‘Zootopia 2,’ ‘Two Black Boys In Paradise’ Take Top BAFTA Animation Prizes

The BAFTA Awards, the top film industry prize ceremony in the U.K., took place over the weekend. The ceremony itself was overshadowed by controversy, but a pair of animated films did score some hardware on the evening.

This year’s best animated film prize went to Disney’s Zootopia 2. The Jared Bush and Byron Howard-directed sequel builds on the original film’s mix of broad comedy and social commentary, expanding its mammal metropolis.

(KPop Demon Hunters did not qualify for this year’s BAFTAs, so was not among this year’s nominees)

The film’s commercial and cultural impact was never in doubt, with this recent edition grossing $1.85 billion to date, making it the second-highest-grossing animation in box-office history. The BAFTA win reinforced Z2‘s status as one of the studio’s most successful modern franchises from a craft and artistic perspective, too.

On the opposite end of the commercial scale, the indie stop-motion marvel Two Black Boys in Paradise won Best British Short Animation. Directed by Baz Sells and based on a poem by Dean Atta, the film tells a tender, emotionally direct story about young Black queer love and self-acceptance. With its handmade puppets and detailed sets, some more grounded and others idyllic, the film stood out from the field for its intimacy and sincerity.

The event’s failure to edit out a shouted racial slur stood in stark contrast to a touching film about Black love and self-acceptance winning a top prize.

In the VFX category, Avatar: Fire and Ash took home this year’s BAFTA, in one of the least shocking moments of the night.

In the children’s and family category, Arco, Lilo & Stitch, and Zootopia 2 all lost out to the Indian live-action feature Boong.

Animated Film

• WINNER: Zootopia 2 — Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino
• Elio — Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina, Mary Alice Drumm
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain — Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago, Edwina Liard, Claire Le Combe, Henri Magalon

British Short Animation

• WINNER: Two Black Boys in Paradise — Baz Sells, Dean Atta, Ben Jackson
• Cardboard — J.P. Vine, Michaela Manas Malina
• Solstice — Luke Angus

Children’s & Family Film

• WINNER: Boong— Lakshmipriya Devi, Ritesh Sidhwani
• Arco — Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman
• Lilo & Stitch — Dean Fleischer Camp, Jonathan Eirich
• Zootopia 2 — Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino

Special Visual Effects

• WINNER: Avatar: Fire and Ash — Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Eric Saindon
• F1 — Ryan Tudhope, Keith Alfred Dawson, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington
• Frankenstein — Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, José Granell
• How to Train Your Dragon — Christian Mänz, Francois Lambert, Glen McIntosh, Terry Palmer
• The Lost Bus — Charlie Noble, Brandon K. McLaughlin, David Zaretti