On November 21st local time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organizer of the Oscars, announced the list of films eligible to compete for the three awards: Best Documentary Feature, Best International Feature Film, and Best Animated Feature Film. In the Best Animated Feature Film category, 35 films are eligible for an Oscar this year, but surprisingly, *Ne Zha* is not among them. On the other hand, *The Legend of Hei 2* is on the list.
The Paper confirmed with Enlight Media, the producer of "Ne Zha," and China Film Group, the film's North American and Australian distributor, that they did not submit the film for Oscar consideration.
North American poster for "Ne Zha"
The Academy's official website lists the following eligibility criteria for Best Animated Feature Film: the film must be over 40 minutes long; at least 75% of the film's content must be animated; and the film must have been commercially screened in theaters in designated U.S. cities (Los Angeles, New York (5 boroughs), San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta) for at least seven consecutive days, with at least three screenings per day in the same theater.
"Ne Zha 2" meets all three main requirements, so the only remaining possibility is that the North American distributor did not submit it for the 98th Academy Awards' Best Animated Feature category. This speculation has been confirmed by relevant sources.
The absence of "Ne Zha 2" has also puzzled Hollywood media. A report by The Hollywood Reporter specifically pointed out that three films that were originally highly anticipated, "Ne Zha 2", "Paddington 3: Peru Adventure" and "The Smurfs", were not included in the list.
The 35 animated films selected include Netflix's "K-Pop: The Witcher," which has become Netflix's most-watched film of all time; Disney's "Zootopia 2"; and the French animated film "Arco" produced by Neon Pictures.
The Chinese animated film "The Legend of Luo Xiaohei 2" was released in North American theaters on September 5th of this year.
North American poster for "The Legend of Luo Xiaohei 2"
In addition, 86 films are eligible to compete for Best International Film this year, including "Nanjing Photo Studio" and "Breakthrough Hell".
