2026 Oscar predictions: best animated feature

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“Arco,” boasting a starry cast and an Oscar-winning producer (Natalie Portman), is the second and final consensus pick in the first round of the BuzzMeter. It has nearly twice as many points as runner-up “Elio,” yet the panel doesn’t describe it as a dominant front-runner.

“There’s no big dog in this year’s animation race,” says Amy Nicholson. “So there’s room for this colorful French-made time-travel cartoon (‘Arco’) to steal a win.” Dave Karger writes, “Without a true critical and commercial smash from a major studio so far, this race seems ripe for the inclusion of films by smaller distributors or foreign countries, notably ‘Arco.’ ”

But the buzziest contender, at least in terms