Whether it was laughs from the hostess, Ellen DeGeneres (making a return from hosting in 2007), the spectacular musical performances, or, of course, the gorgeous attire of the actors and actresses, the Oscars held on March 2nd was an unforgettable night. With the red carpet beginning at 5 P.M. eastern time, but an early 2 o’clock at Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, people anxiously waited for the doors to open and begin the 86th Academy Awards. Broadcasted on ABC network, many people across the country, and the world, tuned in for this annual show. This year’s theme of heroes was maintained throughout the night with many clips, from animation to famous films, that displayed the true meaning of a hero. In terms of the awards themselves, while some movies had the pleasure to accept SEVERAL dazzling awards, other movies left with no wins and had to walk off to the after parties empty-handed.

The Red Carpet, as always, consisted of such spectacular fashion statements. Ranging from every couture designer in the business, there was not a single actress in on the red carpet that wasn’t absolutely stunning. Rocking the simple, yet elegant look, these ladies acquired the attention of every photographer and spectator in the area. Supporting actress in American Hustle, Jennifer Lawerence wore a orange-red strapless from Dior that had a peplum at the waist; her co-star Amy Adams also wore a strapless dress, but dark blue from Gucci.

Moving into the Dolby Theater itself, the awards show began with a bang, as Ellen DeGeneres took the stage in a sleek black tuxedo and made many entertaining jabs at the other actors and actresses at the show. There was never a dull moment when the camera fell on this year’s hostess. Whether she was ordering pizza and then having a regular delivery guy hand out slices to the crowd, or using her dazzling white smart phone  to take “selfies” with the celebrities in the audience (which wound up crashing Twitter within an hour thanks to its record-breaking amount of retweets), DeGeneres definitely got the crowd involved.  She also made several costume changes throughout the night; her third outfit which followed the performance dedicated to Wizard of Oz was an extravagant “good witch” costume, which resembled Glinda the Good Witch from the movie. DeGeneres certainly knows how to keep an audience intrigued and chuckling!

Even though it was tough to follow DeGeneres’s outrageous moments and goofs, there were six spectacular musical guests that night, including the four nominated songs for Best Original Song. At the beginning of the show, Pharrell Williams sang his song “Happy” from the animated film, Despicable Me 2, that came out last July. From the movies Her and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, the songs “The Moon Song” and “Ordinary Love,” by U2 were also performed that night. Wearing a sparkling, ruby red dress (like the Dorothy’s slippers), Pink sang a beautiful rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz, and there were many teary eyes in the audience afterwards. Bette Midler also sang her song, “Wind Beneath My Wings,” in memorial of the people involved in the movie business that passed away this year. Finally, presented by the toungue-twisted John Travolta who had an awful time pronouncing Idina Menzel’s name, Menzel performed the award-winning song, “Let it Go,” from the award-winning animation feature film, Frozen.

As an awards show that represents the peak in an actor’s or actresses’ career, the Oscar’s long program caused the show to extend an extra half-hour to 12 am, but was completely worth it, thanks to the outstanding speeches given by the Oscar winners. Receiving the award for best actress in a supporting role, young Lupita Nyong’o from 12 Years a Slave gave a heart-warming speech that displayed her thankfulness, hard work, and gratitude towards everyone that has helped her along the way, and, stated that the film had “been the joy of my life.” Wrapping up the three-hour awards show, Matthew McConaughey had an incredible acceptance speech when he won the best male actor for his role in Dallas Buyer’s Club, as a cowboy in Texas in the 1980s, suffering from AIDS and helping other patients get medicine that was not approved in the United States.  McConaughey spoke about himself in ten years, possibly being his own hero, but he claims he would never actually achieve that goal. He stated, “I’m never going to attain that. That keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.”

With the theme of the Academy Awards being heroes, Matthew McConaughey left a very memorable message with the crowd about being your own leader and to never stop pushing and improving for the future. This wrap up of the Oscars was touching, heart-warming, and one to mark this 2014 award show permanently.