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2026 BAFTAs | Animation Nominees

NickSpake

January 27, 2026 • 11:37AM

^{Credit: Cardboard (Locksmith Animation), Two Black Boys in Paradise (One6th), Solstice (Luke Angus), Elio (Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Motion Pictures), Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKIDS), Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Motion Pictures)}

The nominations for the 79th British Academy Film Awards have been announced. In the categories for Best Animated Film, Best Children's & Family Film, Best British Short Animation, and Best Special Visual Effects, the nominees are:

Best Animated Film

Elio (Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina, and Mary Alice Drumm)
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (Mailys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago, Edwina Liard, Claire Le Combe, and Henri Magalon)
Zootopia/Zootropolis 2 (Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Yvett Merino)

Best Children's & Family Film

Arco (Ugo Bienvenu, Félix De Givry, Sophie Mas, and Natalie Portman)
Boong (Lakshmipriya Devi and Ritesh Sidhwani)
Lilo & Stitch (Dean Fleischer Camp and Jonathan Eirich)
Zootopia/Zootropolis 2 (Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Yvett Merino)

Best British Short Animation

Cardboard (J.P. Vine and Michaela Manas Malina)
Solstice (Luce Angus)
Two Black Boys in Paradise (Baz Sells, Dean Atta, and Ben Jackson)

Best Special Visual Effects

Avatar: Fire and Ash (Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, and Eric Saindon)
F1 (Ryan Tudhope, Keith Alfred Dawson, Nicolas Chevallier, and Robert Harrington)
Frankenstein (Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, and José Granell)
How to Train Your Dragon (Christian Manz, Francois Lambert, Glen McIntosh, and Terry Palmer)
The Lost Bus (Charlie Noble, Brandon K. McLaughlin, and David Zaretti)

^{Credit: KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix, Sony Pictures Animation)}

You may've noticed that the presumed Oscar frontrunner, KPop Demon Hunters, is nowhere to be found, although the film wasn't snubbed. The BAFTAs deemed KPop Demon Hunters ineligible since it didn't meet the theatrical release requirements. Since 2006, when the British Academy introduced a category for animated features, no film has gone on to win the Oscar without being nominated at BAFTA. KPop Demon Hunters may be the exception to this rule, since it couldn't compete at BAFTA. If Demon Hunters were to lose the Oscar, though, it'd enforce just how integral BAFTA is in this race.

^{Credit: Arco (Neon)}

Arco, The Bad Guys 2, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle previously made the BAFTA longlist for Best Animated Film. While they didn't make the final lineup alongside Elio, Little Amélie, or Zootropolis (Zootopia) 2, Arco still got nominated for Best Children's & Family Film. Arco also recently won the European Film Award for Best Animated Feature. Elio and Little Amélie were both longlisted in the Children's & Family Film category, but they were just nominated for Best Animated Film. Zootopia 2 is the only animated nominee that showed up in both categories.

Although the original Zootopia swept throughout most of awards season almost a decade ago, the BAFTA was one prize that it didn't take home, losing to Kubo and the Two Strings. The sequel could bring things full circle, winning one or even two BAFTAs. That would cement Zootopia 2 as KPop Demon Hunters' strongest rival at the Oscars. Of course, we'll never know how the BAFTA race would've played out if KPop Demon Hunters had qualified.

In Best British Short Animation, Cardboard, Solstice, and Two Black Boys in Paradise got nominated over fellow longlisted films Brian Space, Death’s Peak, and Ovary-Acting. Cardboard was shortlisted for Best Animated Short at the Oscars, but wasn't among the final five nominees there. The nominees for Best Special Visual Effects are Avatar: Fire and Ash, FI, Frankenstein, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Lost Bus. Jurassic World Rebirth, Mickey 17, Superman, Tron: Ares, and Wicked: For Good were longlisted, but didn't make the cut.