While I love movies, it would be insanely hard to write about every section and movie involved in the Oscars, especially ones I am not familiar with. So, to make a fair analysis, I decided to write about the Animation section that includes all movies which I have seen and are directly related to art!

The movies nominated for the Best Animated Feature this year included: Nimona, Elemental, The Boy and the Heron, Robot Dreams, and Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse. All of them are mostly great films! I’m going to give you a synopsis of each movie, so spoilers ahead for themes and winners!

Nimona, which is one of my favorite movies, is about a girl named Nimona and a knight named Ballister. After Ballister is framed for killing the queen, he and Nimona go through a path to prove his innocence. The whole movie is about accepting differences and ignoring tradition. Many would argue this is an overused theme, but Nimona is brilliant at showing it. Fun fact: Nimona bounced around studios for a while and was almost scrapped! 

Elemental, is a movie about two elements named Ember and Wade who enjoy a love story throughout the movie. Though they have their differences, they end up finding so much in common with each other. Its key themes are about embracing difference and that true love will always find a way. Overall a very cute movie made by Disney.

Boy and the Heron is an iconic movie made by Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki. Hayao Miyazaki is famous for his beautiful animated features, and won an Oscar in 2002. The movie draws from Miyazaki’s childhood to tell a fantastical story about a boy after the loss of his mother, guided by a talking heron to find his dead mother. While the movie’s themes can be up to various interpretations, its key motives are to highlight coming-of-age in a time of loss and grief. Very beautifully animated, it is a gorgeous film.

Robot Dreams is a silent film, starring a dog and robot set in 1980’s in New York City. It is a melancholy film that is hard to describe, but heavily focuses on friendship, loss, and on the interaction between humans and technology. Personally I had a hard time focusing, but it’s a beautiful film and you should give it a watch when you have freetime. 

Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which both my best friend and brother-in-law agree is the best animated movie of the year, is a movie set in the Marvel Spider Man Universe. It’s hard to get a synopsis for this movie without watching the others, but I’ll try! In this Spider-Man movie, Miles Morales enters the multiverse, and finds himself dealing with many challenges as he figures out what it truly means to be a hero. This film contemplates the ethics of being a hero, how the world is connected, and the complexities of identity. It’s an amazing and gorgeous film, its attention to detail almost beyond comprehension.

So it’s time to unveil the winner…Three…Two…One… The Boy and the Heron!! This wasn’t shocking, it’s a beautiful movie and likely Hayao Miyazaki’s last film. The film had no advertising or trailer and still made it to the Oscars, making it Miyazaki’s second Oscar and sixth nomination. Toshio Suzuki also makes history for this film, and he may even make it again for another film in the future! Overall, the films this year were strong, but I believe this year’s Oscar pick was a beautiful choice, and a great way to commemorate Miyazaki’s last movie.