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Film adaptation of Baek Hee-na's 'Magic Candies' shortlisted for Oscar

Published: 08 Jan. 2025, 15:12

LEE JIAN
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Poster of short animation film ″Magic Candies″ (2024) [TOEI ANIMATION]

“Magic Candies” (2024), a Japanese animation based on Korean children’s book author Baek Hee-na’s works, has been shortlisted for an Oscar at this year's Academy Awards.

Directed by Daisuke Nishio and produced by Toei Animation, it was among the 15 nominated works from 13 countries in the awards ceremony’s Best in Short Films list unveiled in December.

The final five nominees in the category will be announced on Jan. 17, with the winner to be revealed during the official ceremony on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Baek Hee-na, children's book author and illustrator [JOONGANG ILBO]

“Magic Candies” is about a boy named Dong-Dong who encounters a magical bag of candies that allows him to hear the thoughts of other people, animals and objects. Running for just over 20 minutes, it is a simple yet quirky, heartwarming movie.

Its plot combines Baek’s books “Magic Candies” (2017) and “I Am a Dog” (2019).

Baek is a veteran picture book artist and was awarded the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2020. With an animation degree from the California Institute of the Arts, Baek is known for her distinct craft of not only drawing her images but also physically sculpting her characters and photographing them under self-designed lighting.