Animation Oscar Nominations Announced

 

The awards season for 2025/2026 has been interesting for animation. Rather than one film standing out as a frontrunner, the spoils have been split between several films. The Best Animated Feature awards at various award ceremonies and critics' circles have mainly nominated the same films but the winner has often differed. This has left industry watchers wondering which way the Academy would go.

The Oscar nominations were announced today, so we're one step closer to finding out. This year's nominees are pretty predictable to anyone who has been following the animation scene for the past year. But still. it's good to see some excellent films get recognition.

In the Best Animated Feature catergory the nominations are:

• Arco- Ugo Bienvenu's timey-wimey fantasy adventure

• Elio- Pixar's intergalactic romp

• K-Pop Demon Hunters Sony and Netflix's cultural phenomenon.

• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain French feature set in Japan, based on the autobiography of Amélie Nothomb.

• Zootopia 2- Walt Disney Animation Studio's sequel to 2016's smash hit.

Following its victory at the Golden Globes, K-pop Demon Hunters also scored a second nomination for Best Original Song for the breakout song Golden.

In the Best Animated Short category, the nominees are:

• Butterfly

• Forevergreen

• The Girl Who Cried Pearls

•  Retirement Plan

• Three Sisters

In the Best Visual Effects category, the nominees are:

• Avatar: Fire and Ash

• F1

• Jurassic World Rebirth

•  The Lost Bus

•  Sinners

The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15 at Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, and will be broadcast live on ABC and Hulu in the US.