By all accounts, KPop Demon Hunters is Jessie Buckley-level locked in to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar (and there’s no question that this year’s Best Original Song is gonna be, gonna be “Golden”.) In fact, the Netflix hit movie has been so locked in that we had to stop nominating its many awards season achievements lately in order to avoid repetition. But that’s all over come Sunday, when it will undoubtedly have a very winning night at Hollywood’s biggest annual celebration. (That said, if Zootopia 2 pulls off an upset, we’ll be back here next week issuing a full-throated apology.) 

Here are this week’s less-preordained Gold Star nominees:

The LEGO Group: Brick by brick, the Danish company has built a seemingly impervious wall in the market, protecting it from tariffs, supply chain constraints and retail ordering shenanigans. As a result, LEGO grew at twice the rate of the rest of the toy industry in 2025, while managing its largest portfolio of products to date. Now let’s see if its hugely hyped SMART Bricks can help repeat this level of success in 2026. 

KidsKnowBest: Maybe it’s CAKE that knows best. Kids industry players usually hire research firms on short-term contracts to advise on their IP-building strategies. But the UK-based distributor has acquired a minority stake in KidsKnowBest to tap into its insights year round—feeding audience intelligence directly into CAKE’s creative pipeline. The companies will continue to operate independently, but now CAKE will be able to consult with KidsKnowBest every step of the way when it’s developing new brands. Talk about having your CAKE and eating it, too. 

Thomas Mazloum: The Mouse House’s incoming CEO Josh D’Amaro has rejigged his brigade of executives, calling on the president of Disneyland Resort to fill his previous role as chairman of Disney Experiences. In this new hotseat, Mazloum will expand his remit outside of the US to manage the company’s packed portfolio of global experiences and travel destinations, along with planned attractions that have yet to open their doors. And with D’Amaro in charge, you know The Happiest Place on Earth is going to be Priority Number One. 

Xilam Animation: We wish real-life roaches were easier to kill, but we’re thrilled to witness the resilience of Oggy and the Cockroaches. This 2D-animated comedy series just secured a ninth season renewal from France TV. In other words, Xilam can take credit for fueling one of France’s longest-running toons—it’s so good, it even spawned Netflix’s first French animated original series. Oggy‘s slapstick humor certainly helps cultivate global appeal, but managing to elicit LOLs for 30 years straight? Very impressive.

Zephyr Animation and dwarf studios: After debuting an award-winning short film in 2018 and then spending four years developing it into a series (before pitching it at Cartoon Forum 2022), Mogu & Perol is finally a go. The project is a unique co-pro mix, developed by French and Japanese studios, and unlocked with key funding and animation from Taiwan (proving once again that European/Asian partnerships are valuable for more than just anime). For Japan’s dwarf studios, it’s an opportunity to bring a charming original IP to international audiences, and it’s also a chance for Zephyr to show that it can do something wildly different from Lana Longbeard.

So who had the best week in the bunch? Vote before 8 a.m. ET on Monday to let us know what you think:

Want to pitch us a Gold Star nomination? Send an email to submissions@kidscreen.com by noon on Thursdays. And check back every Friday for our next batch of nominees. Hope to see you on the list!