The Academy Awards are happening on 12 Mar 2023! It’s been a great year for animation, and courtesy of Animation Magazine here’s a quick look at the Shortlist for Best Animated Short Film.
- Black Slide (Uri Lotan, Israel, U.K.)
- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy U.S.)
- The Debutante (Elizabeth Hobbs, U.K.)
- The Garbage Man (Laura Gonçalves, Portugal)
- It’s Nice in Here (Robert-Jonathan Koeyers, Netherlands)
- More than I Want to Remember (Amy Bench, U.S.)
- New Moon (Jérémie Balais, Jeff Le Bars, Raúl Domingo, France)
- Passenger (Juan Pablo Zaramella, Argentina)
- Save Ralph (Spencer Susser, U.S.)
- Sierra (Sander Joon, Estonia)
- Steakhouse (Špela Čadež, Slovenia, Germany, France)
However, these (5) are the official nominees for Best Animated Short:

- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy U.S.)
- The Flying Sailor (Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby, Canada)
- Ice Merchants (João Gonzalez, Portugal, France, U.K.)
- My Year of Dicks (Sara Gunnarsdóttir, U.S.)
- An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It (Lachlan Pendragon, Australia)
And here are the official nominees for Best Animated Feature:

- Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix)
- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (A24)
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Dreamworks)
- The Sea Beast (Netflix)
- Turning Red (Pixar)
Others that were on the Shortlist for Best Animated Feature:
- The Bad Guys (Dreamworks)
- Wendell & Wild (Netflix)
- Lightyear (Pixar)
I initially thought ‘Wendell and Wild’ might get nominated, b/c Henry Selick is a master of stop motion. But it seemed to be missing ‘something’ that I can’t quite name. Let us know in the comments below if you have ideas on what that might be.

‘Ice Merchants’ is so beautifully done, I can’t help but hope it wins the Best Animated Short category. And as much as I really want ‘Turning Red’ to win, I have a feeling that ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’ is going to take the Best Picture Oscar.
Like Pixar, A24 is building an amazing string of undeniable hits. There’s no denying how cute and strangely interesting that movie is. If you haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself to find a way to do so and appreciate it.

What are your nominee predictions? Do you know of other Shorts that should’ve been included? Who are you excited to see win Best Animated Feature this year!! Let us know in the comments below!
I’m looking forward to seeing the animations that were nominated this year. I am a big fan of Puss in Boots, Turning Red, Lightyear, The Bad Guys. Those were great nominations. But I’m looking forward to seeing The Sea Beast, Wendell & Wild, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse and My Year of Dicks. I have a movie playlist to get started on. This was an awesome read!