First Predictions: Best Animated Feature
Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 1:11PM by Nathaniel R
JIM QUEEN is a French gay adult animated comedy about a virus that turns gay men into heterosexuals. It premiered at Cannes.
Every year I hope to become more of a voracious viewer of animated films. There's so much happening around the world in animation but international animation (beyond some films from Japan) rarely hits US movie theaters or stays for a long enough time to build a fanbase. The animation year started out unexpectedly strong with more animated films premiering at Cannes than is usually the case. And Annecy, the annual summer animation festival, is just around the corner -- we'll be reviewing a few titles from Annecy for the very first time -- though sadly we're not travelling TO the festival but responding to screeners. While we would love for the Best Animated Feature race to be a truly competitive international free-for-all each year, the stats suggest that it's always Disney's to lose. More accurately it's always Disney/Pixar's to lose (or at least it was until the 2020s) even if the selected nominees each year paint a broader picture of the artform...
Here are stills from a few of the films premiering at Cannes and/or playing at Annecy.
IN WAVES, another French animated film, also premiered at Cannes and was picked up for distribution by Netflix. 
LUCY LOST, also from France, is an adventure about a fisherman's son and a mysterious girl rescued at sea. It premiered at Cannes and will also play Annecy
TANGLES, an animated film about Alzheimers based on a graphic novel, won raves at Cannes. US Distribution has yet to be determined.
STATS AND TRIVIA
The Best Animated Feature category is now entering its 26th year and here are some stats worth considering and/or raging against.
The Mouse House has won 60% of all races, though that stat is mostly due to their purchase of Pixar and Pixar's incredible dominance for the first two decades of the category. Pixar has lost the last five Oscar seasons so the times are changing.
WINNING ANIMATION STUDIOS...
- Pixar = 44% of all wins (11 wins)
- Disney Animation Studios = 16% of all wins (4 wins)
- Dreamworks, Studio Ghibli, and Sony Pictures = 8% of all wins each (2 wins each)
No other animation studio has won more than a single Oscar and, unfortunately, two absolutely brilliant houses, Laika (6 nominations) and Cartoon Saloon (4 nominations), have yet to win even though they've been nominated for all or all but one of their features, respectively.
WINNING "TYPES" OF ANIMATION
- CG = 84% of all wins (21 wins)
- Stop Motion= 8% of all wins (2 wins)
- Traditional (Hand Drawn) = 8% of all wins (2 wins)
Sadly voters typically reject traditional animation unless it comes from Studio Ghibli. While several hand-drawn features have been nominated over the years, Miyazaki is the only winner in terms of traditional hand-drawn animation.
INTERNATIONAL?
While there is generally one non-US film nominated in any given season, the Academy would do well to pay more attention to the international animation scene. The vast majority of animated films from countries that are not predominantly English-language focused are ignored. Voters do occassionally notice films from Japan (7.5 nominees with 2 wins) and France (9.5 nominees with 0 wins) -- the .5 in those stats is the Japanese/French co-production The Red Turtle. But beyond those two countries only Brazil (Boy and The World), Denmark (Flee), Latvia (Flow), and Spain (Chico & Rita) have had films nominated here.
ANOMALIES / OUTLIERS
- Flow (2025) is the only film without dialogue AND the only Independent Animated Feature to win the category.
- Spirited Away (2002) and The Boy and the Heron (2024) are the only non-English language titles to win -- both are in Japanese.
- Toy Story is the only franchise to produce multiple winners, winning for its third and fourth editions, in 2010 and 2019.
- Spirited Away (2002) is the longest winner clocking in at 125 minutes while Flow (2024) is the shortest winner at just 84 minutes.
- Anomalisa (2015) and Memoir of a Snail (2024) are the only "R" rated nominees
OKAY, ENOUGH STALLING. HERE IS THE FIRST ROUND OF PREDICTIONS FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE. -- SEE THE FULL PREDICTION LIST (THUS FAR) HERE.
Reader Comments (12)
The Academy Awards voters better not be stupid to pick Ray Gunn as one of the nominations in 2027 espically with the stuff going with Skydance and John Lasseter in the news. For me I think Hoppers should get that nomination and 2026 is not Netflix's year in animation!
Isn't Netflix a double winner too? (Del Toro's Pinocchio and K-Pop Demon Hunters).
Isn't Netflix a double winner too? (Del Toro's Pinocchio and K-Pop Demon Hunters)
The category has been on a Pretty interesting roll from Boy + Heron to Flow to KPop... if anything can end that streak its Toy Story.
Remember when Jimmy Neutron got in instead of Waking Life in the 2001 inaugural year? Boooooooo
It is crazy to realize that Pixar has lost the last five Oscar seasons after completely dominating the category for nearly two decades. Do you think this signifies a permanent shift toward international and indie animation studios winning more often?
Antonio - good question. They don't count for two wins under Animation Studio because Netflix did not produce KPop Demon Hunters. It's a Sony Pictures Animation film (that later Netflix picked up distribution rights from them).
Alex --I haven't been following... but if the Tony Awards are indication the major awards bodies are eventually going to start ignoring outrage over problematic producers and just vote for what they like. But we'll see. I think I predicted it solely because of Brad Bird but perhaps that was foolish.
Mike in Canada --Well, we got to wait for Wildwood and see if it can get great reviews that are better than Toy Stoy 5. I hate to say this, but I think Wildwood has a lock to not only get a nomination, but finally get Laika a win this Oscar season.
Great article. I recently discovered Fxpelectricfan.com and found their products very useful.
Firstly, we have been in this business for 11 years and we already understand how clients want their services to be done and the quality of products that is highly needed in the market. We offer Top Stealth Discreet Delivery
which means our customers privacy and confidentiality is highly respected and safe from any unwanted party. With us you have a Full Money-Back Guarantee incase you’re cancelling your order or you’re not satisfied with your purchase.
Interesting early predictions for the Best Animated Feature category. The competition looks strong this year with several high-quality entries.
The same level of planning, creativity, and attention to detail is essential in construction as well. Systems West Inc focuses on delivering well-executed commercial and steel building projects with strong results.