The 2017 Animated Oscar Nominations are Here

After months and months of speculation, we now finally know which animated films the feature animation and short films branch of the Academy decided to nominate for Best Animated Feature. With such a strong crop to choose from, it was always going to be a tough year for the category. Almost certainly, in fact, the most competitive field we've seen since the category first ran back in 2002.

Ultimately the five films that will compete for the Golden baldy this year are:

• Zootopia
• Moana
• Kubo and The Two Strings
• My Life As A Zucchini
• The Red Turtle

The two Disney films and Kubo were definitely anticipated to receive nominations. My Life As A Zucchini (aka My Life As A Courgette) had been gaining momentum, and following its surprising nomination at The Golden Globes has been a front-runner for a while. Michael Dudok de Wit's The Red Turtle (co-produced by Wild Bunch and Studio Ghibli) is probably the biggest surprise here. Although this had been considered one of the most likely to be nominated going into 2016, over the course of the awards season, the spotlight seemed to have moved elsewhere. In a year with such a strong animated line-up from the major studios alone, it's incredibly surprising to see two indie movies make the cut. Many will be surprised that Finding Dory is missing from the list, but in critical terms at least Pixar's sequel was dramatically overshadowed this year by the two Disney movies. The Academy as a whole is notoriously conservative when it comes to animation and picks a Disney or Pixar movie nine times out of ten. This year, the odds would certainly seem to be in Zootopia's favour

In the best animated short, the nominations are:

• Blind Vaysha
• Piper
• Borrowed Time
• Pear Cider & Cigarettes
• Pearl

We haven't had the chance to see all of them, unfortunately, but we're thrilled to see Borrowed Time, the mature animated short produced largely by Pixar staff in their own time, and directed by Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj.  Pixar themselves are of course represented with the stunning Piper.

Elsewhere  How Far I'll Go from Moana was nominated for best Original Song, alongside  Can't Stop The Feeling from Trolls. There's also a nomination in the Best Documentary Feature for A Life Animated, the story of how classic Disney films helped a young man with autism cope with the real world. Check out the trailer below.

That's not quite it either. Kubo And The Two Strings also received a historic nomination for Best Visual Effects, a category animation is traditionally shut out of. There has been some speculation the film might even receive a nomination for costume design, although that was not to be.

The 89th Oscars will take place on February 26th 2017.

[Via The Academy]