Never mind the Oscars, who won the 'Pawscars'?

Talk about snubbed at the Oscars: Don't look for any statuettes for animal actors at Sunday's Academy Awards, despite some real talent and high audience popularity.

But critters can't get an Oscar. Uggie the Jack Russell terrier was brilliant in 2011's The Artist but only his human co-stars walked away with Oscars.

So the American Humane Association came up with the "Pawscars" to honor the best actors of the fur-based world.

Also, not incidentally, the animal advocates are celebrating their "No Animals Were Harmed" program, the 75-year-old effort to ensure the safety of animal actors in the entertainment industry. Each award comes with an explanation of how the animal actors performed under safe conditions.

Some animal advocates are still not satisfied: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals opposes all live animals in films and TV. But the idea of idea of honoring animal actors fits in with the culture's love for, even obsession with, our four-legged pals.

It's a culture where animal videos might just outnumber porn videos on the Internet, where the Puppy Bowl and Kitten Bowl on Superbowl Sunday are almost as popular as the main event, where the 139-year-old Westminster Kennel Club dog show gets covered live for days on TV.

If heroic military and rescue dogs can be lauded annually, why not an awards ceremony to honor the best animal actors in the movies?

Airing just days before the real Oscar ceremony, the prizes for animals includes categories such as best puppy under pressure, best aquatic performance and and best supporting equine.

This year, Crystal, a tiny Capuchin monkey, dressed to the nines, scampered off with the top prize at the sixth annual Pawscars, during a live-streamed show Wednesday hosted by Pauley Perrette of NICS and teen actor Lou Wegner. They announced the awards from armchairs in Perrette's Hollywood guest house.

Crystal, who's starred in 25 movies over two decades, played a Ben Stiller-slapping, key-stealing scamp in Night at the Museum and a drug-dealing monkey in Hangover Part II.

Waving a statue over her head, Crystal accepted the "lifetime diva achievement award" in a pink, floor-length gown and necklace. She's "the Angelina Jolie of animal stars," said Perrette.

Perrette even pretended a red-carpet interview of Crystal: "So Crystal, you have starred with some of the top leading men of all times — Bradley Cooper, Ben Stiller, Matt Damon, Robin Williams — did you have a favorite?"

Crystal nods and chatters as her "answer" appears on screen: "Robin did call me his favorite leading lady, but my favorite leading man has to be my trainer Tom Gunderson."

Other Pawscar winners included:

Best Young Animal Performer:

Three pit bull puppies won for their work in the late James Gandolfini's last film, The Drop, playing Rocco, a pooch one of the characters finds. Because puppies grow so fast, the filmmakers needed three dogs and the help of a makeup artist using non-toxic doggie makeup to get T, Puppers and Ice ready for their closeup as Rocco.

Best Aquatic Performance: The Pawscar goes to Savannah, who plays a dolphin that dies in Dolphin Tale 2. But the actual death scene was filmed thanks to animatronics.

Best Ensemble: The critters in Wild were a wild success, including Muffet the horse, Dharma the fox, Fred the rattlesnake, Tess the dog, Sport the rabbit and Taiga the llama. The film, starring Reese Witherspoon as a woman on a solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, also featured 40 frogs, not one of whom was lost during filming.

Best Supporting Equine: The award goes to Dale, a horse in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes who carries the apes' leader. It looks like they ride bareback but not really: It's thanks to special-effects markers on the saddles that are removed in post-production, Perrette said. And in scenes where the horses appear to be jumping over fire, they are actually jumping over a foot-high bar with flickering lights.

Contributing: The Associated Press