ANIMATED SHORT Film
Nominees:
“Autokar”
“Butterfly”
“Cardboard”
“Éiru”
“Forevergreen”
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
“Hurikán”
“I Died in Irpin”
“The Night Boots”
“Playing God”
“The Quinta’s Ghost”
“Retirement Plan”
“The Shyness of Trees”
“Snow Bear”
“The Three Sisters”
Per the Academy’s press release:
Fifteen films will advance in the Animated Short Film category for the 98th Academy Awards. One hundred thirteen films qualified in the category. Academy members from the Animation Branch and Short Films Branch were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.
Nominations voting begins on Monday, January 12, 2026, and concludes on Friday, January 16, 2026. Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026. The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
OSCAR NOMINATION PREDICTIONS
CARDBOARD • Warner Bros. Animation
Jean-Philippe Vine | Director
Michaela Manas Malina | Producers
HURIKÁN • Miyu Distribution
Jan Saska | Director
Mladen Djukic, Kamila Dohnalova, Juraj Krasnohorsky, Antoine Liétout, Martin Vandas, Alena Vandasová, Ivan Zuber | Producers
THE QUINTA’S GHOST • The Animation Showcase
James A. Castillo | Director
James A. Castillo, Raul Rocha | Producers
RETIREMENT PLAN • Disney+
John Kelly | Director
Andrew Freedman, Julie Murnaghan | Producers
SNOW BEAR • Aaron Blaise Studios
Aaron Blaise | Director
Nicholas Burch | Producer
WHY I CHOSE THOSE FIVE?
Some of the hardest categories to predict correctly are the short films. It’s rare that what pundits expect and what the Academy ultimately chooses actually align. Going off precursors and my gut, these are the five films I’ve selected for Best Animated Short.
The two I feel most confident about are Retirement Plan and Snow Bear. Every version of my predictions included these two. Retirement Plan has won at nearly every awards show and festival it’s played, including SXSW, so there’s clear precedent for it making the final five. That said, it did miss at the Annie Awards, so perhaps my unwavering confidence is slightly misplaced. Snow Bear, on the other hand, did not miss at the Annies and has been widely touted for being completely hand-drawn — 11,000 drawings created by a single artist over the course of three years. That kind of backstory alone makes it hard to ignore.
Cardboard was the only other film that stayed on my list from start to finish. With just a single Annie Award nomination and no other major precursor support, it could be a long shot, but I’m so taken with the animation style that I’m hoping it manages to sneak in.
The final two slots proved the hardest to pin down and changed multiple times as the shortlists rolled out. I Died in Irpin has a strong collection of precursor wins and subject matter tied to the Russia–Ukraine conflict, which could certainly work in its favor. However, after watching the trailer, I struggled to imagine its minimalist animation standing out against some of the competition. Playing God is another film I could see breaking through. It reminded me of Wander to Wonder, a nominee from last year — strange in a way that can sometimes be exactly what gets a short noticed. Forevergreen also features an animation style that feels Academy-friendly. It earned an Annie Award nomination and won at AFI Fest, but my gut tells me it ultimately won’t make the cut.
The two films I did settle on are Hurikán and The Quinta’s Ghost. Hurikán has an animation style and subject matter that feel very familiar during Oscar season, in a good way. Its presence at both Sundance and SXSW means plenty of eyes have already been on it. The Quinta’s Ghost earns its spot thanks to its strikingly unique animation style, an Annie Award nomination, and its darker, more adult tone — all elements that tend to resonate with the Academy.
“Autokar”
February 18, 2025 | Miyu Distribution | 17 min | Polish, French
Sylwia Szkiladz
Synopsis: 8-year-old Agata’s journey from Poland to Belgium in the 1990s transforms the reality of migration into an imaginative initiation experience through her perceptive lens.
✰ Chicago International Film Festival Winner
“Butterfly” (Papillon)
April 12, 2025 | Sacrebleu Productions | 15 min | Arabic, French, German
Florence Miailhe
Synopsis: In the sea, a man swims. As he does, memories come to the surface. From his early childhood to his life as a man, all his memories are linked to water.
✰ Annecy International Animated Film Festival Winner
✰ Berlin International Film Festival Winner
✰ London International Animation Festival Winner
✰ César Awards, France Nominee
✰ Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Nominee
✰ RiverRun International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Vila do Conde International Short Film Festival Nominee
✰ Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films Nominee
“Cardboard”
October 19, 2025 | The Animation Showcase / Warner Bros. Animation | 10 min | None, English
Jean-Philippe Vine
Synopsis: When an overwhelmed single dad pig moves his piglets into a trailer park, he fears he’s failed his family. But soon his kids create a wildly imaginative game, and Dad has a choice between dwell on the past or join them on their adventure.
✰ Annie Awards Nominee
“Éiru”
April 3, 2025 | GKIDS | 13 min | English
Giovanna Ferrari
Synopsis: When the water mysteriously disappears from the well in a warrior clan’s village, an intrepid child descends into the belly of the earth to retrieve it.
✰ Annie Awards Nominee
✰ Fantasia Film Festival Winner
✰ Galway Film Fleadh Winner
✰ RiverRun International Film Festival Winner
✰ Indy Shorts International Film Festival Winner
✰ Seattle International Film Festival Nominee
“Forevergreen”
October 17, 2025 | 13 min
Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears
Synopsis: An orphaned bear cub finds a home with a fatherly evergreen tree, until his hunger for trash leads him to danger.
✰ Annie Awards Nominee
✰ AFI Fest Winner
✰ Annecy International Animated Film Festival Winner
✰ San Diego International Film Festival Winner
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
June 8, 2025 | National Film Board of Canada | 17 min | English, French
Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski
Synopsis: A haunting fable about a girl overwhelmed by sorrow, the boy who loves her, and how greed leads good hearts to wicked deeds.
✰ Annie Awards Nominee
✰ Annecy International Animated Film Festival Nominee
✰ Toronto International Film Festival Winner
“Hurikán”
January 24, 2025 | Miyu Distribution | 13 min | Czech
Jan Saska
Synopsis: Hurikán rushes to save his favorite beer stand from closure by fetching a new keg to impress the bartender he crushes on. In a wild Prague district, he faces robbers, cops, and his own thirst.
✰ Sundance Film Festival Nominee
✰ SXSW Film Festival Nominee
✰ Annecy International Animated Film Festival Winner
✰ Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Nominee
✰ Czech Lions Awards Nominee
✰ Melbourne International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Nashville Film Festival Nominee
✰ Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films Nominee
✰ IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival Nominee
✰ Regard: Saguenay International Short Film Festival Nominee
✰ London International Animation Festival Winner
“I Died in Irpin”
September 25, 2025 | Studio Plastic Bag | 11 min | Ukrainian
Anastasia Falileieva
Synopsis: At the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Falileieva and her boyfriend leave Kyiv to visit his parents in Irpin. The city becomes a battleground, but the danger is not only outside the house.
✰ Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Winner
✰ Ottawa International Animation Festival Winner
✰ Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Nominee
✰ Ukrainian Film Critics Awards Winner
✰ Kyiv International Short Film Festival Winner
✰ London International Animation Festival Winner
✰ OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival Winner
“The Night Boots”
(Les Bottes de la nuit)
February 2, 2025 | Am Stram Gram | 12 min
Pierre-Luc Granjon
Synopsis: The forest can be full of scary creatures, Eliot’s parents caution, but the mystery might be too tempting for a kid who doesn’t want to go to bed.
✰ Annecy International Animated Film Festival Winner
“Playing God”
June 6, 2025 | The Animation Showcase | 9 min
Matteo Burani
Synopsis: Fragile clay Sculptures come to life in a bare workshop, craving more than just existence. When their Sculptor abandons them, they must discover the power of belonging.
✰ Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Winner
✰ Tribeca Film Festival Winner
✰ FI PI LI Horror Festival Winner
✰ Fantasy Filmfest Nominee
✰ London International Animation Festival Winner
✰ Septimius Awards Nominee
“The Quinta’s Ghost”
June 7, 2025 | Illusorium Films | 17 min | English, Spanish
James A. Castillo
Synopsis: Isolated at La Quinta del Sordo, Goya battles illness and dark visions, channeling his inner turmoil into the Black Paintings while surrendering his peace and sanity to eternalize his suffering.
✰ Annie Awards Nominee
✰ Almería International Film Festival Winner
“Retirement Plan”
March 8, 2025 | Disney+ | 7 min | English
John Kelly
Synopsis: In the throes of his overstimulated, energy poor midlife, Ray fantasises about everything he’d love to do in retirement, once he finally has the “time.”
✰ SXSW Film Festival Winner
✰ Chicago International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Foyle Film Festival Winner
✰ Guadalajara International Film Festival Winner
✰ Nashville Film Festival Nominee
✰ Newport Beach Film Festival Winner
✰ Palm Springs International ShortFest Winner
✰ RiverRun International Film Festival Nominee
✰ San Francisco International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Seattle International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films Nominee
✰ Calgary International Film Festival Winner
✰ Bali International Film Festival Winner
✰ Irish Film Festa Winner
✰ Indy Shorts International Film Festival Winner
✰ Offline Film Festival Winner
✰ Bucheon International Animation Film Festival Winner
✰ Dublin Animation Film Festival Winner
✰ Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival Winner
✰ Animation Dingle Winner
“The Shyness of Trees”
November 23, 2024 | Miyu Distribution | 9 min | French
Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck Du Plessis D’Argentré, & Lina Han
Synopsis: Hélène, 40 years old, comes to visit her aging mother in the french countryside. But her mother isn’t being her usual self. She seems to have formed a strange bond with the plants, insects, and the old oak tree at the end of her garden.
“Snow Bear”
April 3, 2025 | Aaron Blaise Studios | 11 min | English
Aaron Blaise
Synopsis: A lonely polar bear creates a companion when he can’t find friends in his harsh habitat. Hand-drawn over 3 years by Aaron Blaise, Snow Bear combines animal expertise with classic animation’s emotional warmth.
✰ Annie Awards Nominee
✰ Annecy International Animated Film Festival Nominee
✰ Cleveland International Film Festival Winner
✰ Florida Film Festival Winner
✰ Giffoni Film Festival Nominee
✰ Guadalajara International Film Festival Nominee
✰ AFI Fest Nominee
✰ Nantucket Film Festival Winner
✰ San Francisco International Film Festival Nominee
✰ Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films Winner
✰ Boston Film Festival Winner
✰ Savannah Film Festival Winner
✰ Tribeca Film Festival Nominee
✰ Jackson Wild Media Awards Winner
✰ Santa Fe International Film Festival Winner
✰ Show Me Shorts Film Festival Nominee
✰ Three Rivers Film Festival Winner
✰ Carmel International Film Festival Winner
✰ Planet in Focus Awards Winner
✰ Cordillera International Film Festival Winner
✰ Pixelatl International Festival of Animation Winner
✰ Venezia Shorts Winner
✰ Animation Dingle Awards Winner
✰ BLON Animation and Games Festival Winner
“The Three Sisters”
February 6, 2025 | Polydont Films | 14 min
Konstantin Bronzit
Synopsis: Three sisters living on an isolated island must rent out one of their houses.
✰ Blow-Up Chicago International Arthouse Film Fest Winner
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