Korean animated film 'Red Shoes' competes with 26 others for Oscars

A still from the Korean animated film “Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs” / Courtesy of SIDUS

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The homegrown animated movie “Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs” made it onto a preliminary list of nominations for Best Animated Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, becoming the first Korean animation movie to achieve such a feat.

It will compete for the final list of Oscar nominations along with 26 other animated movies.

“Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs” directed by Hong Sung-ho revolves around a group of heroic princes known as the Fearless Seven who save a fairy princess from a dragon.

The movie attracted some 820,000 viewers in Korea in 2019.

It was screened in 129 countries, including the U.S. and Australia, and topped the box office in Spain.

SIDUS studio said it was an honor for the film to make the cut for the Oscars, as it meant a lot to be selected, albeit in the preliminary round, to compete for Best Animated Feature along with 26 other candidates. “If we keep knocking on the door of the Oscars, I think the day will come sooner or later when we reach the highest level,” a Sidus producer said in a media interview.

It remains to be seen whether the animation will win the Oscar; but it will be an uphill battle, mainly because of the competition with several of the strongest candidates including “Soul” and “Wolfwalkers.”