‘Arco’ Named Best Animated Feature Of 2025 By National Board Of Review

Ugo Bienvenu’s debut feature, Arco, added another major win to its awards-season streak this week, taking the National Board of Review’s prize for best animated feature of 2025.

The film has been building momentum since its breakout Cristal victory at Annecy in June, quickly becoming one of the most talked-about animated releases of the year among fans and awards watchers. Part sci-fi adventure and part intimate character study, Arco follows a boy from a distant future who accidentally transports himself into our near future. There, he teams up with a girl named Iris to find a way to send him home.

Arco marks Bienvenu’s first feature after a decade of short-form work and his co-directing role on Marvel’s 2017 Ant-Man animated series. Natalie Portman joined the project mid-production through her company MountainA, which is backing its first animated film since launching in 2021.

Unfortunately, no animated titles appeared in the NBR’s overall top ten films of the year, underscoring the medium’s ongoing struggle for broader industry recognition, even as animated titles garner tremendous critical praise and smash box office records.

Founded in 1909, the NBR screens hundreds of films annually, followed by discussions with filmmakers and craftspeople. This year’s winners will be honored January 13, 2026, at New York’s Cipriani 42nd Street.