Annecy 2026 preview: 'Minions & Monsters' to open the world's biggest animation festival

The animation world is about to descend on the French Alps. The Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the most important event of its kind on the global calendar, runs from 21 to 27 June 2026, and its line-up promises a week dense with world premieres, studio first looks and high-profile honours. For the industry, Annecy is where the year's animated ambitions are first measured.

The festival opens on 21 June with the world premiere of Pierre Coffin's Minions & Monsters, arriving ahead of its worldwide rollout from 1 July through Universal. Launching with a Minions title underscores both the commercial weight Annecy now carries and the festival's blend of populist spectacle and auteur craft.

Under artistic director Marcel Jean, the 2026 edition continues to press the argument, echoed by figures such as Guillermo del Toro, that animation is film, not a children's genre but a medium in its own right. That ethos runs through a programme that mixes blockbuster previews with experimental shorts and serious retrospectives.

The studio first looks

As ever, the major studios are using Annecy as a launchpad. The slate includes first looks at Disney's Hexed, Pixar's Gatto, and Laika's eagerly awaited Wildwood, alongside Skydance and Netflix's Ray Gunn and an upcoming 1990s-set Ghostbusters animated series for Netflix. The breadth of the showcase reflects how central animation has become to every major streamer and studio's strategy.

Laika carries particular significance this year. President and chief executive Travis Knight is making his first trip to Annecy for a moderated discussion and a dedicated exhibition devoted to Wildwood. The studio is mounting an exhibition titled Wildwood: A First Glimpse into a Handmade World at the Galerie of the Cité, offering attendees an intimate look at the painstaking stop-motion craft for which Laika is renowned.

“Annecy is where the industry decides what it is excited about for the next two years. A first look here can shape a film's entire commercial life.”

— A festival programmer

Honours and headline guests

The festival is also handing out its most prestigious recognitions. Two recipients have been named for the Honorary Cristal lifetime achievement award: the American animator, director and writer Mike Judge, and the stop-motion filmmaking duo the Brothers Quay. Judge, the creator of King of the Hill, is set to present a preview of the show's upcoming 15th season alongside co-creator Greg Daniels and showrunner Saladin K. Patterson.

The guest list extends beyond the honourees, with the broader 2026 programme featuring masterclasses and appearances from major figures across the medium. The festival's mix of commercial muscle and artistic celebration is precisely what gives Annecy its unique standing among film events.

• Festival dates: 21-27 June 2026, Annecy, France
• Opening film: Pierre Coffin's Minions & Monsters, ahead of a 1 July rollout via Universal
• Studio first looks: Disney's Hexed, Pixar's Gatto, Laika's Wildwood, Skydance and Netflix's Ray Gunn
• Laika exhibition: Wildwood: A First Glimpse into a Handmade World at the Galerie of the Cité
• Honorary Cristal recipients: Mike Judge and the Brothers Quay
• King of the Hill Season 15 preview presented by Mike Judge, Greg Daniels and Saladin K. Patterson

Background

Annecy began in 1960 and has grown into the pre-eminent gathering for the animation industry, combining a public festival with a major business market, the MIFA. Over the decades it has served as the launch site for countless acclaimed features and as a barometer of where the art form is heading, from hand-drawn traditions to cutting-edge computer animation. Its competition awards, the Cristals, are among the most coveted honours in the field.

In recent years the festival has navigated the rise of streaming, debates around artificial intelligence in production, and the increasing dominance of a handful of major studios. Marcel Jean's tenure as artistic director has emphasised animation's status as a serious cinematic medium, a framing the 2026 edition continues to advance through both its programming and its rhetoric.

What happens next

Once the festival opens on 21 June, the official competition juries will begin deliberating, with the headline Cristal awards for features and shorts to be decided over the course of the week and announced at its close. Beyond the prizes, the industry will be watching the studio first looks for clues about the next two years of animated filmmaking. For now, Annecy 2026 is poised to deliver its annual reminder that animation sits at the very centre of the modern entertainment business.