Ernest & Celestine, the animated film by Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier and Benjamin Renner, has just carried off the prestigious Award for Best Animated Feature Film presented by LAFCA, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, at its annual ceremony.

LAFCA is one of the most influential film critics’ associations in the United States. So, this award, which puts the film ahead of The Wind Rises by the famous Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, is particularly significant as part of the campaign for the Oscars.

Ernest & Celestine is one of the 19 animated feature films shortlisted in the race for the Best Animated Film Oscar, for which the 86th ceremony will be held on 2nd March next in Los Angeles. These include: the new films by Japanese directors Hayao Miyazaki (The Wind Rises) and Hiroyuki Okiura (A Letter to Momo) and by Korean Yeun Sang-Ho (The Fake), Franco-American Despicable Me 2, and Americans The Croods, The Smurfs 2, Monster University and Snow Queen.

This LAFCA award is also synonymous with very good reviews for the release of the film in the United States. Distributed by Gkids, which specialises in animated films, the American version of the film stars the voices of Forest Whitaker (Ernest) and the young Mackenzie Foy (Twilight: Revelations), who lends her voice to Celestine. The cast also includes Paul Giamatti and Lauren Bacall.

What’s more, Ernest & Celestine has also been shortlisted in the Best Animated Film category at the Golden Globes. Unveiled during the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2012, Ernest & Celestine is a co-production of Belgium (La Parti Production), France (Les Armateurs) and Luxembourg (Mélusine) and is backed by the Film and Audiovisual Centre of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.