Dutch animated short film Wander to Wonder is nominated for an Academy Award
The animation film Wander to Wonder by Dutch director Nina Gantz has been nominated for an Academy Award. The film has been nominated for the category Best Animated Short Film, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Thursday.
Wander to Wonder is a stop-motion animation film about three stars of a children’s TV show in the 1980s Mary, Billybud, and Fumbleton. After the creator of the show passes away, they are left alone in the studio. Plagued by hunger and sadness, they soldier on and make increasingly strange episodes for their fans.
The movie premiered in Venice and was nominated for a BAFTA, won a Gouden Kalf, Best Short at the British Independent Film Awards, and was nominated at the European Film Awards. The film was seen by 33,000 people in the Dutch cinemas.
“This is fantastic,” Gantz responded. “We worked on this movie for eight years, and there were so many moments where I thought it would not get completed, so the fact that Wander to Wonder is nominated for an Oscar is really unbelievable! I am so happy that the movie is touching so many people because even though it is a little absurd and dark, in the end, it is about human and real emotions.” Producer Stienette Bosklopper said the nomination is the “cherry on top.”
The last time that a Dutch-made film was nominated for an Academy Award was in 2015. A Single Life made by Job, Joris en Marieke was also nominated for the category of Best Animated Short Film.
Other nominees this year for Best Animated Short Film are Beautiful Men, In The Shadow of the Cypress, Yuck! and Magic Candies.
The Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 2.
Reporting by ANP
