WARNING: The following contains minor spoilers for Soul, now available on Disney+, as well as Wolfwalkers, now available on Apple TV+.

The world of modern animation is full of impressive creative voices and uniquely designed worlds, each vying for recognition and connection with the greater audience. The Academy Awards are typically a good place to look for the globe's most impressive animated features, and this year they have the chance to award either a veteran studio that's already earned multiple Oscars over the years or recognize the amazing piece of art from one of animation's best up-and-coming groups. While Soul could be considered a front-runner, the sheer craft, spectacle and emotion of Wolfwalkers should elevate it beyond the Pixar film in the minds of all audiences -- especially Academy members.

Soul focuses on Joe Gardner, a jazz musician who, upon getting the chance to join a famous band, ends up in a coma. With his soul passing into the Great Beyond, Joe works with a cynical, unborn soul, 22, from the neighboring Great Before to find his way back to Earth. Along the way, he gets the chance to show 22 all the little things that make life worth living, so the pair gain a new appreciation for life.

RELATED: What Was Joe's REAL Purpose Before and After He Died?

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By most metrics, Soul is an impressive film and a worthy addition to the Pixar canon. It's beautifully animated and thought-provoking in a way few animated films can muster. It's also a surprisingly mature tale about the trials of living and what it means to find passion.

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However, it has a slightly convoluted and metaphysical view of the afterlife, presenting much more of an intellectual headache than the more visceral, understandable and lived-in afterlife of something like Coco. Soul is also far more concerned with its ideas than its characters, who can feel basic at their very core. Soul is great, but it's not perfect -- and certainly not the best Pixar film, falling somewhere behind the likes of Wall-E, Coco and Toy Story in terms of impression.

Meanwhile, Wolfwalkers centers around Robyn, a young girl in 1650 Ireland and the daughter of a local wolf-hunter. Robyn soon finds herself conflicted after meeting the wild, adventurous Mebh, a girl who lives in the forest with her mother and wolfpack. The two strike up an unlikely friendship, which is complicated when it's revealed that Mebh and her mother are Wolfwalkers, mystical people capable of transforming into a wolf when asleep. As her father and the town leaders prepare to wipe out all the local wolves, Robyn is forced to rebel to save her newfound friends.

Wolfwalkers, the latest film by Cartoon Saloon, is arguably its most impressive feat yet. The Secret of the Kells and Song of the Sea are both beautifully animated and full of natural charm and adventure, but they're somewhat aimless in terms of plot and characters. That's not a problem with Wolfwalkers, which grounds the mysticism and world with the plight of two girls trying to protect their families and make their own way in the world.

RELATED: Soul Breaks A MAJOR Pixar Tradition

It's a highly engaging film, and one that never loses steam throughout the runtime. Wolfwalkers is passionate in a way the more heady Soul isn't, taking audiences on a massive journey that touches on the plight of young women in this era, as well as men who are trapped by duty; however, it shows how people can grow to be better humans.

Wolfwalkers is also stunning to behold, with a fluid, hand-drawn feeling of motion and action, giving it a natural energy that Soul's mix of abstract and realistic animation can't match. At it's best, Wolfwalkers feels reminiscent of both Studio Ghibli and Disney Animation, all while looking unique. It's also similar to the style of Cartoon Saloon's previous films, while still feeling grand and new in its own right. Cartoon Saloon has not yet earned an Oscar for its impressive catalog, but Wolfwalkers is the perfect film to award that honor and cement the studio as a leading artistic voice in animation.

Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, Soul stars Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs and Angela Bassett. The film is now available to stream on Disney+. Wolfwalkers features the voices of Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, Tommy Tiernan, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jon Kenny, John Morton and Oliver McGrath. It is currently streaming on Apple TV+

KEEP READING: Soul Producer Explains Why The Pixar Film Feels More Timely Than Ever