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A week ago, the race for the Best Animated Feature Oscar seemed as if it could have the smallest field of entries in years. Only 13 films were in the online screening room devoted to the category, although some significant contenders were clearly going to be added, Pixar’s “Soul,” Cartoon Saloon’s “Wolfwalkers” and GKIDS’ “Earwig and the Witch” among them. But on Friday, Jan. 15, voters in the category awoke to find that the size of the race had essentially doubled. Instead of 13 films in the screening room, there were 27, with the newcomers including not just “Soul” and “Wolfwalkers” and “Earwig and the Witch,” but also films from Denmark (“Dreambuilders”), Poland (“Kill It and Leave This Town”), Latvia (“My Favorite War”), South Korea (“Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs”) and India (“Bombay Rose”), as well as a Croatian movie with the intriguing and confounding title “Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Water Rebus.”

The number of eligible films is shy of last year’s record of 32, but it turns the category from a modestly-sized one to a robust one. Last year, voters were required to see 50% of the eligible films before they could cast ballots in the category; if that figure remains the same this year and additional films aren’t added, it will require each voter to see at least 14 films. Members who have volunteered to vote in the category are expected to receive their required-viewing assignments in the next two weeks.

Here’s the list of films currently in the Academy’s animation screening room:

“Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus”
“Bombay Rose”
“Calamity”
“The Croods: A New Age”
“Demon Slayer: The Movie: Mugen Train”
“Dreambuilders”
“Earwig and the Witch”
“Kill It and Leave This Town”
“Lupin III: The First”
“Mosley”
“My Favorite War”
“No. 7 Cherry Lane”
“The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks”
“On-Gaku: Our Sound”
“Onward”
“Over the Moon”
“Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs”
“Ride Your Wave”
“Scoob!”
“A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Faramageddon”
“Soul”
“The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run”
“Terra Willy”
“Trolls World Tour”
“A Whisker Away”
“The Willoughbys”
“Wolfwalkers”

There are also notable differences between the BAFTAs and Oscars regarding the number of films in the animated feature category. The BAFTAs listed 13 films for eligibility. The Academy Screening Room currently has 27 films available for consideration. The Oscars have yet to announce the official number of animated films submitted, but are expected to by month’s end. The Academy nominates five films, if over 15 features are eligible, while the BAFTAs nominate three.

Animated features eligible for the BAFTAs:

“Away”
“The Croods: A New Age”
“Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train”
“Earwig and the Witch”
“Kill It and Leave This Town”
“Onward”
“Over the Moon”
“Scoob!”
“Soul”
“Trolls: World Tour”
“Two by Two: Overboard!”
“The Willoughbys”
“Wolfwalkers”

AFI Movies of the Year

“Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix)
“Judas and the Black Messiah” (Warner Bros.)
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix)
“Mank” (Netflix)
“Minari” (A24)
“Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)
“One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
“Soul” (Pixar)
“Sound of Metal” (Amazon Studios)
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)

AFI Television Programs of the Year

“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“Bridgerton” (Netflix)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Good Lord Bird” (Showtime)
“Lovecraft Country” (HBO)
“The Mandalorian” (Disney Plus)
“Mrs. America” (Hulu)
“The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV Plus)
“Unorthodox” (Netflix)

AFI Special Award

“Hamilton” (Disney Plus)

Best Animated Feature

Winners:
Bombay Rose
Over the Moon

Honorable Mentions:
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
On-Gaku: Our Sound
A Whisker Away

Best Animated Feature
Soul

Top Films (in alphabetical order)
First Cow
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Judas and the Black Messiah
The Midnight Sky
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Soul
Sound of Metal

Is the Demon Slayer film related to the anime TV series with the same name?

The National Board Of Review has also included Soul among its top ten films of the year and has named it Best Animated Feature. Wolfwakers is in the top 10 independent films.

Soul getting named Best Animated Feature by the National Board of Review has sealed the deal. By this point, Soul has greatly surpassed Wolfwalkers in awards and recognition.

Gold Open has partnered with the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) to launch the inaugural Gold List which honors the most outstanding Asian and Pacific Islander (API) achievements in film each year.

Source: https://goldopen.com/nominee_category/b ... d-feature/

Happy to see Over the Moon has got something.

I always thought it had a chance and I believe Disney/Pixar knew it and that's why they kept its release in 2020 and didn't put it under premier acess.

I think Soul is a good movie even though IMO it has similar issues I find with other Pixar's film, but I do think it was the best animated film of the year.

27 animated films have been submitted for consideration to the Academy. Despite being eligible, the animated film Jiang Ziya was not submitted.

Here's a breakdown of the submitted films by country. In the case of co-productions, I've listed the movie only under its primary producing country.

Motion Picture (Animated or Mixed Media)

Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
No. 7 Cherry Lane
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Favorite Animated Movie

The Croods: A New Age
Onward
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe
Scoob!
Soul
Trolls: World Tour

Outstanding Animated Motion Picture

Onward
Over the Moon
Scoob!
Soul
Trolls: World Tour

Best Motion Picture (Animated)

The Croods: A New Age
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers