Oscars 2022: Encanto Wins Best Animated Feature

By Adam Barnhardt

The 94th Academy Awards are underway Sunday night, celebrating the brightest films and stars over the past year. With a few major changes in store, including a category where fans were able to vote on a favorite film, others remained standard—including the Best Animated Feature. Despite the global pandemic still having an impact on box officers around the world, the past year has seen a group of exceptional animated features released.

This time around, Disney had the best odds at winning the award, due to the studio's three entries in the category: Encanto (Walt Disney Animation), Luca (Pixar), and Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Animation). The other two nominees included Danish indie film Flee, and Sony Pictures Animation's The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Surprising few, this year's winner for Best Animated Feature ended up being Encanto.

After the exceptional response to Encanto, most have figured the film would lead itself to a follow-up, if not an entire franchise. Encanto director Jared Bush even teased a sequel in a tweet.

"I'm asked a LOT if there'll be more #Encanto – movies, TV, Theater, etc," Bush wrote on Twitter. "I'll say this, it was always our dream, but the real deciders are the fans who found themselves in this story, who saw their family in ours, who chose to spend time with the Madrigals... and want to again.🙏" Fan response to the cryptic tweet ranged from the eager, "LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO," to the desperate, "i need more..i've been screenshotting every frame in desperation for more content." Considering this tweet and Chapek's previous statement, EncanTWO seems like a foregone conclusion, but when we might get an announcement remains to be seen. 

Encanto tells the story of a young Colombian woman named Mirabel, who is part of the magical Madrigal family. Everyone in her family is given a special "gift" when they're young, but Mirabel never received one, leading her to question her place in the Madrigal legacy. The film is directed by Bush and Byron Howard, with Charise Castro Smith serving as co-director. Bush and Castro Smith wrote the screenplay. Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda helped come up with the story for Encanto and wrote new music for the film. 

Encanto is now streaming on Disney+.

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