Arco (2025)
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Animated Feature: A ‘Golden’ victory
The nominees are:
The last two years have taught me an important lesson in how Oscar voters approach this category — they’re not necessarily going to go with the popular, contemporary pick. That’s why Flow won over Wild Robot and The Boy and the Heron bested Spider-Verse. In both cases, the Oscars went against the Annie award winner (the top prize as voted upon by the animation industry). The Academy opted instead for the less commercial, more “artistic” option.
So what does that mean for this year?
Zilch. KPop Demon Hunters is still going to win.
It’s been sweeping the awards, and picked up 10 Annie awards last month. Unlike it’s predecessors, there isn’t an alternative that seems to be a valid awards contender.
While I enjoyed the film very much, it’s actually not my favorite in this category. The animation is excellent, it has a unique animation style, and the cultural elements and undertones in the story make it a more significant work than most of its fans give it credit for.
Still, my favorite animated feature of the year is Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, which I think truly excels on all levels of animated film making — beautiful artistry, a deeply philosophical screenplay, deeply personal and cultural elements, all combining to make a profound statement on the human experience. It’s actually in my Top 20 films of the year.
General wisdom is that Zootopia 2 is in the #2 spot but I can’t see a lot of voters choosing it over KPop Demon Hunters. I think it’s more likely there’s a contingent of voters getting behind one of the independent films, like Little Amélie or the delightful Arco.
Elio was cute, though I would have liked to see it before Disney brass interjected and eliminated some of the queer undertones.
Who will win: KPop Demon Hunters
But look out for: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Who I’d vote for: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
If I could add one more: 100 Meters — The Academy needs to learn that anime is more than just Studio Ghibli
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ANIMATED FILM
Shortlisted: KPop Demon Hunters, dir. Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang
THE NOMINEES ARE:
ARCO
Directed by Ugo Bienvenu, Produced by Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas, and Natalie Portman
LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN
Directed by Liane-Cho Han and Maïlys Vallande, Produced by Claire La Combe, Edwina Liard, Henri Magalon, and Nidia Santiago
AND THE CRISTAL GOES TO…
ENDLESS COOKIE
Directed by Peter Scriver and Seth Scriver, Produced by Daniel Bekerman, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Seth Scriver, and Chris Yurkovich
Answer
Hi Anon (again!),
That remains one of the mysteries to me, the complete lack of a sub/dub choice. I know you and I both seem to appreciate it when distributors will give audiences a choice, and we both seem to have a preference for subs.
But I think your second suspicion is probably what I’m thinking to. Natalie Portman produced this thing, and based on that - and getting all those big names in the voice cast - Neon wanted to make the most out of advertising that cast.
And contrary to what we believe, dubs still make more money than subs when it comes to non-English animation in North America. Yes, you’re going to still earn more money from a Demon Slayer dub than the sub in North America in 2026. It still isn’t close.
Let’s be honest, though… Neon is bad at advertising more than one movie at a time. And if there film they’re distributing is animated? They don’t have a good track record. We’ll see how the potential new owners change the studio.
Hope you enjoyed the film, anon!
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El XXVIII Campeonato de España de RRCC con Arco coronó a los mejores arqueros en Fresno de Torote
El XXVIII Campeonato de España de RRCC con Arco coronó a los mejores arqueros en Fresno de Torote
Continue reading El XXVIII Campeonato de España de RRCC con Arco coronó a los mejores arqueros en Fresno de Torote
El XXVIII Campeonato de España de RRCC con Arco coronó a los mejores arqueros en Fresno de Torote
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The art is stunning, particularly the environments. They don’t quite figure out a main arc - is it young love, coming of age, emancipation, solarpunk, existential tragedy (seriously, why did they do that)? - but it’s short and sweet enough to get away with a lack of focus. Exquisite colours, textures, and music along with some very fun sequences make this a very pleasant 90 minutes.
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Arco
“I want to do this thing now, but my stupid parents won’t let me until I’m older!!” is one of the most tried-and-true tropes for children in storytelling, and usually they just make me think the kid is a little dummy. It can range from simple impatience – “Let me go play with the other kids in the forest!” – to straight-up suicidal – “Come on, dad, just let me go with you to the zombie murder island where you almost die every day trying to scavenge for food!”.
And I get it, that’s the whole point of the trope – kids don’t have a sense of how precious and fleeting their childhood is, they idolize their parents and want to get closer to them by emulating what they do, they haven’t yet internalized their own limitations, etc etc.
But Arco? I get Arco, man. You’re telling me you have magic rainbow capes that allow you to not only soar through the air like a bird, but also to fly back in time and look at real-life dinosaurs – aka the dream of every 10-year-old boy – and your 10-year-old boy isn’t allowed to go? That’s basically torture.
To be fair, though, I bet the real reason for the flying ban is more about the physiological harm. You think smoking weed as a teen before your brain is fully developed is bad for you? Wait til you find out about the developmental side effects of turning your face into 2D so the animators can smear it while you time travel…
these dumb mfs were one skyship away from stumbling into a Ghibli movie
Speaking of, I found the mixed 2D/3D animation to be handled fairly well. While the characters themselves were modeled, it seemed like the artists often hand-animated things like hair and cloth on top of them, which kept them from feeling too static. The coloring was well-done, too, keeping the characters well-integrated visually. Still, the faces were often way too stiff, and the rare 2D-animated reaction shots only served to highlight the gulf.
Gorgeous backgrounds, though.
Anyway, I thought Arco really stuck the landing with how dark it was willing to get in its final act. I was not expecting the twist with his family, and man, Mikki’s final scene? That’s gon traumatize some children, there is no doubt in my mind.
gonna tell my kids this was Death Stranding 3
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Best Animated Feature
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes (Little Amélie or the Character of Rain)
Zootopia 2
Other (leave a comment)
See ResultsWhat film do you think should win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature? Not what you think WILL win, but what you would think SHOULD win.
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The Weekly Gravy #281
اوزاکیوللار/Cutting Through Rocks (2025) – ***½
If Sara Shahverdi weren’t real, you could easily imagine she’d been dreamt up by some screenwriter; she’s basically the cool aunt of her village in Iran, defying the gender roles of her society by dressing in men’s clothing because it’s more comfortable for riding her motorcycle and urging the teenage girls who look up to her to sign a pledge to…
