There weren’t exactly many surprises in the announcement of the animation Oscar nominations this week. While five movies are in contention to be named Best Animated Feature on 15 March, many now see it as a two horse race between the big hitters of 2025: KPop Demon Hunters and Zootopia 2.
There is still a chance that an indie movie could repeat the historic success of Flow last year. This year’s outsiders are both from France: Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han’s beautifully poetic Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and Ugo Bienvenue’s gorgeous Arco. Pixar’s Elio is the fifth contender but feels like filler compared to the others, which seems a shame when there are so many good animated movies out there.
Zootopia 2 marks Walt Disney Animation Studios’ return to the nomination list for the first time in three years after Strange World, Wish and Moana 2 were snubbed. Disney’s absence had led to a more diverse range of winners. Before Flow last year, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won in 2023 and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron in 2024.
But KPop Demon Hunters and Zootopia 2 are both much stronger than any of last year’s mainstream nominees, and they have massive global followings. KPop Demon Hunters has become the most-streamed production on Netflix and Zootopia 2 is Disney’s biggest-grossing animated movie yet. It’s hard to imagine that one of them won’t win.
Which movie will win best animated feature 2026?
KPop Demon Hunters is the clear bookies’ favourite, with some offering odds of 1/10. It’s also Variety’s prediction to win, and the Sony Pictures Animation production already swept major precursor awards, including Best Animated Motion Picture and Best Original Song at the Golden Globes. It triumphed in the Critics Choice Awards too.
Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans’ film is also the only animated movie in the running for a non-animation award: it’s also up for Best Song for Golden, giving it more visibility. And while it’s a mainstream production, the freshness of its animation style and its huge global popularity among younger audiences give it a buzz factor and a cultural edge that could sway voters.
I’d say it deserves to win too, both for the quality of the movie and for what it’s done for animation. Combining the energy of K-pop music videos, the spectacle of superhero action and the emotional depth of classic animation, KPop Demon Hunters has crossed genres and demographics and challenged the idea that mainstream animated films should fit neatly into the family-friendly category.
It’s also forcing the Academy and Hollywood to acknowledge East Asian animation traditions, eking out another a shift towards more inclusivity and a recognition of more diverse animation styles in the Oscars.
Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations
- Arco (Remembers / Mountain A, directed by Ugo Bienvenu)
- Elio (Pixar, directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina)
- KPop Demon Hunters (Sony Pictures Animation, directed by Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans)
- Little Amelie (Ikki Films, Maybe Movies, 2 Minutes, Puffin Pictures, directed by Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han)
- Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Animation Studios, directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard)
Best Animated Short Oscar nominations
- Butterfly (Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens)
- Forevergreen (Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears)
- The Girl Who Cried Pearls (Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski)
- Retirement Plan (John Kelly and Andrew Freedman)
- The Three Sisters (Konstantin Bronzit)
Things were less predictable in the Best Animated Short category. Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski have been nominated before as has Konstantin Bronzit, but Florence Miailhe gets her first Oscar nomination for Butterfly.
Disney veterans Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears are in the running with their directorial debut Forevergreen. Ireland’s John Kelly is also a first-time director in the running for his Retirement Plan.
Best Visual Effects Oscar nominations
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett)
- F1 (Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson)
- Jurassic World Rebirth (David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan, and Neil Corbould)
- The Lost Bus (Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen, and Brandon K. McLaughlin)
- Sinners (Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, and Donnie Dean)
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the firm favourite to win the Best Visual Effects Oscar given the franchise’s history in the category with both Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). The latest movie again pushed the boundaries of VFX with its photorealistic environments, underwater performance capture and the seamless integration of live-action with digital effects, led by Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Letteri of Weta FX.
But I wouldn’t rule out The Lost Bus as a possible surprise. Its VFX are more subtle than the spectacle of Avatar: Fire and Ash or Jurassic World: Rebirth. Crafted by Cinesite, Industrial Light & Magic, beloFX, and Outpost VFX, they took a layered approach to realism, from environmental destruction to nuanced atmospheric effects. Past winners like Ex Machina (2016) and First Man (2019) have shown The Academy favours films where visual effects serve the story rather than dominate.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments which movies you think will (or should) win.
If you’re inspired to get started in animation yourself, see our guides to the best animation software and the best laptops for animation.
