The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the list of films submitted for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. Sixteen films are eligible, but there can only be at least five nominations.
Both of Pixar’s 2015 releases will be eligible for the award. Ever since Inside Out was released, the film has been the frontrunner for the Oscar and has been a contender for a Best Picture nomination. The Good Dinosaur, which doesn’t come out until Nov. 25, is also eligible.
Other big studio releases are likely to earn nominations. Universal’s Minions, Paramount’s The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water, Sony’s Hotel Transylvania 2, 20th Century Fox’s The Peanuts Movie, Regular Show: The Movie and DreamWorks Animation’s Home were all submitted.
The Academy also usually likes to honor smaller indie animated films with a nomination or two. There are certainly many candidates for that slot, including Aardman’s Shaun The Sheep Movie, Studio Ghibli’s When Marnie Was There, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, The Boy and the Beast, Boy and the World and Moomins on the Riviera.
The odd duck on the list is Anomalisa, which is based on a Charlie Kaufman play and is stop-motion animated. It will be released by Paramount on Dec. 30, but has already earned wide acclaim from festival screenings.
The nominees for the 88th Academy Awards will be announced on Jan. 14. The awards ceremony will be held on Feb. 28 and airs live on ABC.