for a nomination, was shut out for 2016, as the sequel "Finding Dory" failed to get a nod.

Yet Disney Animation has two very strong nominees: "Zootopia," which is one of only two animated films to top the $1 billion mark this year (the other being "Dory"), and the visual spectacle that is "Moana." Both films received mostly positive reviews.

So who's got a shot to try to take down Disney?

The Oregon-based Laika scored its third nomination ever with the strikingly beautiful "Kubo," and France's Rhone-Alpes Studios (the lone foreign contender here) received a nod for "My Life as a Zucchini." Both films are critically acclaimed (with scores of "84" and "85," respectively, on Metacritic.com).

One catch here is both "Kubo" and "Zucchini" are stop-motion animation, so as gorgeously handcrafted as they may be, a Golden Globe win would be historic.

So that leaves Illumination Entertainment's big hit "Sing." Although the "American Idol"-with-animals is proving popular at the box office, reviews overall have been middling at best.

So barring a huge upset, every sign points to Disney winning the animation Globe yet again - with "Moana's" lush marine beauty trying to take down the engaging, politically laced story of "Zootopia."

Either way, Alan Tudyk - who voiced characters in both those Disney films, as well as in the studio's "Rogue One" - walks away a winner. And films featuring Matthew McConaughey's voice acting (both "Kubo" and "Sing") would be empty-handed as they hope next for an Oscar nod.