Thursday, January 22, 2026

Animated Thoughts: 2026 Academy Award Nominated Feature and Short Films

And the Academy Award nominations for 2026 are out.

In the category of animated feature film we have:

ARCO
Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman

ELIO
Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina and Mary Alice Drumm

KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong

LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN
Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago and Henri Magalon

ZOOTOPIA 2
Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Yvett Merino

And in the category of animated short film:

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

The full list of nominees can be viewed on their website. I've only seen two of the shorts (and one of the features) thus far. Can't wait until the shorts program comes to town so I can see the rest of them.

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