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Short Film Spotlight: Autokar

January 13, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Update: Autokar is currently offline, so here’s the trailer instead. This post will be updated when the short film is online again.

Synopsis: In the 1990s, 8-year-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium. Her perspective transforms the migratory reality into an initiatory experience.

Written and directed by Sylwia Szkiladz.

Animation by Gaspar Chabaud, Evelien De Roeck, Pierre Le Brun, Agathe Sollier, Anne Escot, Ronni Shalev and Dina Hendrick.

Sound by Antonin Vivet, Damien Favreau, Michal Jankowski, Maria Conterno.

Voice cast:
Natalia Wolska as Agata
Anna Seniuk as Female Sparrow
Henryk Niebudek as Grandfather
Elzbieta Gaertner as Grandmother
Marcin Pempus as Bus Driver
Lidia Sadowa as Bat
Barbara Jonak as Mouse and She-wolf
Mariusz Ostrowski Bear
Konrad Beta Father

Short Film Spotlight: Street Race

January 12, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: A large meatheaded man is stopped at a red light next to an innocent baby in a stroller who accidentally taunts and intimidates him into a street race.

Directed by Christopher and Daniel Rutledge.

Story by Christopher Rutledge, Daniel Rutledge and Ryan Ines.

Animated by Tumblehead.

Music by Deaton Chris Anthony.

Short Film Spotlight: The Night Boots

January 11, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: In the middle of the night, while his parents are entertaining friends, a child slips on his wellington boots and sneaks off into the woods. There, a strange solitary creature leads him into the heart of the forest to meet the nocturnal inhabitants.

Written and directed by Pierre-Luc Granjon.

The Night Boots was made using an Alexeïeff-Parker pinscreen named The Epinette, on loan from the French Centre National de la Cinématographie.

Voice cast:
Bernard Bouillon as The Little Creature
Max Granjon as Eliot
Isabel Pitman as Adult
Charlotte Granjon as Adult
Matthew Tyson as Adult
William Rooke as Adult

‘The Ramparts of Ice’ Trailer, Release Date, Synopsis, Cast and Poster: Coming-of-Age Anime Heads to Netflix

January 10, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Release date: April 2, 2026 on Netflix.

Synopsis: The Ramparts of Ice centers around Koyuki Hikawa, a socially withdrawn student who keeps an emotional wall between herself and others. The only person she spends time with is her longtime friend, Miki Azumi.

One day, her quiet life is disrupted when a boy named Minato Amamiya inexplicably starts trying to break through her barriers.

The aloof Koyuki, the high school idol Miki, the overly familiar Minato and the laid-back basketball player Yota share an awkward, occasionally frustrating, yet wholesome student life.

Directed by MANQ.

Written by Yasuhiro Nakanishi.

Based on the manga by Kocha Agasawa.

Music by Kanade Sakuma and Natsumi Tabuchi.

Short Film Spotlight: Shoes and Hooves

January 9, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Intended for mature audiences.

Synopsis: A pedicurist in a small town populated by human-animal hybrids, Paula, the lonely centaur-girl, longs to have human feet.

When she meets Arnold, the handsome crocodile-man, it’s love at first sight. However, both are denying their true selves in an attempt to meet the other’s expectations, and their romantic idyll is soon shattered by conflict.

Paula is faced with a choice: love or self-acceptance?

Directed by Viktória Traub.

Written by Zsuzsanna Bak, Polett Dus and Viktória Traub.

Music by Csaba Kalotás.

Sound by Zoltán Vadon.

Voiced by Eliza Sodró, Erno Fekete, Polett Dus and Dániel Zách.

‘Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom’ Teaser Trailer, Release Date, Synopsis and Voice Cast: GKIDS Acquires U.S. Rights to New Aardman Film

January 8, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Release date: Halloween, 2026.

Synopsis: Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom sees the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm looking forward to Halloween — until the clumsy Farmer trashes the Flock’s beloved pumpkin patch!

When Shaun turns mad scientist to fix the problem, things rapidly spiral out of control… With The Farmer missing and a wild beast roaming the woods of Mossingham, all the ingredients are in place for a monstrously fun adventure.

Directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker.

Written by Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow.

Voice cast:
Justin Fletcher
John Sparkes
Kate Harbour

Short Film Spotlight: It Could Be Any One of Us

January 7, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: A murder-mystery that follows two lovers, Piggie and Clover, whose romantic evening goes awry when a performer is murdered on stage — and Clover is shaping up to be the prime suspect.

Written and directed by Tal Castillo.

Additional writing, color and compositing by Sarah Claymiller.

Composed by Tyler Mire.

Sound Design by Harlow Castillo.

Voice cast:
Juan Cruz III as Piggie
Max Herzfeld as Clover
Kasie Raymer as Frog Performer & Waiter
Justin McElroy as Detective “Broad Cow”

Short Film Spotlight: Equinox

January 6, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: In the heart of China’s snowy forests, Hua, the spring guardian, grows impatient as his moment of glory approaches.

Forcing the course of time, what will happen to him when he confronts the consequences of his haste and faces a stoic winter?

Directed by:
Anissa Cugniet
Adama Diallo Gibert
Marius Joffray
Jérémy Julien
Xia Mellano
Gaëlle Pandraux
Noa Rosa Calatrava
Marama Tatarata
Melissa Unal

Original score by Nicolas Montaigne.

Strings by Marine Bonnetain.

Sound design and mix by Yoann Poncet and José Vicente.

Short Film Spotlight: What Happens Now?

January 5, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: A young boy deals with the aftermath of his grandmother’s burial.

Written and directed by Victoria Basadre.

Sound design by Shane Vincent.

Short Film Spotlight: Leftover Pasta

January 4, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: Caleb is trapped in a video game!! Can Frankie get him out?

Written and directed by Ben Knight.

Art & Visdev help by Jess Ji, EV Knight and Kalynn Lam.

Background Lighting & Paint by Oz Zhang and Esther Zhu

Additional animation by Celine Hung.

Lyrics by EV Knight and Ben Knight.

Orchestration & Music Supervision by Etia Farmiga.

Voice cast:
EV Knight as Frankie
Ben Knight as Caleb
Chris Knight as Toni & Announcer
Julie Simon as Player VO
Fran Krause as Cow Guy

Short Film Spotlight: Dies Irae

January 3, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: A patient expresses fear of flying and death, and a therapist suggests dancing to help.

Written and directed by Victoria Basadre.

Sound design by Shane Vincent.

Sound mix by Daniel Eaton.

Voiced by Sydney Agans and Victoria Basadre.

Short Film Spotlight: Sunny Side

January 2, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: A short film about an insecure culinary student and an overly confident tiny little girl.

Written and directed by:
Isadora Oberg
Enzo Oliveira
Denise Bueno
Alice Loyola

Music by Lucas Martini and Miguel Ribeiro.

Sound Effects by Junior Gonçalves.

Short Film Spotlight: When the Skies are Blue

January 1, 2026 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: A young artist and a child traverse the crystal rain apocalypse in search of… art supplies?

Written and directed by Matthew Lei.

Music by Etia Farmiga.

Sound by Daniel Eaton and Yoonseo Lee.

Voiced cast:
Stacy Sterling as Kaylie
Emily Lane as Taylor

Short Film Spotlight: On Ne Vit Qu’une Fois (You Only Live Once)

December 31, 2025 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: Robert devoted his life to his passion. But life is short.

Directed by Alexandre Barats and Jon Robles Aranguiz.

Music and Sound Design by Jerome Barresi.

Short Film Spotlight: This Is Not an Emergency

December 30, 2025 / The Animation Blog / 0 Comments

Synopsis: Alex and Christy’s night off goes horribly wrong when Christy’s baby brother goes missing. After a long night of searching, all hope is lost… until they hear a familiar sound.

Written and directed by Sydney Agans.

Music by Lewis Tarver.

Sound by Sydney Agans, Daniel Eaton and Shane Vincent.

Voice cast:
Sydney Agans as Alex
Ofre Sparrow Vaknin as Christy
Mimi Rosen as Cody
Lewis Tarver as Stacy, Scary Gary, Hunter
Victoria Basadre as Julie
Judah Esquivel as Coyote

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