The Academy has revealed a list of 16 films that will compete for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature this year. Based on the number of eligible films, there will be five nominations in this category. However, 16 is the bare minimum number, so if one of these films doesn’t release as required by the rules, then we’ll have a maximum of four nominations. If the number of eligible films drop to 12, then either two or three films will be nominated. We could have our first year-of-four should some of the submissions not release in time.

Based on these titles, the ones to keep an eye out for are Anomalisa, The Good Dinosaur, Inside Out, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, Minions, The Peanuts Movie, Shaun the Sheep Movie and When Marnie Was There. Home and SpongeBob are outside players and The Boy and the Beast, Boy and the World, The Laws of the Universe and Moomins on the Riviera are unknown quantities at this point. We’ll have to see how those play with critics.

16 ANIMATED FEATURES SUBMITTED FOR 2015 OSCAR® RACE

LOS ANGELES, CA – Sixteen features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 88th Academy Awards®.

The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:

“Anomalisa”
“The Boy and the Beast”
“Boy and the World”
“The Good Dinosaur”
“Home”
“Hotel Transylvania 2”
“Inside Out”
“Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet”
“The Laws of the Universe – Part 0”
“Minions”
“Moomins on the Riviera”
“The Peanuts Movie”
“Regular Show: The Movie”
“Shaun the Sheep Movie”
“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water”
“When Marnie Was There”

Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying run. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process. At least eight eligible animated features must be theatrically released in Los Angeles County within the calendar year for this category to be activated. In any year in which 16 or more animated feature films are eligible, a maximum of five motion pictures may be nominated.

Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category also may qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.