Best Animated Feature is one of my favourite Oscar categories and is always packed with terrific movies - it would be nice to see a few more of them make it on to the Best Feature Film shortlist as well.
Inside Out
2016 looks set to be another very competitive year as there are some terrific animation movies on the horizon - all of which could be in the running for this prestigious prize.
We have already taken a look at the potential early contenders for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director... and now it is time to put the Best Animated Film category in the spotlight.
- Inside Out
For me, Inside Out is already the early favourite for the Best Animated Feature prize as it has been winning over critics and audiences since premiering at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
Inside Out marks the return of Pete Docter to the director's chair and he has already brought us Pixar movies such as Up and Monsters Inc during his career - and he has delivered another gem with this latest film.
This is one of Pixar's most daring films yet as it follows the emotions that are inside the head of a young girl - it really is an ingenious idea and Pixar have well and truly pulled it off by making the movie look terrific but by bringing a great voice cast together to bring the emotions to life.
Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, and Mindy Kaling are on board as Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust. Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan make complete the impressive voice cast.
Inside Out has already grossed in excess of $289 million at the global box office and was just kept off the top spot in the U.S. by Jurassic World. The movie will be released in the UK at the end of July.
At the moment, it looks like this Oscar is for Inside Out to lose and would follow in the footsteps of Finding Nemo, The Incredible, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Toy Story 3, and Brave, films that have all won this gong in recent years.
- Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie!
Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie! Is another of the animation movies that I cannot wait to see this year, as I was a huge fan of the TV cartoon when I was growing up.
The Peanuts Movie will be the first time that we will see Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and co come to the big screen for the first time - however, we are going to have to wait until the end of the year until we get to check it out.
The early trailers for the film really do look promising - not only does the movie look fantastic, but it seems to have kept the heart that made Charles M. Schulz's comic strip such a hit in the first place.
The Peanuts Movie will see Steve Martino return to the director's chair for the first time since Ice Age: Continental Drift back in 2012. And Martino is no stranger to the animation world with Continental Drift and Horton Hears a Who already under his belt.
Snoopy, the world's most lovable beagle - and flying ace - embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest.
Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie looks set to be one of the most stunning looking animation films of the year - it really will give Inside Out a run for its money - and will bring these fantastic and enduring characters to a whole new generation.
Whether it can go up against Pixar and win the Oscar next year... I guess we are just going to have to wait and see. I would be very surprised if the film is not in the running.
- The Good Dinosaur
Pixar could go head to head with itself for the Best Animated Feature Oscar because The Good Dinosaur is also set to hit the big screen this year - this will be the first time that Pixar have released two movies in one year.
The Good Dinosaur will be the sixteenth film from Pixar and will see Peter Sohn in the director's chair as he makes his feature film directorial debut.
Sohn directed Pixar short film Partly Cloudy and now he is making that leap into features - I personally cannot wait to see what he delivers as Pixar have a knack of nurturing their up and coming directors.
Lucas Neff is set to voice the central character Apatosaurus Arlo and is joined on the cast list by Judy Greer, Neil Patrick Harris, Bill Hader, Frances McDormand, and John Lithgow.
The Good Dinosaur asks the generations-old question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? The film is a humorous and exciting original story about Arlo, a lively Apatosaurus with a big heart.
After a traumatic event unsettles Arlo's family, he sets out on a remarkable journey, gaining an unlikely companion along the way - a human boy. The Good Dinosaur is an extraordinary journey of self-discovery full of thrilling adventure, hilarious characters, and poignant heart.
However, if one movie is to miss out in this category than it could be The Good Dinosaur should the Academy choose to nominate just one Pixar movie - I think it's highly unlikely that they would overlook Inside Out.
- When Marnie Was There
Studio Ghibli is another animation studio that has been churning out terrific movie after terrific movie in recent years. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya as nominated for this award earlier this year but you have to go back to 2002 when the studio triumphed with Spirited Away.
When Marnie Was There is set to be their next movie - it has already been released in Japan but is yet to receive a UK release date - and it is set to be another charming tale.
Studio Ghibli is one of the few animation studios that are not driven by the CGI animation that we see so regularly and, for me, their movies are a welcome breath of fresh air and unlike any other movies in this genre.
When Marnie Was There sees Hiromasa Yonebayashi back in the director's chair for only the second feature film of his career. Yonebayashi made his debut with Arrietty back in 2010 and it is great to see him back with the studio.
The UK dubbed version of the film sees Ava Acres, Kathy Bates, and Ellen Burstyn all lend their voices to what looks set to be another terrific film from the popular studio.
When Marnie Was There follows lonely young girl Anna, who is suddenly befriended by stranger Marnie. However, when Marnie disappears, she learns some truths about her new friend.
- The Little Prince
The Little Prince is an animation movie that is yet to receive a release date - whether or not it is nominated for an Oscar, all depends on if it hits the big screen this year.
The Little Prince is a French/Canadian stop motion animated feature and is based on the 1943 novel of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and sees Mark Osborne in the director's chair.
It is great to see Osborne back in the director's chair as this will be his first animated feature since the huge success of Kung Fu Panda back in 2008. This smaller movie is promising to be packed with charm and I really hope that we do get to see it at some point this year.
The movie brings together one of the most impressive voice casts of the year as Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, James Franco, Benicio Del Toro, Marion Cotillard, Ricky Gervais, Jeff Bridges, and Paul Giamatti are all on board.
The Little Prince follows a pilot who crashes in the desert where he meets a young boy from a distant planet.
We don't see enough stop-motion animation movies hit the big screen and I think that The Little Prince is going to deliver a real treat.
Other contenders include Home, Storks, Minions, and Shaun The Sheep Movie.