As we count down the final days of yet another awards season, AWN and ANIMATIONWorld asked a group of award-winning animation directors what they look for when judging the quality of animated work and what they consider some of the finest work they’ve seen in the last year.
To get a better understanding of which television shows, feature films and shorts stood out in 2025 for the quality of their animation work, AWN talked with a group of award-winning animation directors from around the world to get their thoughts amid Oscars voting.
Among those answering three questions about the craft are Domee Shi (Turning Red, Elio); Jorge Gutierrez (The Book of Life, Maya and the Three); Tom Bancroft (Light of the World, VeggieTales); Giovanna Ferrari (Éiru); Maïlys Vallade (The Lighthouse Keeper, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain); Liane-Cho Han (Little Amélie or the Character of Rain); Kent Seki (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey); Alex Woo (In Your Dreams); Aaron Blaise (Snow Bear, Brother Bear); Shannon Tindle (Ultraman: Rising, Lost Ollie); and Tyree Dillihay (GOAT, Bob's Burgers).
In their responses, the directors express a shared excitement about the future of animation. Despite the best efforts of artificial intelligence, it seems audience’s craving for hand-crafted art is still alive and well, as is the drive to create such work. And while animation grows more marketable than ever, and the appetite for content seems insatiable, the importance of specific and niche animated storytelling remains essential for these storytellers, who both champion, and call for more of, its production.
Here are their full, thought-provoking responses to AWN’s questions:
What do you look for when you’re checking out new animation?
Domee Shi: “I’m looking for animation that stirs my emotions, that surprises me, that makes me fall in love with a character, or that makes me think about an idea or subject differently.”
Jorge Gutierrez: “The look is what sells me first. Then it’s all about story, story, story. But the visuals are what get me in the door. If something looks like everything else, it’s hard for me to get enticed. I’m always drawn to work that feels bold, specific, and unapologetically original.”
Tom Bancroft: “Three things, in this order: a great concept, a fresh style, and a level of quality that wants me to see it.”
Giovanna Ferrari: “I look for craftsmanship and emotional resonance. I like to see new forms of experimentation in service of a story or of a character. I don't look for perfection in technique, but rather a unison between the feelings or themes and the way they are conveyed. I also love to see materials and non-digital artwork. I love stop-motion, 2D hand-drawn or painted animation, but I can also really appreciate digital 3D and CGI if it's in service of great story telling (like in Flow and I Lost My Body). As far as the story is concerned, I like to be swept away, and to feel the director(s) cared about what they were trying to convey. It makes a big difference.”
Maïlys Vallade: “Above all, I look for depth. I have a poetic and dark mind, but I also look for dynamism and freshness, something that surprises me in the narrative. I like worlds where the characters are well constructed, where you understand and feel where they come from and why they are who they are. I need to know that it was made by someone's hand and mind, not created or generated artificially. I will always favor work that has been done under the most ethical conditions, which is why I particularly love 2D animation and stop-motion, but I also really like the latest 3D innovations, where we can have more and more fun with graphics!”
Liane-Cho Han: “At my age now, I’m looking for animation that questions our humanity and that triggers deep emotions. Today I’m of course more into mature themes and complex feelings driven by strong character arcs and stories. I like to see how a character evolves and changes their personality by learning during a challenging journey.”
Kent Seki: “I always want a good story. That's the biggest hook. But, more recently, I find myself wanting to be surprised. Whether it's the look of the film, the story, or characters, I want an ‘authentic’ experience, one that tells me the filmmakers have a unique point of view.”
Alex Woo: “I want to laugh. I want to cry. I want to be moved. I want to be wowed. And I want to think. You can usually count on at least one of those experiences when you watch a new animated film. But when a single film delivers all of them, that’s when it becomes a masterpiece.”
Aaron Blaise: “I’m always looking to just let the animation wash over me and see if it grabs me. If a character is emoting, and feels alive, I get sucked in right away. Subtlety grabs me as well. I feel there is a lot of loud, over-animated work dominating a lot of the bandwidth right now and I try to sift through that to find the animation that really comes from the heart.”
Shannon Tindle: “I’m always looking for something that surprises me. Whether it’s an atypical narrative structure, interesting characters, or a stylistic flourish, I get excited about animation that’s off the beaten path.”
Tyree Dillihay: “I look for arresting visual narratives that exploit the medium to the fullest in the form of fresh aesthetics and entertaining or thought-provoking stories.”
What new animation in 2025 did you particularly like and enjoy?
Domee Shi: “All the Oscar nominated films this year have been incredible. I’ve also been enjoying work from the indie studio The Line. They just made an animated video for the Gorillaz’ new album The Mountain. It’s a great homage to old animation and Disney films like The Jungle Book. It’s always inspiring seeing what people are doing outside of the studio system.”
Jorge Gutierrez: “I really got into these animated films: Little Amélie, Chainsaw Man, I Am Frankelda, Predator: Killers of Killers, Arco, The SpongeBob Movie, KPop Demon Hunters, The Bad Guys 2, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. On the series side, I was into Common Side Effects, Eyes of Wakanda, Asterix & Obelix, Smiling Friends, Primal, Gumball, Wylde Pak, and My Hero Academia. I love seeing what everyone around the world is doing with our art form — across all genres and styles. It’s so inspiring to watch animation continue to evolve globally.”
Tom Bancroft: “There were some real highlights (I even had a feature out that I directed this year), but the four that really stood out to me were two features and two shorts. The features were KPop Demon Hunters and David and the shorts were Snow Bear by Aaron Blaise and Forevergreen by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears.”
Giovanna Ferrari: “It was a very good year of animation. There were so many good movies out. I particularly appreciated the feature film Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and the short film Playing God. Little Amélie is a gem, a masterpiece of visual storytelling, that brings the audience back to childhood in a way that very few movies can do. It's so poetic and delicate and yet emotional and joyful. It’s a movie that also carries a very profound theme about the importance of coming together and bridging differences. Playing God is a technically impressive piece of art that demonstrates how stop-motion will always be a unique and impressive technique. It's a simple, poignant and very smart story developed for years by a very small team.”
Maïlys Vallade: “There have been some real standouts (phenomena) this year, but each for different reasons. The work on each one is titanic and precise, and the animation reaches new heights. It's captivating. Congratulations to everyone. I am happy to share these moments of viewing with family or friends. That is the power of today's animated films: they venture into very diverse and important subjects that question today's society, human relationships, and diversity, while offering bold graphics. It speaks to children and adults alike, it's an impressive balancing act, and I'm happy to see it spreading. I welcome this with all my heart.”
Liane-Cho Han: “I actually enjoyed the movies that have been nominated this year for the Academy Awards. They are very different from each other and some of them are also quite different from what has been produced before. They talk to both younger and older audiences with very universal themes. It has been a great year for animation in its diversity.”
Kent Seki: “Three movies captured my imagination in 2025. KPop Demon Hunters was an absolute cultural phenomenon. I love how genre bending that film was, mashing together Korean culture, K-pop, anime, and Korean mythology. I enjoyed the animation style as well, in particular the off-model faces and surprising touches like popcorn eyes. Little Amélie or the Character of Rain was, for me, the most visually arresting film. Its adult themes of ex-pats living in Post-War Japan, death, and the temporal nature of memories was a joy for me. And the depiction of the photographic phenomena of bokeh was absolutely stunning. Finally, Arco was a great science fiction film on top of a great animated feature.”
Alex Woo: “I was genuinely impressed with Chainsaw Man. I hadn’t seen the series beforehand, so I felt a little lost at times, but the action sequences blew the back of my head off!”
Aaron Blaise: “I loved The Shyness of Trees short. I feel it was one of the most beautiful pieces of animated story telling I’ve seen in a long time. It could be that it’s because I’m getting older now and the subject matter reflects a lot of the things I reflect on nowadays. But it was really stunning. I also loved The Girl Who Cried Pearls. It was so unique in its look and art direction. Arco was a breath of fresh air, as well. So unique.”
Shannon Tindle: “There was a lot to love about animation in 2025. I just finished watching Arco and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, and was absolutely blown away by both films. I’m also really enjoying Common Side Effects. It’s a fantastic series. People keep saying hand-drawn animation is dead, but the amount of great work being done in that medium would beg to differ.”
Tyree Dillihay: “I absolutely loved the Oscar-nominated animated short Yuck directed by Loïc Espuche. It was a super cute, sweet and nostalgic way to explore intimacy.”
Do you see any new trends as far as new animation being produced?
Domee Shi: “I’m loving seeing bigger studios embrace pushing the style and look of animation. I’m seeing a lot more anime/video game influences as the generation that grew up with them are now in creative leadership positions at studios.”
Jorge Gutierrez: “The Spider-Verse and Arcane aesthetic is definitely getting a spotlight in both series and features around the world. I’m also especially excited about the wave of indie productions like Knights of Guinevere, Strawberry Vampire, and Pretty Pretty Please, I Don’t Want to Be a Magical Girl. I love that artists and creators are building direct connections with their fanbases. There’s something powerful about animation becoming more personal, more global, and more creator-driven than ever before.”
Tom Bancroft: “Yes and no. The ‘yes’ is small trends like more of an acceptance of 2D Animation (is it ‘back’ or just ‘nostalgic’?) and a possible swing back to more family films/storytelling. The ‘no’ is that I think the profound trends are still coming in 2026/2027, which will be the large studios cutting their budgets drastically and what new styles will forcibly evolve out of that.”
Giovanna Ferrari: “I think it's a very peculiar moment. We have never seen so many movies (especially short films) being put into the festival circuit, but at the same time there is very little appetite for investing financially into short films that are seen as economically not very viable and hard to place on the market. But I also noticed that in the last few years feature films are becoming longer and longer in a world where attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, and I truly hope a new trend will emerge where feature films last a maximum of 180 minutes and are maybe coupled with a short film screened just before. I think it would be beneficial to film makers, distributors and audiences.”
Maïlys Vallade: “Yes, of course, things are changing everywhere. Sometimes, even though we have limited promotional resources as a small independent film, I find that we are allowing ourselves more and more freedom in terms of storytelling and form. I love and cherish this laboratory. We are also focusing more and more on the essentials: a good story and graphics as diverse as the people who represent it, and depth in reflections on current issues and a future that we always hope will be better. There is also AI, which is finding its way into production methods. I’m worried about that. Now, many animation directors also want to make films for all ages and for adults. Animation is also real cinema, and this is increasingly being recognized and supported everywhere.”
Liane-Cho Han: “I have the feeling today that more mature animation is finally coming out. Slowly but surely, we see more animation being produced with heavier themes for younger and older audiences just like during the golden age of Japanese animation. I’m also starting to really believe in the teenage audience, which is very hard to reach. They are mature enough to detach themselves from their parents’ tastes but still immature as they don’t have as much experience in life and are still building their identity. This is the moment when they shape their personality by being deeply moved by what they watch.”
Kent Seki: “We are certainly seeing two trends: The rise of independent animation and what has been described as ‘The Spider-Verse Effect.’ The critical and awards success of Flow certainly has ushered in more attention towards independent feature animation. What a great movie! And, the success of Sony's Spider-Verse films have given everyone permission to pursue different looks that separate films from traditional CG. More innovation in terms of VisDev and the look of the films is a move in a positive direction, in my opinion.”
Alex Woo: “I don’t know if it’s fair to call it a trend yet, but it does feel like there’s been a shift in what audiences want from animated films. I grew up on the Pixar philosophy that ‘story is king,’ but lately it seems that’s evolved into ‘vibes are king.’ That shift is exciting. It opens the door to new kinds of animated films that can succeed commercially and broadens the public’s understanding of what animation is capable of.”
Aaron Blaise: “I love seeing that we are getting more and more independent films made. It’s not just a big studio game anymore. To see a film like Flow come along and win the Oscar made me sit up and take notice, as it did with a lot of people. This notion that a studio needs to spend $100 million or more to create a commercially viable film is crazy to me. It’s just a matter of time before we see a small independent film come along and smash the box office. We’re going to see it soon.”
Shannon Tindle: “It’s been very encouraging to see the success creators have had when striking out on their own. Just look at Vivienne Medrano’s Hazbin Hotel or Dana Terrace’s Knights of Guinevere. These folks made shows they wanted to see that didn’t exist on the market, and audiences are showing up. My good pal, Jorge Gutierrez, is also pursuing that path in both features and series with his film I, Chihuahua and his series El Guapo vs. the Narco Vampires. There’s also an exciting trend toward adult animation. If you told me five years ago, I’d be directing an R-rated animated tentpole based on a huge action franchise, I’d ask you what you were drinkin’. This is proof that audiences and studios recognize the desire for animation across all genres and demographics.”
Tyree Dillihay: “The new trend is collaboration, experimentation and innovation. Individuals, indies, and corporations are embracing new processes, styles, tools, and voices to tell modern stories for the modern world. And I'm here for it.”
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
