One month into this strange, delayed awards season, Cartoon Saloon’s Wolfwalkers has emerged as something of a frontrunner in the race for an Oscar for best animated feature.
The fantastical period drama, the fourth feature from the Irish studio, has been named best animated feature of 2020 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, Chicago Film Critics Association, and Boston Online Film Critics Association. No other animated film has been so widely honored this year by the critics’ groups.
Three other critics’ organizations have announced winners so far. Disney-Pixar’s Soul was named best animated feature by the Indiana Film Journalists Association and Florida Film Critics Circle, while the Boston Society of Film Critics plumped for The Wolf House, the experimental stop-motion feature from Chilean directors Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña. Wolves are clearly in this year.