Wallace and Gromit Score BAFTA Double, 'Wander To Wonder' Wins Short

Some Awards Seasons the animation categories are dominated by one film. One film in particular becomes a clear front-runner. This year however the spoils are largely divided between two films: DreamWorks' The Wild Robot and Gints Zilbalodis's indie animation Flow. The next awards ceremony to come along was last weekend's BAFTA Film Awards, taking place in London.

In the Best Animated Film category, as expected both Flow and The Wild Robot scored nominations. Nominated alongside them were Inside Out 2 and Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Which of the two front runners would take the prize... or would it be something else? It turned out to be the latter option, because the members of the British Academy voted for Wallace and Gromit. On one hand, it's something of a surprise given the domination of the season by the aforementioned films. On the other hand, considering how beloved Aardman and Wallace and Gromit in particular are in the UK, it was surely only a matter of time before they gave the award to them. As usual when they attend an awards ceremony, directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham brought with them genuine puppets from the film, so it featured an appearance from the real Wallace, Gromit and Feathers McGraw.

That wasn't all for animation's involvement in this year's awards. Animated films were nominated in several other categories. This year featured the inaugural award for Children and Family Film. The category saw further nominations for Flow, The Wild Robot, Wallace and Gromit alongside Michael Morpurgo adaptation Kensuke's Kingdom. It was a second win here for Park and Crossingham.

There was a third nomination for Wallace and Gromit, in the prestigious Best British Film category. The dynamic duo were up against a line-up of otherwise live-action films. Back in 2006, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, won in the category. Sadly, it wasn't to be repeated with Wallace and Gromit's second feature, denying the film a hat-trick. It lost out to Conclave, which went on to win the Best Film award.

The Wild Robot also earned a third nomination, in this case for Best Score. It was up against live-action films The Brutalist, Emilia Perez, Nosferatu and Conclave. Unfortunately, it wasn't The Wild Robot's night and The Brutalist took home the prize.

The Best Visual Effects award saw nominations for Better Man, Gladiator II, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes and Wicked. Overcoming them all however, was Dune Part Two.

Best British Short Animation this year went to Nina Gantz and Wander To Wonder. The stop-motion short focuses on three characters who starred in a children's program, and are left alone in the studio, after the show's creator passes away. This win takes the short up to 41 awards so far including wins at Anima and Animation Is Film festivals. It's also nominated for Best Animated Short at the Oscars. The film overcame competition from fellow nominees Mog's Christmas and Adios.