Oscar fever is already in the air!

Earlier today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 16 films were submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 88th Academy Awards.

Bakemono no Ko Key Art - 20141211Three anime features were included in this year’s submissions:

  • When Marnie Was There, from Studio Ghibli (Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi)
  • The Boy And The Beast, from Studio Chizu (Directed by Mamoru Hosoda)
  • The Laws of the Universe Part 0, from HS Pictures Studio (Directed by Isamu Imakake)

The Laws of the Universe Part 0 is based on the work of Happy Science religous sect founder Ryuho Okawa.

The remaining films submitted include the following:

  • Anomalisa
  • Boy and the World
  • The Good Dinosaur
  • Home
  • Hotel Transylvania 2
  • Inside Out
  • Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet
  • Minions
  • Moomins on the Riviera
  • The Peanuts Movie
  • Regular Show: The Movie
  • Shaun the Sheep Movie
  • The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water

Up to five of the submitted films will receive a final nomination. The Academy Awards are slated to be held on February 28, 2015.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter