^{Credit: KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix, Sony Pictures Animation), Elio (Pixar Animation Studios).} 

Sony’s KPop Demon Hunters and Pixar’s Elio lead the 53rd Annie Awards nominations with ten each. Fresh off winning the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, KPop Demon Hunters continues its dominance with Annie nominations for Best Direction - Feature, Best Music - Feature, and Best Animated Feature. This is the most nominations to date for a Sony Pictures Animation feature, Hotel Transylvania and The Mitchells vs. the Machines being the previous record holders with eight apiece. As far as Netflix movies go, KPop Demon Hunters also received more nominations than Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, which got nine Annie nominations back in 2023. Elio might’ve been a box office disappointment, but it’s made a comeback at the Annies with just as many nominations as KPop Demon Hunters. Both are nominated in Best Animated Feature against The Bad Guys 2, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, and Zootopia 2. 

With a reported budget of only €9.5 million, many assumed that Little Amélie would compete in Best Animated Feature — Independent. Little Amélie's choice to submit in the other animated feature category should provide a clear path for Arco to win the indie prize. Arco is nominated against A Magnificent Life, I Am Frankelda, Lost in Starlight, and Scarlet. Surprisingly absent from the Best Animated Feature lineup is Netflix’s In Your Dreams, which only got two nominations for Best FX - Feature and Best Voice Acting - Feature for Craig Robinson as Baloney Tony. After scoring a surprise Golden Globe nomination, the box office hit Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle was expected to show up somewhere at the Annies. Yet, it’s nowhere to be found, although anime didn’t entirely blank this year. Tatsuya Yoshihara was nominated for Best Direction - Feature for Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc. Scarlet also got three Annie nominations, suggesting that a surprise Oscar nod isn’t out of the question. 

With Arco, KPop Demon Hunters, Little Amélie, and Zootopia 2 bound to attain Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature, there’s been much speculation about what the fifth nominee will be. If the Annies are any indication, it’ll be Elio given the film’s strong showing here. Pixar’s good fortune extended to the television categories. The Pixar series Win or Lose picked up six more nominations, including one for Best TV/Media – Limited Series. On the TV side, Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight and Common Side Effects also had a good morning with five nominations each. Asterix & Obelix is up for Best TV/Media – Limited Series, while Common Side Effects is nominated for Best TV/Media - Mature.  

In Best Short Subject, the nominees are Cardboard, Ovary-Acting, Pillowzzz, Snow Bear, and The Girl Who Cried Pearls. Cardboard, Snow Bear, and The Girl Who Cried Pearls have all been shortlisted for Best Animated Short consideration at the 98th Academy Awards. Other shorts vying for a spot at the Oscars are Éiru, which got an Annie nomination for Best Music - TV/Media, and Forevergreen, which is nominated for Best Character Animation - TV/Media.

Check out the full list of Annie nominations below:

Best Feature
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
The Bad Guys 2
Zootopia 2

Best Feature - Independent 
A Magnificent Life
Arco
I Am Frankelda
Lost in Starlight
Scarlet

Best Direction - Feature
Arco (Ugo Bienvenu, Adam Sillard, Anaëlle Saba)
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc (Tatsuya Yoshihara)
KPop Demon Hunters (Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans)
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han)
Scarlet (Mamoru Hosoda)

Best Direction — TV/Media
Common Side Effects, Episode: "Cliff's Edge" (Vincent Tsui)
Dan Da Dan, Episode: "Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!" (Fuga Yamashiro, Abel Góngora)
Not a Box, Episode: "It’s a Boat" (Siri Melchior)
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Episode: "Rise of the Night Ninja" (JJ Conway, Kevin Molina-Ortiz)
The Quinta’s Ghost (James A. Castillo)

Best Special Production
A Loud House Christmas Movie: Naughty or Nice
Adult Swim’s The Elephant
Not Just a Goof
Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical
The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland

Best TV/Media — Preschool
Eva the Owlet
Kindergarten: The Musical!
The Tiny Chef Show
Wow Lisa
Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

Best TV/Media — Children
My Melody & Kuromi
Spice Frontier: Escape From Veltegar
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball
Wylde Pak

Best TV/Media — Mature
Bob’s Burgers
Common Side Effects
Haha, You Clowns
Il Baracchino
South Park

Best TV/Media — Limited Series
Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight
Eyes of Wakanda
Marvel Zombies
Star Wars: Visions – Volume 3
Win or Lose

Best Short Subject
Cardboard
Ovary-Acting
Pillowzzz
Snow Bear
The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Best Student Film
A Sparrow’s Song
Acrobats
Jour de vent
The Undying Pain of Existence
Trash

Best Sponsored 
Animated Short: “Trek” | Honkai: Star Rail
Fortnite x The Simpsons: Apocalypse D’Oh!
LouiMax Dreams of Being an Adult
Olipop Yeti
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds – The Animation

Best FX — Feature
Elio
In Your Dreams
KPop Demon Hunters
The Bad Guys 2
Zootopia 2

Best FX — TV/Media
Marvel Zombies
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
Spice Frontier
Star Wars: Visions – Volume 3
WondLa

Best Character Animation — Feature
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
The Bad Guys 2
Zootopia 2

Best Character Animation — TV/Media
Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight
Forevergreen
Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical
The Simpsons
Win or Lose

Best Character Animation — Live-Action
A Minecraft Movie
Captain America: Brave New World
How to Train Your Dragon
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
Superman

Best Character Animation — Video Game
Bye Sweet Carole
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Keeper
South of Midnight

Best Character Animation — Feature
Elio
Fixed
KPop Demon Hunters
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
The Twits

Best Character Design — TV/Media
Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight
Bat-Fam
Love, Death + Robots
Wednesdays With Gramps
Win or Lose

Best Music — Feature
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2

Best Music — TV/Media
Common Side Effects
Devil May Cry
Éiru
Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical
Win or Lose

Best Production Design — Feature
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
The Bad Guys 2
The Twits
Zootopia 2

Best Production Design — TV/Media
Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight
Forevergreen
Love, Death + Robots
ParaNorman: The Thrifting
Wednesdays With Gramps

Best Storyboarding — Feature
Arco
Elio
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
The Bad Guys 2
Zootopia 2

Best Storyboarding — TV/Media
Love, Death + Robots
ParaNorman: The Thrifting
Snow Bear
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Win or Lose

Best Voice Acting — Feature
Dog Man - Lil Rey Howery (Character: Chief)
Elio - Remy Edgerly (Character: Glordon)
In Your Dreams - Craig Robinson (Character: Baloney Tony)
KPop Demon Hunters - Arden Cho (Character: Rumi)
The Twits - Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Character: Beesha)

Best Voice Acting — TV/Media
Bob’s Burgers - Dan Mintz (Character: Tina Belcher)
Hazbin Hotel - Erika Henningsen (Character: Charlie Morningstar)
Long Story Short - Abbi Jacobson (Character: Shira Schwooper)
Smiling Friends - Zach Hadel (Character: Evil Wizard)
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball - Alkaio Thiele (Character: Gumball Watterson)

Best Editorial — Feature
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Olivia & las Nubes

Best Editorial — TV/Media
Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight
Common Side Effects
Haunted Hotel
Invincible 
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch

Best Writing — Feature
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Scarlet
Zootopia 2

Best Writing — TV/Media
#1 Happy Family USA, Episode: "Episode 101: NINE TEN"
Adult Swim’s The Elephant
Common Side Effects, Episode: "Pilot"
Lulu Is a Rhinoceros
Win or Lose, Episode: "Episode 4, Pickle"

Winners for the 53rd Annie Awards will be announced on February 21, 2026. 

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