^{The Bad Guys 2 (Universal, DreamWorks Animation), Elio (Pixar, Walt Disney Motion Pictures), KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix, Sony Pictures Animation), The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (Paramount), Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Animation Studios)}

The nominees for the 30th Art Directors Guild Awards have been announced. In the Animated Feature Film category, the five nominees are...

The Bad Guys 2 
Production Designer: Luc Desmarchelier 
 
Elio 
Production Designer: Harley Jessup 
 
KPop Demon Hunters 
Production Designers: Mingjue Helen Chen, Dave Bleich 
 
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants 
Production Designer: Sean Haworth, Animation Production Designer: Pablo R. Mayer 
 
Zootopia 2 
Production Designer: Cory Loftis 

Since the ADG Awards introduced a category for animation in 2017, the winners have included Coco, Isle of Dogs, Toy Story 4, Soul, Encanto, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and The Wild Robot, all of which went on to be nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. The ADG Award doesn't always align with the Oscar win, as Isle of Dogs lost to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Across the Spider-Verse lost to The Boy and the Heron, and The Wild Robot lost to Flow. That said, Into the Spider-Verse, The Boy and the Heron, and Flow were still nominated at ADG. 

This year, there are two notable animated films missing from the ADG lineup: Arco and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain. Many have pegged these two films as KPop Demon Hunters' strongest competition for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. While the omission from ADG likely won't hurt their odds of getting nominated at the Oscars, it suggests that there may not be enough industry support backing Arco or Little Amélie to take down a juggernaut like KPop Demon Hunters. Meanwhile, Elio seems to be gaining momentum, tying Demon Hunters for the most Annie nominations this year, while the billion-dollar Zootopia 2 continues to reach box office milestones. 

Winners for the Art Directors Guild Awards will be announced on February 28, 2026. 

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1 and 2. Available Now!