diff --git a/src/demux/anim_decode.c b/src/demux/anim_decode.c
index 3dcacc35..b236ceb5 100644
--- a/src/demux/anim_decode.c
+++ b/src/demux/anim_decode.c
@@ -87,11 +87,19 @@ WebPAnimDecoder* WebPAnimDecoderNewInternal(
     int abi_version) {
   WebPAnimDecoderOptions options;
   WebPAnimDecoder* dec = NULL;
+  WebPBitstreamFeatures features;
   if (webp_data == NULL ||
       WEBP_ABI_IS_INCOMPATIBLE(abi_version, WEBP_DEMUX_ABI_VERSION)) {
     return NULL;
   }
 
+  // Validate the bitstream before doing expensive allocations. The demuxer may
+  // be more tolerant than the decoder.
+  if (WebPGetFeatures(webp_data->bytes, webp_data->size, &features) !=
+      VP8_STATUS_OK) {
+    return NULL;
+  }
+
   // Note: calloc() so that the pointer members are initialized to NULL.
   dec = (WebPAnimDecoder*)WebPSafeCalloc(1ULL, sizeof(*dec));
   if (dec == NULL) goto Error;