2025 Oscars: Best Animated Short Predictions

Final voting is February 11-18, 2025. The 97th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2, and air live on ABC at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT. We update our picks throughout awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.

The State of the Race

The Best Animated Short nominees are “Beautiful Men,” “In the Shadow of the Cypress,” “Magic Candies,” “Wander to Wonder,” and “Yuck!” These are the Oscar shortlist survivors, which represent six countries (but not the U.S.) and boast mostly 2D and stop-motion over CG.

“Wander to Wonder” and “In the Shadow of the Cypress” are the close favorites, followed by “Beautiful Men” and “Yuck!.” All received Annie Award nominations for short or special production.

“Wander to Wonder” (Netherlands, stop-motion, directed by Nina Gantz): When the creator of an ’80s children’s TV series dies, the three tiny stars are all alone in the studio. They struggle to find enough to eat while continuing to make strange episodes for the fans.

“In the Shadow of the Cypress” (Iran, 2D, directed by Hossein Molayemi & Shirin Sohani): A former captain with PTSD, who lives with his daughter, is pulled out of his isolation by the unexpected arrival of a stranded whale.

“Beautiful Men” (Belgium, France, Netherlands, stop-motion, directed by Nicolas Keppens): Melding Fellini-esque reality and fantasy, it tells the story of three bald brothers on a trip to Istanbul for hair transplant surgery and their fears about aging.

“Magic Candies” (Japan, CG, directed by Daisuke Nishio): When a boy buys a bag of colorful, marble-shaped candies, he gains the ability to hear voices.

“Yuck!” (France, 2D, directed by Loïc Espuche): A group of kids at their holiday camp freak out when they witness adults of all ages kissing in public.

Nominees are listed below in order of likelihood they will win.

Contenders

“Wander to Wonder”
“In the Shadow of the Cypress”
“Beautiful Men”
“Magic Candies”
“Yuck!”