‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,’ ‘The Wild Robot’ Each Score Three BAFTA Nominations

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTAs), the U.K.’s equivalent of the Oscars, have revealed this year’s nominees, including animated feature, British animated short, and vfx. They also have a new award in the ceremony this year – best children’s and family film – which is a category that was formerly part of the BAFTA Children’s Awards.

Both Aardman Animations’ Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (a decidedly very British film) and Dreamworks Animation’s The Wild Robot (a decidedly not-so British film) put in a strong showing with three nominations apiece. Not to be overlooked, Gints Zilbalodis’ Flow also showed strength with two nominations.

Wallace & Gromit, which is nominated for animated film, children’s and family film, and outstanding British film, is surely a favorite here to win at least one award. In fact, the iconic Brit man-and-dog have a perfect track record at the BAFTAs, having won an award each previous time they’ve appeared in a short or feature:

• A Grand Day Out – Best Animated Short Film winner (1990)
• The Wrong Trousers – Best Animated Short Film winner (1994)
• A Close Shave – Best Animated Short Film winner (1996)
• Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit – Best British Film winner (2006, note: the animated feature category at the BAFTAs wasn’t started until a year later)
• Wallace And Gromit: A Matter of Loaf And Death – Best Animated Short Film winner (2009)

Also, a comment must be made about the children’s and family film category, which is essentially identical to the animated feature category, with the exception of one film. While all of the films in the children’s/family category are animated, the category was open to live-action films as well. There were 19 films eligible in the category – twelve animated, five scripted live-action, and two documentaries. Among the live-action films, eligible titles included Paddington In Peru, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and Disney’s Young Woman And The Sea. The two documentaries were submitted by Disney’s National Geographic Documentary Films – Endurance and Blink.

The new category, as it stands, makes little sense, and will almost certainly be reviewed by BAFTA organizers before next year’s ceremony. The category seems reductive, by placing a totally unnecessary children’s and family label on the nominated films in the animated feature category, which surely was not the intent of the BAFTA organizers when they conceived the award. Curiously, Disney did not submit any of its 2024 animated features – Inside Out 2, Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King – for consideration in the category.

The 2025 BAFTA Film Awards will be hosted by David Tennant on Sunday, February 16, and can be viewed on BBC One and iPlayer in the U.K. and Britbox in North America.

Below are the 2024 animation and vfx BAFTA nominees. The third nomination for Vengeance Most Fowl is for outstanding British film, while Wild Robot’s third nom is for original score. They are the sole animation contenders in either category.

Animated Film

• Flow – Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža
• Inside Out 2– Kelsey Mann, Mark Nielsen
• The Wild Robot – Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann
• Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl/em> – Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Ricahrd Beek

Children’s & Family Film

• Flow – Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža
• Kensuke’s Kingdom– Kirk Hendry, Neil Boyle, Camilla Deakin
• The Wild Robot – Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann
• Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl/em> – Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Ricahrd Beek

British Short Animation

• Adiós – José Prats, Natalia Kyriacou, Bernardo Angeletti
• Mog’s Christmas – Robin Shaw, Joanna Harrison, Camilla Deakin, Ruth Fielding
• Wander to WOnder – Nina Gantz, Stienette Bosklopper, Simon Cartwright, Maarten Swart

Special Visual Effects

• Better Man – Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs
• Dune: Part Two – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Gerd Nefzer, Rhys Salcombe
• Gladiator II – Mark Bakowski, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny, Pietro Ponti
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Erik Winquist, Rodney Burke, Paul Story, Stephen Unterfranz
• Wicked – Pablo Helman, Paul Corbould, Jonathan Fawkner, Anthony Smith