The best animated movie of 2016 had a graduate of Humboldt Collegiate Institute working on it.

Humboldt's Andrew Ford is an animator for Disney, where he helps bring to life the characters you see on the big screen.

Ford worked on Zootopia, which won Best Animated Film at the Golden Globes on January 8.

He says that while winning the award is a highlight, every nominee stood out.

"We don't take too much stock in that. All of those films are amazing - My Life as a Zucchini is an incredible film, Kubo (and the Two Strings) is a beautiful film," explained Ford. "It's nice when your work connects with so many people and I think Zootopia did that."

Past winners of the award include Frozen, Toy Story 3 and Cars.

Among the nominees for the 2016 award was Moana, which is another film produced by Disney that Ford had a hand in.

"To be part of a princess musical, a Disney musical, it felt like such a true Disney experience from the ones I grew up watching, like Aladdin and Little Mermaid. It was the same directors who did those, so to be part of that was really special for me."

Moana will be debuting at Humboldt's Reel Attractions theatre on Friday.

Ford, who has been with Disney since 2015, says it is a treat to go to work every day.

"It's pretty surreal and I feel fortunate to be working with these people. They're the best in the industry, we laugh every day, and there is just some really good people trying to get better and make each film better."

Up next for Disney and Ford is Wreck-It Ralph 2, which is set to be released in March 2018.

"I just got kicked off on my first shots (Tuesday). That will be the next Disney movie out," he noted. "I just hope to keep getting better and keep soaking in all the great talent and information that is out there at Disney."

You can hear more from Ford below in his interview with Bolt Fm's Sarah miller.