^{Credit: Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Animation Studios), Scarlet (Sony Pictures Releasing), KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)} 

At this time last year, many assumed that Inside Out 2 would coast its way to a Best Animated Feature Oscar. Fast-forward a few months, The Wild Robot became the one to beat. As award season kicked off, Flow started picking up critic prizes, but few took the little cat movie seriously until it won the Golden Globe. It put Flow on the path to winning the Academy Award, changing how many view the Best Animated Feature race. It’s never been more unpredictable, raising several questions about the next few months as we head into another chaotic Oscar season.

^{Credit: Arco (Neon), A Magnificent Life (Sony Pictures Classics), Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKIDS)}

What Could Be the Next Flow?

For years, independent animated features were considered lucky just to be nominated. In this changing landscape, they can go all the way. Flow started generating Oscar buzz when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Several animated films played at Cannes this year. Sylvain Chomet’s A Magnificent Life centers on Marcel Pagnol, the French auteur who dabbled in plays, novels, and films. While well-received, the reviews haven’t been quite on par with Chomet’s previous Oscar-nominated features, The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist. Still, the film’s U.S. distribution is being handled by Sony Pictures Classics, a studio that knows how to campaign.

GKIDS, which won its first Oscar two years ago with The Boy and the Heron, acquired another awards player with Little Amélie or the Character of Rain. This French film marks the feature directorial debuts of Maïlys Vallade (I Lost My Body) and Liane-Cho Han Jin Kuang (Long Way North). Both also previously worked on Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary. Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s Death Does Not Exist also premiered at Cannes while Momoko Seto’s Dandelion’s Odyssey (or Planètes) closed out Critics' Week. Of all the animated features that went to Cannes, Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco emerged as the real discovery. Centered on a ten-year-old who time-travels via rainbow, Arco has already found a prominent U.S. distributor in Neon, fresh off its Best Picture win for Anora. Neon is no stranger to Best Animated Feature either, scoring nominations for Flee and Robot Dreams.

Backed by producer Natalie Portman, Arco continued to dazzle at Annecy, where it won Cristal for Best Feature Film. Dandelion’s Odyssey also won the Paul Grimault Award at Annecy, while Little Amélie won the Audience Award. The coveted Contrechamp Grand Prix went to the animated documentary Endless Cookie from Seth Scriver and Peter Scriver. Other winners from Annecy include Yasuhiro Aoki‘s ChaO (Jury Award), Irene Iborra’s Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake (Gan Foundation Award), and Kim Bo-sol‘s The Square (Contrechamp Jury Award). The latter will make its North American premiere at the Tribeca Festival. All of the above should be on awards experts’ radars over the months to come. While none attained the same levels of buzz that Flow had this time last year, Arco may come the closest.

^{Credit: I Am Frankelda (Cinema Fantasma)}

Will I Am Frankelda Receive a Qualifying U.S. Release?

Based on the anthology series Frankelda's Book of Spooks, which is currently streaming on HBO Max, I Am Frankelda is being promoted as Mexico’s first stop-motion animated feature. The fantasy horror film from Arturo Ambriz, Roy Ambriz, and Mireya Mendoza premiered at Annecy with a release in Mexico slated for fall. As of writing, though, an Oscar-qualifying U.S. run has yet to be announced. The work-in-progress footage alone is a visual marvel. While time will only tell if the story lives up to the gothic, eye-popping designs, Cinema Fantasma seems like a studio to watch.

^{Credit: KPop Demon Hunters, Fixed, In Your Dreams (Netflix)}

What Film(s) Will Netflix Prioritize?

Netflix has already distributed a few animated films this year, including Nickelodeon’s Plankton: The Movie, Han Jin-won’s stunning romance Lost in Starlight, and The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. Among the most pleasant surprises of the year was Sony Pictures Animation’s KPop Demon Hunters. Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans’ visually arresting action musical has not only cemented itself as a Best Animated Feature contender, but a possible Best Original Song nominee as well. While it’s unclear which song(s) will be submitted for awards consideration, “Takedown” and “Golden” have been released as singles. The film and soundtrack even got a shout-out on the Academy’s social media.

Update: Netflix has confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters will be submitting “Golden” for Oscar consideration. 

Huntrix didn’t just save the world, they also saved my Spotify Wrapped.

Film: KPOP DEMON HUNTERS (2025) pic.twitter.com/sGQdnvrAIW

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) June 29, 2025

While KPop is currently one of the most-watched movies on Netflix, the streamer still has a few more animated features on their 2025 docket. Among them are Genndy Tartakovsky’s long-awaited adult comedy Fixed and Phil Johnston’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Twits. Netflix has etched out a prime November release date for Alex Woo’s In Your Dreams, the story of two siblings searching for the Sandman on a quest to save their parents’ marriage. While Netflix will give each film a proper push, one will likely take priority as a consensus frontrunner is formed. For now, KPop is out in front, but much can change in a couple of months. In Your Dreams, in particular, has been generating buzz since a presentation at Annecy. The production has drawn comparisons to Pixar, which isn’t surprising since Alex Woo worked on WALL-E, Finding Dory, and Incredibles 2, among others.

^{Credit: Predator: Killer of Killers (Hulu)}

Will Predator: Killer of Killers Compete For Oscars or Emmys?

The Third Floor, Inc.’s first crack at an animated feature, Predator: Killer of Killers isn’t just one of the most enthralling animated features of the year. It’s one of the best Predator films to date, trailing only the 1987 classic and 2022’s Prey. Dan Trachtenberg helmed Prey and Killer of Killers, both of which were released through Hulu. That said, Prey was ultimately submitted for Emmy consideration, getting nominated for Outstanding Television Movie. As such, Killer of Killers will likely contend at next year’s Emmys, where it could be eligible for Outstanding Animated Program or Television Movie. If Hulu wants Killer of Killers in the Oscar conversation, though, a qualifying theatrical run wouldn’t be hard to arrange.

^{Credit: Elio (Pixar Animation Studios), Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Animation Studios), Dog Man (DreamWorks Animation)}

Will Wide Theatrical Releases Get Shut Out?

You might’ve noticed that all of the animated films discussed thus far have either been independent productions or streaming releases. In terms of wide theatrical releases, 2025 hasn’t been the most promising year for animation. Dog Man commenced the year with solid box office and reviews, but if Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie couldn’t entice Oscar voters, the spin-off will probably be met with the same bias. DreamWorks has another contender with The Bad Guys 2. Since the original film couldn’t get in, the follow-up might face an uphill battle. It’s not unprecedented for a sequel to get nominated for Best Animated Feature when its predecessor couldn’t. This hasn’t happened since Despicable Me 2 over a decade ago, however.

Paramount Animation was seemingly close to a nomination a couple of years ago with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. This year, Paramount has another ‘80s staple staging a cinematic comeback with Smurfs. Paramount Pictures is also distributing The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. Even if these films were to surprise animation enthusiasts like Mutant Mayhem or last year’s Transformers One, the Academy has never gone for SpongeBob or the Smurfs before. Why would they now?

For nearly two decades, Best Animated Feature was nicknamed “The Pixar Award.” Over the past three years, Pixar has settled for nominations. This year, Elio might be lucky just to be nominated, given its unfortunate box office. There’s still hope that the charming space adventure will have legs ala Elemental, especially with strong reviews. Elio’s odds of breaking even are growing slimmer with every week, though. Will voters frown upon Elio’s box office, or will they want to spotlight a film that deserves to be doing better? Elio could also be met with apprehension given some behind-the-scenes controversy, such as the erasure of the original cut’s LGBTQIA+ themes.

Disney will undoubtedly rebound at the box office with Zootopia 2, as the last film made over $1 billion. Since the first film also won Best Animated Feature, the sequel needs to be taken seriously as an Oscar player. Seeing how relevant Zootopia was in 2016 (and even more now), pressure will be on to deliver another timely social message while balancing comedy and inventive world-building. Even if Zootopia 2 hits all of those marks, Toy Story 3 and 4 are the only sequels that’ve won Best Animated Feature. Some suspected Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse might buck that trend, but voters favored The Boy and the Heron. If Zootopia 2 or Elio lose (or don’t even get nominated), it’ll be the fourth year in a row that Disney or Pixar walked away from Best Animated Feature empty-handed. This would call those rumors of a “Pixar/Disney mafia” into question.

Another sequel to watch out for is Ne Zha 2 from China. While it only made about $20 million in the U.S., Ne Zha 2’s worldwide gross exceeded $2 billion. In addition to being the biggest movie of the year so far, it quickly outsized Inside Out 2 as the highest-grossing animated feature ever. Money doesn’t always equal accolades. If it did, Moana 2 and Frozen 2 would’ve been nominated. With Ne Zha 2 getting even better reviews than the first film, though, voters are more inclined to prioritize it. 

^{Credit: Scarlet (Sony Pictures Releasing)} 

Can Mamoru Hosoda Win With Scarlet?  

Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron are the only Japanese films to win Best Animated Feature, both having Hayao Miyazaki in common. Another master of Japanese animation may be on the verge of getting his due. For years, Mamoru Hosoda was a blind spot at the Academy Awards. Granted, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children weren’t submitted for consideration, but Summer Wars and The Boy and the Beast were. Hosoda finally got his first nomination for 2018’s Mirai, although he went overlooked again three years later for Belle. Hosoda returns with Scarlet, which Sony had slated for a December release in North America.

Little is currently known about the plot other than it’s about a pink-haired princess who transcends space and time, searching for her father’s murderer in a race against the clock. Yet, the promotional images alone are enough to make this my most anticipated animated film for the rest of the year. Is this wishful thinking that Hosoda will get his long-overdue Oscar moment? Naturally. If the race is as wide open as we suspect, though, Scarlet may continue the trend of Oscar voters embracing international animation.

So What’s Getting Nominated?

Obviously, it’s too early to say, but it’s always fun looking back at how wrong our early Oscar predictions were. So, here are my predictions as of now!

Best Animated Feature Predictions:

Arco

In Your Dreams

KPop Demon Hunters

Scarlet

Zootopia 2

Runner-Ups:

Elio

Endless Cookie

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

A Magnificent Life

The Square  

Dark Horses:

The Bad Guys 2

ChaO

Fixed

Ne Zha 2

The Twits

Other Possible Contenders:

Animal Farm

Boys Go to Jupiter 

Dandelion’s Odyssey

Death Does Not Exist

Dog Man

The Donn of Tiki

The Great History of Western Philosophy

Hola Frida

I Am Frankelda

The King of Kings

Lesbian Space Princess

Light of the World

Lost in Starlight

Maya, Give Me a Title

Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake

Plankton: The Movie

Predator: Killer of Killers

Savages

Smurfs

Sneaks

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants

Side Note: The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie isn’t eligible because it was submitted last year. It might’ve been wiser if the film’s Oscar campaign had been saved for this year, when audiences actually had a chance to see it, but at least that’s one question answered.

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