The 2026 BAFTA Film Awards longlist is out, and some obvious candidates could be in the running in the Children’s & Family Film and Animated Film categories.

The BAFTAs are among the UK’s most prestigious awards, and members of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts will vote on which films to nominate starting today (until January 20). Shortlists are set to be announced on January 27, and winners will be unveiled and celebrated at the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony on February 22.

It’s the second year that the BAFTAs have had a Children’s & Family Film category, after the British Academy Children’s Awards were discontinued in 2022.

Unlike last year, when a few kids films made it onto the broader Outstanding British Film longlist, kids movies were pretty much entirely relegated to the Children’s and Animated categories this year.

The 2026 Children’s & Family Film category longlist looks like this:

• Arco
• Boong
• Elio (pictured)
• Grow
• How to Train Your Dragon (live action)
• Lilo & Stitch (live action)
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2 (released as Zootropolis 2 in the UK)

Selected from 14 titles that were submitted for consideration, these eight span big-budget CG and live-action spectacles from major studios (How to Train Your Dragon) to philosophical 2D-animated indie pics (Little Amélie or the Character of Rain). Disney has three entries on the longlist, including Elio—the Pixar flop that might be turning into a surprise awards darling after it scored 10 Annie Award noms earlier this week.

A similar David vs. Goliath battle is taking place in the Animated Film category, where 10 titles were submitted and six made the longlist:

• Arco
• The Bad Guys 2
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
• Elio
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2

Last year, British fave Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl took home both the Children’s & Family Film and Animated Film trophies. It was also nominated for Outstanding British Film, but lost to Conclave.

Beyond the two BAFTA kids categories, Locksmith Animation (best known for kids film Ron’s Gone Wrong) made the British Short Animation longlist cut with its kids & family title Cardboard.

Special Effects was the only other category where kids films got some BAFTA love this year, with family-friendly films including Jurassic World Rebirth, Superman and How to Train Your Dragon through to voting. 

The full BAFTA Film Awards longlist is available on the BAFTA website.

Image courtesy of Disney.