The Oscars’ nominees for animated feature film have been revealed and the films are: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; Marcel the Shell with Shoes On; Puss in Boots: The Last Wish; The Sea Beast; and Turning Red. I can’t say I’ve seen all five films, but I have watched three. I found Turning Red to be underwhelming, Pinocchio to be good, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish to be, surprisingly enough, one of my favorite films of all time. Naturally, the latter is my favorite to win.

When it comes to this category, I’d say that story and animation are both very important, which is a large part of why I enjoyed Puss in Boots: The Last Wish so much. The film balances a phenomenal story with stunning animation. The plot of the film is surprisingly heartwarming and human for a movie about a talking cat. The film deals with themes of found family but also themes of fear and death, and delivers a story that is equal parts emotional and harrowing. It builds on the previous film perfectly by taking a deeper dive into Puss’s character and transforming the flamboyant and cocky protagonist into a character that it’s scarily easy to relate to.

From an animation perspective, the movie is in a league of its own. Well, maybe not quite, as it actually takes a page from Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse, another of the greatest animated films of all time. For most scenes, the film utilizes a bright and vibrant painted artstyle that’s gorgeous to look at. But, during action scenes, the movie switches to a choppier style with less frame and an almost 2D feel similar to Spideverse’s animation. The frame drop, while seeming like a negative on paper, actually highlights the most important frames and augments the film’s intensity to great degrees.

This year’s Oscars will likely be a tight race considering the films listed. However, I truly hope that Puss in Boots: The Last Wish snags the win.