After a voting extension and other delays due to this month’s devastating LA wildfires, the shortlist for the 97th Academy Awards was officially released this morning.

The Animated Feature Film race features an eclectic mix of established and original IPs, with kids movies cornering four of the five nominations.

Last year’s box-office champ Inside Out 2 (Pixar), DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot, Aardman’s Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and indie co-pro Flow (Dream Well, Take Five, Sacrebleu) are in the running, along with Arenamedia’s adult-skewing tragicomedy Memoir of a Snail. 

Flow also earned a nod in the highly competitive International Feature Film category, representing Latvia as the country’s first-ever Oscar-nominated title. This sans-dialogue feature—which follows a cat’s journey to find a new home after a flood—has emerged as a strong contender on the awards circuit, especially after winning a Golden Globe for Best Animated Picture earlier this month.

Shortlisted in three categories total, The Wild Robot is also in the running for Best Sound and Best Music (Original Score). With a premise about a shipwrecked robot who navigates life on a deserted island, this acclaimed feature is based on a same-name 2016 novel by Peter Brown.

Meanwhile, Magic Candies (Japan) and Yuck! (France) are two kid-friendly entries that made the cut in this year’s Animated Short Film category. And Universal’s all-ages musical Wicked is among the most nominated films, with 10 nods in total, including one for Best Picture.

A full list of the 2025 Academy Awards nominations is available online.

Featured image: Flow