Conan pivoted to a more serious tone near the end of his opening monologue, alluding to the devastation caused by this year's Los Angeles County wildfires and praising the film industry's behind-the-scenes crew members.

“In moments such as this, any awards show can seem self-indulgent and superfluous," he said. "But what I want us to do is remember why we gathered here tonight."

"Yes, we will honor many beautiful and talented A-list stars," he added. "But the Oscars also shines a light on an incredible community of people you will never see: craftspeople, technicians, artisans, costumers, hard-working men and women behind the camera who have devoted their lives to making film."

Conan O'Brien touched on everyone looking sharp tonight, except one attendee: Adam Sandler, who is in the crowd basketball shorts and a bright blue hoodie.

"Nobody even thought about what I was wearing until you brought it up," Sandler joked.

"You're dressed like a guy playing video poker at 2 a.m.," O'Brien quipped.

"I don't care about what I wear and don't wear," Sandler said, before going to give Timothée Chalamet a hug and say his name in his typical Sandler-fied pronunciation of the actor's name.

For anyone who used to watch "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" or his later show "Conan," this monologue is pitch-perfect Conan: pointed jabs at Hollywood with plenty of self-deprecation sprinkled throughout. Add a dash of old-timey humor about child labor laws and you have a perfect Conan monologue.

O’Brien also acknowledged the social media controversy surrounding “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón.

Gascón, who is the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for best actress, became the center of backlash online during awards season after users resurfaced deleted posts in which she appears to comment on Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars.

“Karla Sofía Gascón is here tonight," O'Brien said. "And Karla if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, remember my name is Jimmy Kimmel.”

Kimmel hosted the Oscars four times, including last year.

O'Brien, seemingly referring to the controversy surrounding "The Brutalist," joked the Oscars did not use AI to put on the show.

"We would never do that," he said. "We use child labor."

A 7 p.m. ET start time may be OK for those on the East Coast. But here in Los Angeles it's still pretty early for an awards show.

"It’s Hollywood’s biggest night that starts at 4 in the afternoon," host Conan O'Brien joked. "Everyone here just had brunch. But it’s the Oscars, and I say let’s do this thing. Are you ready to go?"

Following Erivo and Grande's performances, the show cut to a clip of Demi Moore in "The Substance." Except it was host Conan O'Brien who came out of the star's body.

"That was weird," O'Brien said as he stepped onstage, directing his opening line to Moore, seated in the crowd.

After kicking off the show with a "Wizard of Oz" tribute, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande performed the "Wicked" hit "Defying Gravity." The stage beneath Erivo lifted during her iconic ballad, as Grande looked on to support her co-star as she hit the high note.

Instead of kicking off the show with a satirical comedy routine, the producers evidently opted for a more earnest approach. Plus, it doesn't hurt to open with the stars of one of last year's biggest box office hits. ("Wicked" was distributed by Universal Pictures, a unit of NBC News' parent company, NBCUniversal.)