Here are some of the films that made an incredible year for feature animation in 2017

The year that just ended was a remarkably solid year for animated feature releases in the United States, which is why it's downright bizarre to hear some film critics and animation fans claim that it was a weak year for animated filmmaking.

Carlos Aguilar and Conor Holt of the One Week Only podcast were so impressed with last year's animation output that they created an elegant compilation video to highlight 16 of last year's finest U.S. theatrical animation releases:

“2017 was NOT a weak year for animation,” they write in the video description. “If you look beyond mainstream releases, it was a year with plenty of innovative and daring storytelling within the medium.”

They go on to explain why the films they chose for the video are worthy of inclusion:

And that's not all – Aguilar and Holt also dedicated an episode of their podcast to the 26 animated features that were submitted for this year's Oscar's race. It's so incredibly refreshing to listen to people who are passionate and knowledgeable about the Academy's animated feature category. Give them a listen below: