‘Elio,’ ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Lead Annie Awards Nominations
ASIFA-Hollywood announced nominations today for its 53rd Annie Awards recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation where Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters and Pixar’s Elio lead with 10 nominations each.
Both are nominated for best feature, alongside Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, The Bad Guys 2 and Zootopia 2. All of the above were also nominated in the Best Character Animation – Feature category.
GKIDS’ Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and Walt Disney’s billion dollar grossing Zootopia 2 each eanred seven nominations while NEON’s Arco and DreamWorks Animation’s The Bad Guys 2 scored five.
On the TV side, Pixar’s Win or Lose scored six nominations, including Best TV/Media – Limited Series, and Nickelodeon’s Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles landed three noms.
The 53rd Annual Annie Awards are set for Saturday, February 21. Here are the nominations.
BEST FEATURE
“Elio”
Pixar Animation Studios
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
Maybe Movies, Ikki Films, Distributed by GKIDS
“The Bad Guys 2”
DreamWorks Animation
“Zootopia 2”
Walt Disney Animation Studios
BEST FEATURE – INDEPENDENT
“A Magnificent Life”
Mediawan, What the Prod and Bidibul Productions
“Arco”
Remembers, MountainA France, France 3 Cinéma
“I’m Frankelda”
Cinema Fantasma, Warner Bros. Discovery, Woo Films, Cine Vendaval
“Lost In Starlight”
Netflix / Climax Studio
“Scarlet”
Studio CHIZU
BEST SPECIAL PRODUCTION
“A Loud House Christmas Movie: Naughty or Nice”
Nickelodeon Animation Studio & Jam Filled Entertainment
Adult Swim’s “The Elephant”
Titmouse and Williams Street
“Not Just a Goof”
Venturia Animation Studios ® for CNEK Films LLC
“Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical”
WildBrain Studios in association with Apple
“The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland”
Lupus Films, Universal Pictures Content Group
BEST SHORT SUBJECT
“Cardboard”
Locksmith Animation
“Ovary-Acting”
Klipp og Lim, Jante Films, Apparat Filmproduktion AB
“Pillowzzz”
Animoshe
“Snow Bear”
The Art of Aaron Blaise
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
National Film Board of Canada
BEST SPONSORED
Animated Short: “Trek” | Honkai: Star Rail
FLiiiP Design
Fortnite x The Simpsons: Apocalypse DOh!
A Gracie Films Production in Association with 20th Television Animation
LouiMax Dreams of Being An Adult
Imagine Create Media Inc. in conjunction with Maileg APS
Olipop Yeti
Screen Novelties & Passion Pictures
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds The Animation
SEGA of America in association with GXS Productions
BEST TV/MEDIA – PRESCHOOL
“Eva The Owlet” Episode: Welcome to Treetopington”
Brown Bag Films / Scholastic Entertainment in association with Apple
“Kindergarten: The Musical!” Episode: Gotta Go!
Oddbot Entertainment, Disney Branded Television
“The Tiny Chef Show” Episode: Tiny Chef’s Spooky Stump Spectacular
Imagine Entertainment, Tiny Chef Productions and Nickelodeon Productions
“Wow Lisa” Episode: Rainy Day
Punkrobot
“Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum” Episode: I am Jackie Robinson
9 Story Media Group, Brown Bag Films
BEST TV/MEDIA – CHILDREN
“My Melody & Kuromi” Episode: All For Our Best Friend
Sanrio Company for Netflix
“Spice Frontier: Escape From Veltegar” Episode 1
Steamroller Animation
“Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Episode: Rise of the Night Ninja
Nickelodeon Animation Studios and PointGrey Pictures
“The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball” Episode: The Rewrite
Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe
“Wylde Pak” Episode: Sungandeul
Nickelodeon Animation Studios / Jam Filled Entertainment
BEST TV/MEDIA – MATURE
“Bob’s Burgers” Episode: Grand Pre-Pre-Pre Opening
20th TV
“Common Side Effects” Episode: Pilot
Green Street Pictures, Bandera Entertainment and Williams Street Productions
“Haha, You Clowns” Episode: Duncan Holds a Baby
Williams Street
“Il Baracchino” Episode: Claudia Entra in un Caffè
Luckyred, Megadrago
“South Park” Episode: Sermon on the ‘Mount
Comedy Central, LLC
BEST TV/MEDIA LIMITED SERIES
“Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight” Episode 3
Netflix / Banijay Productions France / Légende Films
“Eyes of Wakanda” Episode: Into The Lion’s Den
Marvel Studios
“Marvel Zombies” Episode: 2
Marvel Studios
“Star Wars: Visions” Volume 3, Episode: BLACK
david production
“Win Or Lose” Episode: Home
Pixar Animation Studios
BEST STUDENT FILM
“A Sparrow’s Song”
Student director: Tobias Eckerlin
Student producer: Tobias Eckerlin
School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
“Acrobats”
Student directors: Eloïse Alluyn, Hugo Danet, Anna Despinoy, Antonin Guerci,
Alexandre Marzin, Shali Reddy
School: Gobelins
“Jour de vent”
Student directors: Martin Chailloux, Ai Kim Crespin, Elise Golfouse, Chloé Lab, Hugo
Taillez, Camille Truding
School: École des Nouvelles Images
“The Undying Pain of Existence”
Student director: Oscar Jacobson
Student producers: Franz Rügamer, Nadiia Yunatska
School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
“Trash”
Student directors: Maxime Crançon, Alexis Le Ral
Student producers: Robin Delaporte, Romain Fleischer, Mattéo Durand
School: ESMA
BEST FX – TV/MEDIA
“Marvel Zombies” Episode: 4
Production Company: Marvel Animation
FX Production Company: Stellar Creative Lab, Inc. Emma Badia, Tristan Fairclough, Jimmy Dumont, Sheng Hung, Arth Vasavada
“Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” Episode: The Big Freeze – Production Company: BBC Studios Natural History Unit
FX Production Company: Framestore
Edward Ferrysienanda, Kevin Christensen, Guy Shuleman , Benedikt Roettger,
Kevin Tarpinian
“Spice Frontier” Episode: 1
Production Company: Steamroller Animation
FX Production Company: Steamroller Animation
Steamroller Animation Effects Department
“Star Wars: Visions” Volume 3 Episode: The Bird of Paradise
Production Company: Polygon Pictures
FX Production Company: Polygon Pictures
Takashi Okamoto, Kohei Yamamoto, Genyo Sasaki, Chizuru Nakamura, Erika Matsui
“Wondla” Episode: Lost
Production Company: Skydance Animation
FX Production Company: ICON Creative Studio
EP 209 ICON Creative Studio FX Team
BEST FX – FEATURE
“Elio”
Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios
FX Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios
Ferdi Scheepers, Shaun Galinak, Alyssa Lee, Nate Skeen, Gary Bruins
“In Your Dreams”
Production Company: Netflix, Kuku Studios
FX Production Company: Sony Pictures Imageworks
Dmitriy Kolesnik, Stephen Paschk, David Sellares, Stephanie McNair
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Production Company: Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
FX Production Company: Sony Pictures Imageworks
Filippo Macari, Nicola Finizio, Simon Lewis, Naoki Kato, Daniel La Chapelle
“The Bad Guys 2”
Production Company: DreamWorks Animation
FX Production Company: DreamWorks Animation
Landon Gray, Michael Losure, Zachary Glynn, Chris Wombold, Olivier Malric
“Zootopia 2”
Production Company: Walt Disney Animation Studios
FX Production Company: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Le Joyce Tong, Shamintha Kalamba Arachchi, Dimitre Berberov, Chris Carignan, Cristiana Covone
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – TV/MEDIA
“Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight” Episode 3
Netflix / Banijay Productions France / Légende Films
Floriane Caseiro
“Forevergreen” – Special Production
Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears
Brendan Gottlieb
“Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical” – Special Production
WildBrain Studios in association with Apple
Chris Derochie
“The Simpsons” – Various Episodes
A Gracie Films Production in Association with 20th Television Animation
Nik Ranieri
“Win Or Lose” – Various Episodes
Pixar Animation Studios
Alli Sadegiani
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – FEATURE
“Elio” – Pixar Animation Studios
Jonah Sidhom
“KPop Demon Hunters” – Sony Pictures Animation, Netflix
Ryusuke Furuya
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” – Maybe Movies, Ikki Films, Distributed by GKIDS
Juliette Laurent
“The Bad Guys 2” – DreamWorks Animation
Ludovic Bouancheau
“Zootopia 2” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Tony Smeed
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – LIVE ACTION
“A Minecraft Movie”
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Mojang Studios,
Vertigo Entertainment, On the Roam
FX Production Company: Weta FX
Kevin Estey, Anthony McIndoe, Jade Lorier, Caroline Ting, Luisma Lavin Peredo
“Captain America: Brave New World”
Production Company: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures
FX Production Company: Weta FX
Sidney Kombo-Kintombo, Andrew William Park, Marco Röth, Paul Seyb, Thien Ly
“How To Train Your Dragon”
Production Company: DreamWorks Animation
FX Production Company: Framestore
Kayn Garcia, Jean-Denis Haas, Meena Ibrahim, Nathan McConnel, Nick Tripodi
“Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age”
Production Company: BBC Studios Natural History Unit
FX Production Company: Framestore
Adrien Annesley, Alvise Avati, Riyad Chalakkara, Daniel Mizuguchi, Liam Russell
“Superman”
Production Company: DC Studios
FX Production Company: Framestore
Loic Mireault, Michael Elder, Philipp Winterstein, Victor Dinis, Diego De Paula, Pereira Batista
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – VIDEO GAME
“Bye Sweet Carole”
Little Sewing Machine
Chris Darril
“Death Stranding 2: On the Beach”
Kojima Productions
Hideo Kojima, Masaaki Kawata, Kojima Productions, PlayStation Studios XDEV
“Ghost of Yōtei”
Sucker Punch Productions
Sucker Punch Productions Animation Team
“Keeper”
Double Fine Productions
Zach Baharov, Alex Turner, Jerry Matsko, Anne-Sophie Savard, Geneviève Desbiens
“South of Midnight”
Compulsion Games
Mike Jungbluth, Sebastien Dussault, Vincent Schneider, Remi Edmond
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – TV/MEDIA
“Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight” Episode 5
Netflix / Banijay Productions France / Légende Films
Borja Montoro
“Bat-Fam” Episode: A Knight at the Movies
Amazon MGM Studios, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment
Benjamin Tong
“Love, Death + Robots” Episode: 400 Boys
Blur Studio for Netflix
Robert Valley
“Wednesdays with Gramps” Short Film
DreamWorks Animation
Seth St. Pierre
“Win Or Lose” Episode: Episode 8, Home
Pixar Animation Studios
Lou Hamou-Lhadj
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – FEATURE
“Elio”
Pixar Animation Studios
Matt Nolte, Yingzong Xin, James Woods, Kaleb Rice, Bob Pauley
“Fixed”
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Craig Kellman
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Scott Watanabe, Ami Thompson
“The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants”
Paramount Animation / Nickelodeon Movies
Adam Paloian, Thaddeus Couldron, Alvi Ramirez
“The Twits”
Netflix Presents / The Roald Dahl Story Company
Kei Acedera, Tristan Poulain, Jules Rigolle, Fernando Peque, Remi Salmon
BEST DIRECTION – TV/MEDIA
“Common Side Effects” Episode: Cliff’s Edge
Green Street Pictures, Bandera Entertainment and Williams Street Productions
Vincent Tsui
“Dan Da Dan” Episode: Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!
Science SARU, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Distributed by GKIDS
Fuga Yamashiro, Abel Góngora
“Not a Box” Episode: Its a Boat
Silver Creek Falls Entertainment / Passion Pictures in association with Apple
Siri Melchior
“Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Episode: Rise of the Night Ninja
Nickelodeon Animation Studios and PointGrey Pictures
JJ Conway, Kevin Molina-Ortiz
“The Quinta’s Ghost” Short Film
Martirio Films & Illusorium films
James A. Castillo
BEST DIRECTION – FEATURE
“Arco”
Remembers, MountainA France, France 3 Cinéma
Ugo Bienvenu, Adam Sillard, Anaëlle Saba
“Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc”
MAPPA Studios
Tatsuya Yoshihara
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
Maybe Movies, Ikki Films, Distributed by GKIDS
Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han
“Scarlet”
Studio CHIZU
Mamoru Hosoda
BEST MUSIC – TV/MEDIA
“Common Side Effects” Episode: Lakeshore Limited
Green Street Pictures, Bandera Entertainment, and Williams Street Productions
Nicolas Snyder
“Devil May Cry” Episode: The First Circle
A Netflix Series / Studio Mir / Adi Shankar Animation / Capcom
Power Glove, Alex Seaver
“Éiru” Short Film
Cartoon Saloon
Leo Pearson, Ceara Conway
“Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical” Special Production
WildBrain Studios in association with Apple
Ben Folds, Jeff Morrow, Alan Zachary, Michael Weiner
“Win Or Lose” Episode: Episode 6, Mixed Signals
Pixar Animation Studios
Ramin Djawadi, Shane Eli, Johnny Pakfar
BEST MUSIC – FEATURE
“Arco”
Remembers, MountainA France, France 3 Cinéma
Arnaud Toulon
“Elio”
Pixar Animation Studios
Rob Simonsen
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
KPop Demon Hunters Music Team
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
Maybe Movies, Ikki Films, Distributed by GKIDS
Mari Fukuhara
“Zootopia 2” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Blake Slatkin, Michael Giacchino
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – TV/MEDIA
“Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight” Episode: Episode II
Netflix / Banijay Productions France / Légende Films
Aurélien Prédal
“Forevergreen” Special Production
Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears
Jeremy Spears, Gregory Culp
“Love, Death + Robots” Episode: How Zeke Got Religion
Blur Studio for Netflix
Gigi Cavenago
“ParaNorman: The Thrifting” Special Production
LAIKA
Thibault Leclercq, Santiago Montiel, Jung Woonyoung, Stephanie Bray-Lee
“Wednesdays with Gramps” Special Production:
DreamWorks Animation
Frederic Stewart
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATURE
“Elio”
Pixar Animation Studios
Harley Jessup, Ernesto Nemesio, Maria Lee, Kristian Norelius, Kyle Jones
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Helen Chen, Dave Bleich, Wendell Dalit, Scott Watanabe, Celine Kim
“The Bad Guys 2”
DreamWorks Animation
Luc Desmarchelier, Floriane Marchix
“The Twits”
Netflix Presents / The Roald Dahl Story Company
Estefania Pantoja, Alexandre Diboine, Clement Dartigues, Fernando Peque, Remi Salmon
“Zootopia 2”
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cory Loftis, Limei Z. Hshieh
BEST STORYBOARDING – TV/MEDIA
“Love, Death + Robots” Episode: How Zeke Got Religion
Blur Studio for Netflix
Edgar Martins
“ParaNorman: The Thrifting” Special Production
LAIKA
Coleton Palmer, Katherine Jay Myong, Heewon Jeong
“Snow Bear” Short Film
The Art of Aaron Blaise, LLC.
Aaron Blaise
“Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Episode: Rise of the Night Ninja
Nickelodeon Animation Studios and PointGrey Pictures
Richard Chi, Matthew Kim, Sheldon Vella, Lyndsay Simpson
“Win Or Lose” Episode: Episode 8, Home
Pixar Animation Studios
Esteban Bravo
BEST STORYBOARDING – FEATURE
“Arco”
Remembers, MountainA France, France 3 Cinéma
Ugo Bienvenu
“Elio”
Pixar Animation Studios
Tony Rosenast
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
Maybe Movies, Ikki Films, Distributed by GKIDS
Nicolas Pawlowski
“The Bad Guys 2”
DreamWorks Animation
Anthony Holden, Young Ki Yoon
“Zootopia 2”
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Hikari Toriumi
BEST VOICE ACTING – TV/MEDIA
“Bob’s Burgers” Episode: Don’t Worry Be Hoopy
20th TV
Dan Mintz (Character: Tina Belcher)
“Hazbin Hotel” Episode: Behind Closed Doors
Amazon MGM Studios, A24, Bento Box Entertainment
Erika Henningsen (Character: Charlie Morningstar)
“Long Story Short” Episode: Shira Cant Cook
Tornante Television and ShadowMachine for Netflix
Abbi Jacobson (Character: Shira Schwooper)
“Smiling Friends” Episode: Shmaloogles
Williams Street
Zach Hadel (Character: Evil Wizard)
“The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball” Episode: The Amadain
Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe
Alkaio Thiele (Character: Gumball Watterson)
BEST VOICE ACTING – FEATURE
“Dog Man”
DreamWorks Animation
Lil Rey Howery (Character: Chief)
“Elio”
Pixar Animation Studios
Remy Edgerly (Character: Glordon)
“In Your Dreams”
Netflix Presents a Kuku Studios Production / Sony Pictures Imageworks
Craig Robinson (Character: Baloney Tony)
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Arden Cho (Character: Rumi)
“The Twits”
Netflix Presents / The Roald Dahl Story Company
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Character: Beesha)
BEST WRITING – TV/MEDIA
“#1 Happy Family USA” Episode: NINE TEN
Amazon MGM Studios, A24, Cairo Cowboy
Ramy Youssef, Pam Brady
Adult Swim’s “The Elephant” Special Production
Titmouse and Williams Street
Pendleton Ward, Ian Jones-Quartey, Rebecca Sugar, Patrick McHale
“Common Side Effects” Episode: Pilot
Green Street Pictures, Bandera Entertainment, and Williams Street Productions
Joe Bennett, Steve Hely
“Lulu is a Rhinoceros” Special Production
Bento Box and Propagate in association with Apple
Allison Flom
“Win Or Lose” Episode: Pickle
Pixar Animation Studios
Carrie Hobson, Michael Yates
BEST WRITING – FEATURE
“Elio”
Pixar Animation Studios
Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones
“KPop Demon Hunters”
KPop Demon Hunters Editorial Team
Danya Jimenez , Hannah McMechan, Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
Maybe Movies, Ikki Films, Distributed by GKIDS
Liane-Cho Han, Aude Py, Maïlys Vallade, Eddine Noël
“Scarlet”
Studio CHIZU
Mamoru Hosoda
“Zootopia 2”
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Jared Bush
BEST EDITORIAL – TV/MEDIA
“Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight” Episode 3
Netflix / Banijay Productions France / Légende Films
David Boyadjian
“Common Side Effects” Episode: Raid
Green Street Pictures, Bandera Entertainment, and Williams Street Productions
Tony Christopherson, Joie Lim
“Haunted Hotel” Episode: The Acolytes of Abaddon
Titmouse for Netflix
Benjamin Morse, Benjamin Martian, Marshall Wetta
“Invincible” S3 Episode: I Thought You’d Never Shut Up
Amazon MGM Studios, Skybound Animation
Luke Asa Guidici, Matt Michael, Lea Carosella, Liam Johnson
“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch” Episode: Up From the Grave
Ubisoft Film & Television
Thomas Belair, Nicolas Bourgeois, Julien Perez
BEST EDITORIAL – FEATURE
“Arco”
Remembers, MountainA France, France 3 Cinéma
Nathan Jacquard
“Elio”
Pixar Animation Studios
Anna Wolitzky, Steve Bloom, Noah Newman, Greg Snyder, Ben Morris
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
KPop Demon Hunters Editorial Team
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
Maybe Movies, Ikki Films, Distributed by GKIDS
Ludovic Versace
“Olivia & las Nubes”
Cine Chani, Historias de Bibi & Guasábara Cine
Tomás Pichardo Espaillat
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) Awards: Seven Wins for ‘Sinners’ - January 6, 2026
- AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 325 – Predictions for SAG, DGA and PGA Nominations and Golden Globe Winners - January 6, 2026
- ‘Sentimental Value,’ ‘Blue Moon,’ ‘Sorry, Baby’ Among Ineligible Screenplays for WGA Awards - January 6, 2026
Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) Awards: Seven Wins for ‘Sinners’ 
AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 325 – Predictions for SAG, DGA and PGA Nominations and Golden Globe Winners 
‘Sentimental Value,’ ‘Blue Moon,’ ‘Sorry, Baby’ Among Ineligible Screenplays for WGA Awards 
32nd SAG Actor Awards Nomination Predictions – Motion Picture