^{Credit: Astra Film Awards}

Six films have been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 9th Astra Film Awards, which the Hollywood Creative Alliance votes upon. The nominees are Arco, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, In Your Dreams, KPop Demon Hunters, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, and Zootopia 2. In Best Voice Over Performance, Arden Cho, Rumi's speaking voice in KPop Demon Hunters, was nominated along with Natalie Portman, who voices Iris' mother in Arco, and Shakira, the voice of Gazelle in Zootopia 2. The category includes three narration performances from live-action films: Nick Offerman from The Life of Chuck, Will Patton from Train Dreams, and Scarlett Sher from Weapons. 

The Astra Film Awards nominees for Best Voice Over Performance are:

Arden Cho – KPop Demon Hunters
Natalie Portman – Arco
Nick Offerman – The Life of Chuck
Scarlett Sher – Weapons
Shakira – Zootopia 2
Will Patton – Train Dreams#AstraFilmAwards #TheAstras#KPopDemonHunters… pic.twitter.com/cxe9viCiei

— The Astra Awards (@TheAstraAwards) November 25, 2025

Last week, Astra also announced their Creative Arts Awards nominees. KPop Demon Hunters got two additional nominations for Best Sound (Halliday, Chris Diebold, Trevor Gates) and Best Original Song for "Golden" (Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, IDO, 24, Teddy Park). The Creative Arts Awards include television as well, making room for "Best Time Ever" from Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical in a separate song category. It's worth noting that Avatar: Fire and Ash has yet to screen for any critics' groups. As such, it was left out of categories like Best Visual Effects, where Black Phone 2, Frankenstein, How to Train Your Dragon, Jurassic World Rebirth, Superman, and Wicked: For Good were nominated. 

With award season officially underway, these nominees could give us an idea of what's ahead in the Best Animated Feature race. Of course, the Astras have six nominees while the Oscars will only have five. 35 animated features have been shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards. Winners for the 9th Astra Film Awards will be unveiled on January 9, 2026, just a few weeks ahead of the Oscar nominees announcement on January 22, 2026.

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