66 Animation Pros Invited To Join Academy’s Animation And VFX Branches

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 534 film industry figures to join its ranks as part of the class of 2025. Sixty-six of those people – or 12.3% of the total – are animation professionals who have been invited to join the Animation or Visual Effects branches of the Academy.

Membership selection is based on professional qualifications with, what the Academy claims is “an ongoing commitment to representation, inclusion, and equity.” The overall 2025 group is composed of 41% women, and 45% belong to underrepresented ethnic/racial communities. Also, 55% are from 60 countries and territories outside the United States.

Last year, the Academy separated the Short Films and Animation branch into two separate branches, giving animation its own long-desired branch for the first time, in addition to two spots on the Academy’s board of governors. Following the split, the Academy now has 19 branches.

The animation branch had roughly 700 members when the split was announced last year. With the 41 new members added this year, the animation branch is somewhere in the neighborhood of 740 members, though an exact number is not available.

Four of the people invited to the animation branch (those with asterisks) have also been invited to join other Academy branches. These individuals must select one branch upon accepting membership.

Below are the people invited to join the Animation and Visual Effects branches:

Animation

• Sandra Andersen – Wolfwalkers, The Breadwinner
• Lucrèce Andreae – Grandpa Walrus, Trois Petits Points
• Cinzia Angelini – Hitpig, Mila
• Richard Beek – Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Early Man
• Julie Bernier Gosselin – The Sea Beast, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
• Mary Blee – The Wild Robot, The Boss Baby: Family Business
• Joyce Borenstein – Lida Moser Photographer, The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein
• Neysa Bové – Encanto, Raya and the Last Dragon
• Alex Budovsky – Algorithm Takedown, Bathtime in Clerkenwell
• Eunyoung Choi – The Colors Within, Inu-Oh
• Merlin Crossingham – Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Early Man
• Mike Defeo – The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, Ice Age
• Ricardo Delgado – How to Train Your Dragon, The Incredibles
• Robert DeSue – Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Missing Link
• Nina Gantz – Wander to Wonder, Edmond
• Heidi Jo Gilbert – The Wild Robot, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
• Kelsey Hurley – Wish, Raya and the Last Dragon
• Matīss Kaža* – Flow (also invited to writer’s branch)
• Kim Keukeleire – Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Isle of Dogs
• Nicola Lavender – The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Smallfoot
• Robert Lence – Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story
• Kelsey Mann – Inside Out 2, Onward
• Deanna Marsigliese – Inside Out 2, Incredibles 2
• Hossein Molayemi* – In the Shadow of the Cypress, Run Rostam Run (also invited to short films branch)
• Becky Neiman-Cobb – Elemental, Bao
• Daisuke Nishio – Magic Candies, The File of Young Kindaichi 2: Murderous Deep Blue
• Seiji Okuda – The Boy and the Beast, Summer Wars
• Alex Orrelle – Klaus, Condorito: La Película
• Rodrigo Perez-Castro – Night of the Zoopocalypse, Koati
• Bill Perkins – Fantasia/2000, Aladdin
• Jelena Popović – Boat People, Hedgehog’s Home
• Karen Ryan – Nimona, Moana
• Anna Samo – The Wild-Tempered Clavier, Conversations with a Whale
• Shirin Sohani* – In the Shadow of the Cypress, Run Rostam Run (also invited to short films branch)
• Siqi Song – Sister, The Coin
• Alessandra Sorrentino – Inside Out 2, Nimona
• Rosana Sullivan – Inside Out 2, Kitbull
• Takashi Washio – Magic Candies, Go! Princess Pretty Cure: Go! Go!! Gouka Sanbon Date!!!
• Julie Zackary – Nimona, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
• Gregory Zalcman – Flow, Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds
• Gints Zilbalodis* – Flow, Away (also invited to director’s and writer’s branches)

Visual Effects

• Ravi Bansal – Nyad, The Jungle Book
• Rodney Burke – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Poker Face
• André Bustanoby – Abigail, Scream
• David Caeiro Cebrian – Avatar: The Way of Water, War for the Planet of the Apes
• Alejandro Damiani – The Obituary of Tunde Johnson, Don’t Breathe
• Kim Davidson
• Keith Herft – Better Man, Jungle Cruise
• Joker Huang – Only Fools Rush In, The Wandering Earth
• Stephen James – Dune: Part Two, Dune
• Mat Krentz – Thunderbolts*, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• Daniel Macarin – Alien: Romulus, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• Cordell McQueen – The Woman King, Maze Runner: The Death Cure
• Abishek Nair – Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Fate of the Furious
• Alex Nowotny – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Avatar: The Way of Water
• Paul Murray Raeburn – Better Man, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
• Rhys Salcombe – Dune: Part Two, Dune
• Oliver Schulz – Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange
• Peter Stubbs – Better Man, Mortal Kombat
• Francois Sugny – Avatar: The Way of Water, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• Yugandhar Tammareddy – Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, Rangasthalam
• Marcus Antony Taormina – Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, Bird Box
• Jateen Thakkar – Leo: Bloody Sweat, Mirzya
• Rob van den Bragt – Boy Kills World, The Kitchen
• Chris Voy – Wicked, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
• Ben Warner – Gemini Man, War for the Planet of the Apes