This marks the fifth year that the entire membership of the academy can take part in the nomination stage of the Animated Feature Oscar race. Previously, only select members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch and invited members from the other branches could serve on the committee that decided the nominees. Collectively, the committee tended to favor traditional and stop-motion films over CG fare. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2022 Oscars predictions for Best Animated Feature.)
Mandatory attendance at screenings has been dropped and voters who want to be on the nominations committee need only attest to having seen all the contenders at theaters or screenings or by way of the the academy’s streaming site.
The method of determining the nominees has also changed. Gone is the system where voters scored a film from 6 (poor) to 10 (excellent) with only those movies meriting an average mark of at least 7.5 eligible for a nomination. That method has been replaced by the same preferential ballot used to determine the contenders in acting, directing, writing and the craft categories (except makeup/hairstyling and visual effects) for decades.
This system requires members to rank their top five choices and a multi-step system of counting winnows the various contenders down to the final nominees. The threshold for five nominees remains 16 entries; this year’s slate of contenders numbers 26.
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UPDATED: January 24, 2022
Leading Contenders (ranked by likelihood of winning)
“Encanto”
“Luca”
“The Mitchells vs the Machines”
“Flee”
“Raya and the Last Dragon”
“Sing 2”
Strong Contenders (alphabetical by title)
“The Addams Family 2”
“Belle”
“The Boss Baby: Family Business”
“Josee, the Tiger and the Fish”
“Ron Gone Wrong”
“The Summit of the Gods”
Possible Contenders (alphabetical by title)
“Cryptozoo”
“My Sunny Maad”
“PAW Patrol: The Movie”
“Spirit Untamed”
“Vivo”
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