Elio and ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Lead 53rd Annie Awards Nominations

Elio and KPop Demon Hunters lead the nominations for the 53rd Annie Awards, recognizing the year’s best animated films.

Both films are nominated for Best Animated Feature along with Little Amélie or the Character of Rain; The Bad Guys 2; and Zootopia 2.

Best Animated Feature-Independent, spotlighting features with a much smaller distribution footprint than major studio releases include A Magnificent Life; Arco; I’m Frankela; Lost In Starlight; and Scarlet.

The Annie Awards cover 37 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Feature-Independent, Special Productions, Sponsored Films, Short Subjects, Student Films and Outstanding Individual Achievements, as well as lifetime achievement and the honorary Juried Awards.

Juried Awards also will be presented including the Winsor McCay Award in recognition of lifetime or career contributions are being awarded to three recipients: Annie Award and Academy Award-winning animator, writer and director Michaël Dudok de Wit; filmmakers and Annie Award and Academy Award winners Chirstopher Miller and Phil Lord; and Annie Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated writer/director Chris Sanders.

The June Foray Award for significant and benevolent impact to the animation community will be awarded to Sandy Rabins, animation and live action producer and the founding guiding light for the AnimAID effort to assist and support those in the animation industry who were affected by the L.A. Wildfires.

The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement affecting the animation industry will be awarded to Wacom, manufacturer of the Cintiq graphics tablet and other products that have become an integral part of animation production worldwide.

The Special Achievement Award acknowledging unique and outstanding achievement not recognized within the existing award category structure will be awarded to LightBox Expo, the annual event that brings the creative animation community of filmmakers together with animation students and fans.

The 53rd Annie Awards will return to UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday, February 21, 2026.

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 light
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: Rail
FLiiiP Design

Fortnite x The Simpsons: Apocalypse D’Oh!
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 Point Grey 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: 107 – 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: Episode III
Netflix / Banijay Productions France / Légende Films

Eyes of Wakanda
Episode: Into The Lion’s Den
Marvel Studios

Marvel Zombies
Episode: 2
Marvel Studios

Wars: Visions – Volume 3
Episode: BLACK
david production

Win Or Lose
Episode: Episode 8: 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: 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

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: Episode III
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 Studios Motion 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: Episode IV
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
Episodes: 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: It’s 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 Point Grey 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
Episodes: 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
Short Film
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 Point Grey Pictures
Richard Chi, Matthew Kim, Sheldon Vella, Lyndsay Simpson

Win Or Lose
Episodes: 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 Can’t 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: Episode 101: 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
Episodes: Episode 4, Pickle
Pixar Animation Studios
Carrie Hobson, Michael Yates

Best Writing – Feature

Elio
Pixar Animation Studios
Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones

KPop Demon Hunters
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
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: Episode III
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