Apple’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Wins Oscar for Best Animated Short Film

Apple Original Film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse was recognized at the 95th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles last night. The short film based on Charlie Mackesy’s book won the Oscar for ‘Best Animated Short Film’.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is adapted from Mackesy’s 2019 illustrated book of the same name. The book is comprised of 128 pages and tells the story of The Boy and his journey through the woods. Along the way, The Boy meets Mole, Fox, and Horse who all form a bond of friendship. The illustrated book became a bestseller with over 250,000 copies sold in early 2020.

In October 2022, Apple announced it would distribute the adaptation of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse as an Apple Original Film internationally. However, in the U.K., BBC was given distribution rights. The short film then debuted on Apple TV+ on December 25th, 2022.

“We are so proud of Charlie and the brilliant team who brought The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse to the screen and we sincerely thank the Academy for tonight’s recognition,” said Zack Van Amburg, Apple’s head of Worldwide Video said in a press release. “This powerful story has deeply affected audiences around the world and has shown that no matter what age you are or where you live, it’s never too late to spread more compassion, empathy, and kindness in our daily lives. Congratulations to everyone involved, including our teams across the globe. We are all celebrating with you tonight.”

The win for The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse comes a year after Apple made Academy Awards history last year. In 2022, Apple won three Oscars for CODA. Apple was awarded ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Troy Kotsur, and ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ for Siân Heder.

Apple states that to date, it has earned 345 wins and 1,421 award nominations for its Apple Original Films, series, and documentaries. This includes many received by multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy Ted Lasso and Oscar Best Picture winner CODA.