Bear, Donkey And Many Firsts: 8 Memorable Moments From The Oscars

Surreal sci-fi film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” dominated the Oscars.

The 95th Oscars was a night to remember, with many firsts glittering among the stars that won hearts. The surreal ambiance created by Elizabeth Banks’s Cocaine Bear and Jimmy Kimmel’s emotional support donkey were a stark contrast, perhaps intentionally so, to the tension created by Will Smith’s ‘slap-gate’ last year.

Elizabeth Banks, the director of comedy-horror hit “Cocaine Bear,” presented the award for best visual effects alongside a person in a giant bear costume. Banks’ film is based on a true story of a wild beast who overdosed on narcotics — and the Oscars bear pretended to signal to audience members that he was craving cocaine.

Jimmy Kimmel appeared onstage with a donkey which he claimed was Jenny — the beloved pet of Colin Farrell’s character in best picture nominee “The Banshees of Inisherin.” Jenny had been allowed to fly from Ireland because she is “a certified emotional support donkey, or at least that’s what we told the airline,” Mr Kimmel joked.

Mr Kimmel’s attempt to draw Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai into a discussion about a recent internet scandal surrounding Harry Styles fell flat was also a highlight. “I only talk about peace,” she deadpanned. Malala Yousafzai was the executive producer of Oscar-nominated documentary short “Stranger at the Gate”.

Surreal sci-fi film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” dominated the Oscars, winning seven golden statuettes including best picture, Hollywood’s most coveted prize, with Michelle Yeo cementing history as the first Asian person to win the coveted award.

The unorthodox but beloved movie — which features multiple universes, sex toys and hot dog fingers — also won best director, best actress, best original screenplay, best editing, and both the best supporting actor and actress prizes.

For his powerful performance as a morbidly obese man in “The Whale,” Brendan Fraser won the award for Best Actor, a remarkable career comeback for the charismatic performer.

The viral dance song “Naatu Naatu” also made Oscars history as the first song from an Indian film to win the Academy Award for best original song — besting heavyweights Lady Gaga and Rihanna to snag the prize.

Fresh off her career-spanning Super Bowl halftime performance, during which she revealed her second pregnancy, Rihanna also performed her nominated song in what was one of the night’s most anticipated moments.

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” a strikingly dark take on the beloved children’s book about an exuberant living puppet and his elderly wood-carver father, won best animated feature at the Academy Awards on Sunday.

In an Oscars category usually dominated by lighter, family-friendly fare, Mexican director del Toro triumphed with his macabre reimagining of Pinocchio’s adventures, now set in 1930s Italy.

An Oscars “Super Fan”, pictured near the red carpet arrivals area, Vivianne Robinson wearing Hollywood-themed attire stole the night.