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When the Flow cat was seen ostensibly "holding" the Best Animated Feature Oscar at a post-award discussion, the internet burst with laughter and excitement. Fans immediately turned to social media and one comment went viral, perfectly encapsulating the joy on the internet:
“Someone get him a tiny tuxedo for the afterparty!”
This touching moment heightened the excitement of Flow's historic 2025 Academy Awards victory. Gints Zilbalodis, a Latvian animator, directed the short, which became the first Latvian film to win an Oscar. More importantly, it was a turning point for independent animation, demonstrating that a movie produced outside of the conventional Hollywood studio structure could compete with high-profile projects from major players in the market like Disney and Pixar.
The Cat stole the show
Even though the movie's Oscar victory was revolutionary, the internet soon turned its attention to the movie's feline lead. Fans showed their appreciation for the animated cat after an image of it seeming to "hold" the golden trophy appeared during a post-award discussion.
Reactions were all over social media, with many raving about the cute scene. A user jokingly commented,
“Someone get him a tiny tuxedo for the afterparty”
more users chimed in on this, one user added,
"This means the world to me"
another user commented,
"genuinely thought that was so adorable"
while another user joked,
"that's so adorable...they could drop an animation of flow playing his #Oscar"
"Absolutely loved that little detail!!!!"-added another user
Flow's unconventional journey to the Oscars
In contrast to its rivals, Flow was made with the open-source program Blender and had a very small budget of about 3.4 million dollar projects it was competing against. The movie narrates the moving story of a solitary cat surviving in a post-flood world by working together with a variety of animals, such as a secretary bird, a dog, a capybara, and a lemur.
Working with a small group of freelance animators, Zilbalodis spent years making his vision a reality. His distinct storytelling technique and animation style enthralled viewers worldwide, making the movie a fan favorite before its eventual Oscars victory.
Zilbalodis thanked everyone during his award speech, saying,
“I’m really moved by the warm reception our film has had. I hope this win opens doors for independent animation filmmakers around the world."
He continued,
"This is the first time a film from Latvia has ever been nominated, so it truly means a lot to us. We hope to be back soon.”
A new era for animation?
Flow's win is especially noteworthy as it continues the domination of independent animated movies winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar for the third time in a row.
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Independent films like Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2023) and The Boy and the Heron (2024) have taken the title in recent years, indicating a move away from commercial franchises and toward acknowledging animation as an art form.
With the movie competing against Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Inside Out 2, Moana 2, and The Wild Robot, the competition was intense. Despite the predictions of many industry experts that The Wild Robot would win, Flow's emotional depth and distinctive visual narrative won over voters.
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