Oscars 2021: Soul Wins Best Animated Movie

The 93rd Academy Awards took place tonight and after a year that saw delays and new challenges due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Hollywood came together to celebrate the best in film for the previous year, including animated film. This year, Soul wins the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, beating out four other critically-acclaimed nominees, Onward, Over the Moon, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, and Wolfwalkers. This year marks the first time two Pixar films have been nominated in this category in the same year.

Soul follows Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a middle-school band teacher who finally gets his “big break” with a gig playing at the best jazz club in town only to have a tragic accident that sends him to The Great Before — a place beyond the realm of the living where new souls get their personalities, interests, and quirks in preparation to come to Earth. Joe ends up pairing up with the soul 22 (Tina Fey) who doesn’t understand the appeal of the human experience and Joe ends up trying to show 22 what’s great about life while learning the answers to some of life’s most important questions in the process.

The 93rd Academy Awards telecast is a bit different than in previous years. Not only taking place a few months after the originally set date of February 28th, the in-person telecast was broadcast from multiple locations – Los Angeles Union Station and the Dolby Theater. Even with the event being in-person, attendance was limited with not many people allowed at the event unless they are a nominee, guest of a nominee, or a presenter.

“In this unique year that has asked so much of so many, the Academy is determined to present an Oscars like none other, while prioritizing the public health and safety of all those who will participate. To create the in-person show our global audience wants to see while adapting to the requirements of the pandemic, the ceremony will broadcast live from multiple locations, including the landmark Dolby Theatre. We look forward to sharing more details soon,” an AMPAS spokesperson shared in a statement when announcing the changes earlier this year.

What do you think about Soul winning Best Animated Feature at this year’s Academy Awards? Let us know in the comments.