How independent animated films like Oscar winner Flow are taking on Pixar and DreamWorks

Flow, directed by Gints Zilbalodis, is part of a wave of non-Hollywood animated films telling hard-hitting stories aimed at adult audiences

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A screen grab from Flow, the Oscar-winning animated film from independent director Gints Zilbalodis. Films like his are challenging the lavishly funded animated productions of Hollywood studios.

Published: 6:15pm, 1 Apr 2025

When director Gints Zilbalodis accepted his Oscar last month for his ethereal new animated film Flow, he thanked his parents and his “cats and dogs” – fitting, given that the charming cartoon follows a feline and other animals as they survive a huge flood.

Then he added a rallying cry for the industry: “I’m really moved by the warm reception our film has had … and I hope that it will open doors to independent animation filmmakers around the world.”

Flow’s success in beating huge American studio animations like Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot to the Academy Award, and the Golden Globe back in January, will surely be encouraging to other animators outside Hollywood.

Made in Latvia for US$3.7 million (HK$28.8 million), Flow has grossed over 10 times that in ticket sales to date. Perhaps it helps that the dialogue-free fable transcends language barriers, but it is almost impossible to imagine Pixar or DreamWorks creating something this mystical.

Without realising it, Zilbalodis may already have his wish, for 2025 seems to be the year of independent animation.

Flow’s fellow Oscar nominee Memoir of a Snail is a melancholic masterpiece, the Australian-made tale of Grace (voiced by Sarah Snook) and Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee), twins living in 1970s Melbourne who are separated after being orphaned.