In a category with strong competitors, the Oscar was delivered, as expected, to “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”, distributed by Apple TV +, with executive production by J.J. Abrams.

Backstage at the ceremony, writer-director Charlie Mackesy praised the other nominees in response to a question from Lusa.

“The other movies are extraordinary and I loved watching them. And I met all [the filmmakers],” said Mackesy. "One of the brilliant things about being at the Oscars is meeting other filmmakers and hearing them talk about their films, the animation and actors are extraordinary."

The short was based on the story written by Mackesy and had a team of over a hundred animators, a powerful setup when compared to the two animators who created “Ice Merchants”.

Gonzalez said the nomination of “Ice Merchants” was already a victory and producer Bruno Caetano highlighted the number of people who saw and praised the short, including Disney animation legend, Glen Keane, who moderated a panel with the Portuguese at the Oscars Week.

“Ice Merchants” was the first Portuguese film to be nominated for the Oscars and received support from the Ministry of Culture for the promotion campaign in Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the Academy ceremony. It was produced by the Portuguese cooperative Cola Animation, in co-production with France and the United Kingdom, and had a budget of around 100,000 euros.

The 95th Academy Awards ceremony took place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.