Christoph Waltz, best supporting actor nominee for his role in "Django Unchained", arrives at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 24, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Austrian actor Christoph Waltz and animated movie "Brave" took home early Oscars on Sunday as Seth MacFarlane mocked both himself and Hollywood's A-listers in his debut as host of the movie industry's biggest night.

In one of the closest contests going into the ceremony, the Best Supporting Actor went to Waltz for his turn as an eccentric dentist-turned-bounty-hunter in Quentin Tarantino's slavery revenge fantasy "Django Unchained".

"We participated in a hero's journey, the hero here being Quentin. You scaled the mountain because you're not afraid of it," said Waltz, who has now won two Oscars for roles in Tarantino films.

Waltz beat veterans Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Arkin and Tommy Lee Jones.

"Brave," the Pixar movie about a feisty Scottish princess, took home the golden statuette for Best Animated Feature.

MacFarlane opened the show with three song and dance numbers, barbed quips about some of Hollywood's biggest stars and running jokes about his own suitability to host the Academy Awards.

"I honestly cannot believe I am here. It's an honor that everyone else said 'no'," said the creator of edgy animated TV series "Family Guy".

But his biggest laugh came in a reference to director Ben Affleck's snub in the directing race for his Iran hostage thriller "Argo".