BAFTA Nominations and VES Awards Nominations Announced And More Awards News
This year's distinctly unusual awards season rolls on, as we get closer to the announcement of the Oscar nominations later this month. Next up to announce their nominations for this year is the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the BAFTA Film Awards.
The BAFTAs have been handing out awards for Best Animated Film since 2007. Although Pixar and Disney have won eight out of fourteen of the years it has been awarded, the British Academy is just as likely to buck the trend of their fellow awards bodies, as they have also awarded films like The LEGO Movie, Kubo and The Two Strings or last year's Klaus that have not matched their equivalent across the pond. This year however Pixar stands an even better chance of winning as they have two of this year's three nominations- Soul and Onward have both received nods. This year's third spot goes to this season's other frontrunner, Wolfwalkers. This is actually the first time Cartoon Saloon has been nominated by BAFTA, which is surprising considering the studio's success elsewhere. Will the first nomination translate into a win?
Pete Docter and Kemp Powers' Soul has also been nominated by BAFTA in an additional two categories (a rarity for any animated film). Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been nominated for Best Original Score, and Coya Elliott, Ren Klyce, and David Parker received a nomination for Best Sound.
In the Best British Animated Short category, the nominees are The Fire Next Time, The Owl and The Pussycat and The Song Of A Lost Boy.
The BAFTAs will take place on the weekend of 10-11 April and will be broadcast on the BBC (but the animated categories will probably be cut from the broadcast version, as usual).
Also taking place in April is the 19th Annual VES Awards, the awards handed out by the Visual Effects Society. Soul is again the biggest benefactor, getting the most nominations of any animated film. It has been nominated for Outstanding Visual Effects, Oustanding Animated Character, Outstanding Created Environment, Outstanding Effects Simulation and Oustanding Virtual Cinematography. Fellow Pixar flick Onward was also nominated in all these categories bar Virtual Cinematography. Trolls World Tour also got four nominations, including two in the Created Environment category. Fellow DreamWorks release Croods: A New Age was also nominated for its Effects. Glen Keane's debut feature Over The Moon was nominated for Effects, Outstanding Character and Effects Simulation. Chris Pearn's The Willoughbys received a nomination for Effects Simulation and Spongebob: Sponge On The Run was nominated for Outstanding Animated Character.
The most nominations overall went to the Disney Plus series The Mandalorian, which received an incredible 13 nominations for its groundbreaking effects. The VES Awards will be streamed on April 6 or 7 depending on your timezone. The full list of nominees can be seen here.
Soul also recently picked up a Critics Choice Award for Best Original Score as well as the Golden Globes for both Original Score and Best Picture (Animated). The Hollywood Critics Association's HCA Award for Best Animated Feature meanwhile went to Wolfwalkers, which has also picked up a nomination for the Producers Guild of America's PGA Awards.
As of this writing, Soul has so far won 68 awards out of 103 nominations, while Wolfwalkers has to date won 20 from 53 nominations. Onward has 58 nominations, and three wins and Over The Moon has 50 nominations and just one win so far.
