The Oscar 2021 will be held in April this year, and although the announcement of the nominees has not yet been made, critics, experts, and film fans around the world already have in mind a few films that have everything to sweep the ceremony.
2020 left us a few gems of cinema, Gary Oldman blew our minds with her performance in Mank , Vanessa Kirby did a brilliant job in Fragments of a Woman and Frances MaCdormand became one of the favorites of the season thanks to Nomadland , as well that the categories of best actors and best film are almost defined, but the ceremony has another very important category that this year will have the best representatives, that of best animated film.
In the past films like Spirited Away (one of the most famous of Studio Ghibli that you can see on Netflix ), Toy-Story-4 and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse have won great awards, and this year we have a list with Comedies, existential movies, and family dramas that made everyone cry and remind us that animation isn’t just for kids, and it’s an art form.
Surely you can imagine that Soul is the one that has dominated the critics awards so far, but behind it we have Wolfwalkers , with an incredible work of animation that is far from what we expect today and a few films that went directly to the streaming (and others to come) and that make this category one of the most interesting.
These are the animated films that could get Oscar nominations for 2021:
Soul (Disney Plus)
Pixar’s latest film is definitely one of the studio’s most philosophical. With a soundtrack full of jazz and animations that undoubtedly elevate the game, Soul follows Joe, a high school teacher who dreams of becoming a professional musician, but suffers an accident before achieving it, is sent to “heaven” and must find the right way to return to his body to live that moment that he had always been waiting for.
Soul’s magic is that it is a movie that children and adults can enjoy (more than children) and that it is full of symbols and important messages that teach us to enjoy life. Beyond the story, the animation details’ attention and quality is impressive and without a doubt deserves to be recognized.
Onward (Disney Plus)
This movie flopped at the box office, but it wasn’t his fault, it was the pandemic. Onward is inspired by the true story of its creator and follows two brothers from a magical world who discover an old spell that allows them to bring their father back, but something goes wrong and only half of him appears, so you must embark on an adventure through the magical world to complete the enchantment before it’s too late.
Like Soul, it is a profound film that talks about loss, pain, and the importance of family, with Tom Holland and Chris Pratt’s voices, and a touch of comedy that makes the story a little less painful ( although you will still cry). This is another of the clear examples of everything that Pixar has managed to advance in animation topics.
WolfWalkers (Apple Tv)
Soul is the favorite, but Wolfwalkers is one of the strongest candidates and definitely deserves the award for Best Animated Film, mainly because it completely moves away from the Pixar style to show retro-style drawings in which the filmmakers even included details such as lines Of the characters.
Wolfwalkers is the story of a girl who wants to be a great hunter and go on adventures in a world that wants to force her to stay home. During one of her escapades, she meets another mysterious girl who has the power to turn into a wolf and communicate with them, and it is she who helps her discover that animals are not monsters, they are simply defending their home from humans who seek to destroy it. , and they must work together to save many lives.
Over the Moon (Netflix)
Glen Keane and John Kahrs direct this animated and musical Netflix film that tells us about how children process the pain of losing a loved one. The story follows Fei Fei, a girl who lost her mother and that a goddess trapped on the Moon can help her get her back, so she decides to build a rocket and travel there to discover the woman of legends and share her wish.
The film is an epic adventure full of color that also presents a journey of self-discovery with which the protagonist realizes that her pain is not going to go away, but life goes on and many good things make it all worthwhile.
The Willoughbys (Netflix)
This is one of Netflix’s must-see films , with a good dose of adventure, a bit of black humor and very peculiar characters. The Willoughbys looks like a cross between animation and stop motion and follows 4 very strange siblings who realize that their neglectful parents don’t care about them, so they decide to send them on a permanent vacation so they can stay in charge and honor the name of your family.
The movie is colorful, but it has a story about abandonment, creativity, and the importance of having a family. It probably won’t be the category winner, but it’s a great movie that could make it to the nominations.
Other possible nominees:
- Earwig and the Witch
- The Croods: A New Age
- Trolls: World Tour
