Raya and the Last Dragon - 1 nomination

 

Best Animated Feature Film
Don Hall
Carlos López Estrada
Osnat Shurer
Peter Del Vecho

Raya is a young woman with a difficult challenge ahead.  She has accidentally released the Druun, evil spirits that petrify people, who were safely locked away in the now-broken dragon gem.  She embarks on a quest to reunite all of the pieces of the gem, and she enlists the help of Sisu the dragon (voiced delightfully by Awkwafina), whose siblings contributed pieces of their magic in order to create the protective stone.  Raya has been trained since childhood to act as a protector to the gem, but she quickly learns that one must not give trust away too quickly, and that a leader makes careful and calculated decisions.  Now the lives of the townspeople and her father hang in the balance of her finding a way to once again contain the evil of the Druun.

Raya was a big win for Disney, and was produced entirely from people's homes during the height of the COVID-19 stay at home orders. Per IMDB: A message appears towards the end of the credits: "The making of this movie from over 400 individual homes was completely unprecedented, and relied entirely on the talent, ingenuity, and dedication of everyone at Walt Disney Animation Studios. The filmmakers would like to thank them for their tireless hard work, good humor, and most of all patience... with our inability to properly use the internet. (Dude, you're still on mute.)" Ironically, the film is a lesson in persistence and overcoming obstacles, something that anyone could argue the filmmakers accomplished with this lovely film.  Not just for kids!