ASIFA-Hollywood announced nominations today for the 53rd Annie Awards, honoring the year’s best achievements in animation. A complete list of nominees is available at annieawards.org/nominations.
The 53rd Annie Awards will return to UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. A pre-reception and red carpet begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by the ceremony at 7 p.m. An after-party will take place immediately following the ceremony. All events will be held at UCLA.
Nominees for best animated feature are Elio (Pixar Animation Studios); KPop Demon Hunters (Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix); Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (Maybe Movies and Ikki Films, distributed by GKIDS); The Bad Guys 2 (DreamWorks Animation); and Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Animation Studios).
Nominees for best animated feature — independent, which recognizes films with smaller distribution footprints, are 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); and Scarlet (Studio Chizu).
The Annie Awards honor excellence across 37 categories, including best animated feature, best animated feature — independent, special productions, sponsored films, short subjects, student films, outstanding individual achievement, and juried honors, as well as lifetime achievement awards.
Juried awards will be presented during the ceremony to recognize exceptional contributions to the art of animation. Winsor McCay Awards for lifetime or career achievement will be presented to animator, writer and director Michaël Dudok de Wit; filmmakers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord; and writer-director Chris Sanders.
The June Foray Award, recognizing a significant and benevolent impact on the animation community, will be presented to producer Sandy Rabins, the founding force behind AnimAID, which supports animation industry members affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.
The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement impacting the animation industry will be presented to Wacom, maker of the Cintiq graphics tablet and other widely used animation tools.
The Special Achievement Award, honoring accomplishments not recognized within existing award categories, will be presented to LightBox Expo, the annual event connecting animation professionals, students and fans.
Sponsors for the 53rd Annie Awards include platinum sponsors DreamWorks Animation, Netflix and Warner Bros. Animation; gold sponsor Disney Television Animation; silver sponsors Sony Pictures Animation and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation; and bronze sponsors GKIDS, Paper Animation/Infold Games Co., Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Skydance Animation. Industry sponsors include Animation Is Film, Animation Magazine, Backstage, Bento Box Entertainment, the Motion Picture Editors Guild, The Hollywood Reporter, the Ottawa International Animation Festival and Variety. Nominee reception sponsors are Toon Boom and Wacom.
Founded in 1972 by voice actor June Foray, the Annie Awards recognize excellence in animation across film, television and media. ASIFA-Hollywood is the largest chapter of the Association Internationale du Film d’Animation and operates as a nonprofit organization supported by members and revenue from events and initiatives.