The shortlist for the 2026 Annie Awards is out, and leading the pack are two kids films that were released last summer.

No prizes for guessing that Netflix’s record-breaking hit KPop Demon Hunters is one of them, with a total of 10 nominations. But perhaps more surprising is the fact that Pixar’s Elio—a sci-fi flick that had a much more lukewarm reaction from audiences and only grossed US$154 million worldwide—has also scored 10 nods.

The two films are in the running for the coveted Best Feature trophy, along with Maybe Movies/Ikki Films’ Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and Disney’s Zootopia 2 (both nominated seven times), plus DreamWorks Animation’s The Bad Guys 2 (five).

In the TV categories, Nickelodeon had a strong showing with titles such as Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (since canceled), The Tiny Chef Show (also canceled) and Wylde Pak. And Pixar made a mark on the small screen, too, with its Win or Lose series scoring six nominations.

The 53rd edition of the Annie Awards will take place on February 21. Here are the nominees in some key animation categories:

Best Feature
Elio – Pixar Animation Studios
KPop Demon Hunters – Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain – Maybe Movies and Ikki Films, distributed by GKIDS
The Bad Guys 2 – DreamWorks Animation
Zootopia 2 – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Best Feature – Independent 

A Magnificent Life – Mediawan, What the Prod and Bidibul Productions
Arco – Remembers, MountainA France and France 3 Cinéma
I’m Frankelda – Cinema Fantasma, Warner Bros. Discovery, Woo Films and Cine Vendaval
Lost In Starlight – Netflix and Climax Studio
Scarlet – Studio CHIZU 

Best Special Production
A Loud House Christmas Movie: Naughty or Nice – Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Jam Filled Entertainment
Adult Swim’s The Elephant – Titmouse and Williams Street
Not Just a Goof – Venturia Animation Studios for CNEK Films
Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical – WildBrain Studios in association with Apple
The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland – Lupus Films and Universal Pictures Content Group

Best TV/Media – Preschool

Eva The Owlet (“Welcome to Treetopington”) – Brown Bag Films / Scholastic Entertainment in association with Apple
Kindergarten: The Musical! (“Gotta Go!”) – Oddbot Entertainment, Disney Branded Television
The Tiny Chef Show (“Tiny Chef’s Spooky Stump Spectacular”) – Imagine Entertainment, Tiny Chef Productions and Nickelodeon Productions
Wow Lisa (“Rainy Day”) – Punkrobot
Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (“I am Jackie Robinson”) – 9 Story Media Group, Brown Bag Films

Best TV/Media – Children

My Melody & Kuromi (“All For Our Best Friend”) – Sanrio Company for Netflix
Spice Frontier: Escape From Veltegar (Episode: 1) – Steamroller Animation
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (“Rise of the Night Ninja”) – Nickelodeon Animation Studios and PointGrey Pictures
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball (“The Rewrite”) – Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe
Wylde Pak (“Sungandeul”) – Nickelodeon Animation Studios / Jam Filled Entertainment

A full list of nominations is available on the Annie Awards website.