^{Credit: Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang, and Michelle L.M. Wong 98th Academy Awards (A.M.P.A.S.)}

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has invited 529 new members. Among the Class of 2026 are 43 animation professionals. This is two more than last year, which saw 41 names invited to join the Animation Branch. The lineup includes the Oscar-winning team behind KPop Demon Hunters: Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, and Michelle L.M. Wong. Speaking of KPop Demon Hunters, Ejae and Mark Sonnenblick, two of the songwriters behind "Golden," were invited into the Music Branch. Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, who directed the Oscar-winning short The Girl Who Cried Pearls, were also invited into multiple branches. 37 VFX professionals have received invitations as well. 

Check out the list below: 

Animation:

Chris Appelhans – KPop Demon Hunters, Wish Dragon
Rachel Bibb – Ralph Breaks the Internet, Moana
Ugo Bienvenu – Arco, A Kind of Testament
Sharon Bridgeman – Over the Moon, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Jude Brownbill – Elio, Soul
Tom Caulfield – Zootopia 2, Wish
Lillian Chan – Space Cadet, Cities
Mingjue Helen Chen – KPop Demon Hunters, Raya and the Last Dragon
Félix de Givry – Arco, A Kind of Testament
Camilla Deakin – Kensuke’s Kingdom, Ethel & Ernest
Mary Alice Drumm – Elio, Coco
Nathan Engelhardt – Forevergreen, Zootopia 2
Ruth Fielding – Kensuke’s Kingdom, Ethel & Ernest
Corrie Francis Parks – SKRFF, Foreign Exchange
Liane-Cho Han – Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Calamity Jane
Jason Hand – Moana 2, Encanto
Maggie Kang – KPop Demon Hunters, The LEGO Ninjago Movie
Avneet Kaur – Moana 2, Raya and the Last Dragon
Liz Kearney – Magic Beach, Memoir of a Snail
John Kelly – Retirement Plan
Tom Knott – Ultraman: Rising, The Little Prince
Michael Lasker – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Chris Lavis (Also Invited to Short Films Branch) – The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Madame Tutli-Putli
Henri Magalon – Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Calamity Jane
Florence Miailhe (Also Invited to Short Films Branch) – Butterfly, The Crossing
Yoriko Mizushiri – Ordinary Life, Anxious Body
Adrian Molina – Elio, Inside Out 2
Lucija Mrzljak – Eeva, The Stork
Betsy Nofsinger – Kung Fu Panda 4, The Croods: A New Age
Matt Nolte – Elio, Brave
Andrzej Radka – Wolfwalkers, Ernest & Celestine
Michelle Lee Robinson – Encanto, Ralph Breaks the Internet
Ritchie Sacilioc – The Wild Robot, The Bad Guys
JP Sans – The Bad Guys 2, The Bad Guys
Sean Sexton – Kung Fu Panda 4, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Sajan Skaria – Luca, Toy Story 4
David Scott Smith – The Croods, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Jeremy Spears – Forevergreen, Zootopia 2
Maciek Szczerbowski (Also Invited to Short Films Branch) – The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Madame Tutli-Putli
Lynn Tomlinson – The Elephant’s Song, The Ballad of Holland Island House
Maïlys Vallade – Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, I Lost My Body
Benjamin Willis – The Bad Guys 2, Trolls Band Together
Michelle L.M. Wong – KPop Demon Hunters, Vivo

Visual Effects:

Stephen Aplin – Jurassic World Rebirth, Aladdin
Christopher Batty – Transformers One, Aquaman
Daniel Bethell – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Flash
Jelmer Boskma – Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp
Russell Bowen – The Lost Bus, Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Gavin Boyle – Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force, Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms
Mike Brazelton – Madame Web, Bullet Train
Stuart Bullen – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
TJ Burke – Project Hail Mary, Ballerina
Charmaine Chan – Jurassic World Rebirth, The Creator
Nicolas Chevallier – F1, The Fall Guy
Amy Beth Christenson – Transformers One, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Sonia M. Contreras – Tron: Ares, The Irishman
Keith Dawson – F1, Ready Player One
Donnie Dean – Sinners, Nickel Boys
Tara DeMarco – The Marvels, The Bronze
Raul Essig – Wicked: For Good, Wicked
Bill Georgiou – Twisters, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Becky Graham – Death on the Nile, Bhoot: Part One – The Haunted Ship
Pablo Grillo – Paddington in Peru, The Little Mermaid
Robert Harrington – F1, Thunderbolts*
Nicole Herr – The Lion King, The Jungle Book
Christian Kaestner – Gladiator II, Alien: Covenant
Shawn Kelly – Venom: The Last Dance, Avengers: Infinity War
Andy Kind – How to Train Your Dragon, The Little Mermaid
Brandon K. McLaughlin – The Lost Bus, Killers of the Flower Moon
Jay Mehta – Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, Maharshi
Glenn Joseph Melenhorst – How to Train Your Dragon, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Espen Nordahl – The Electric State, Sinners
Thomas Proctor – Mortal Kombat II, Justice League
Michael Ralla – Sinners, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Joshua Keir Simmonds – The Sheep Detectives, Together
Fausto Tejeda – Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, The Ambush
Marjolaine Tremblay – The Shack, Game Night
Guido Wolter – Sinners, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Clement Yip – Atlas, Sonic the Hedgehog 3
David Zaretti – The Lost Bus, The Running Man

Check out the full list at Oscars.org. 

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!