The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, has announced the
nominations for its 42nd Annual Annie Awards. The Annies recognize the year’s best in the field of animation.
The Annie Awards were created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray. While not at the status level of the Oscars or even the Golden Globes, the Annie Awards are eagerly sought by those in the industry because they only choose among animation projects.
There are eight films nominated for Best Animated Feature. There are no real surprises, the only semi-surprise would be the inclusion of 'Cheatin',' but it probably has no chance against the big studios (now watch me be proven wrong). This category is pretty much the only one that people outside the industry notice:
- Big Hero 6 (Walt Disney Animation Studios),
- Cheatin’ (Plymptoons Studio),
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (DreamWorks Animation SKG),
- Song of the Sea (Cartoon Saloon/GKIDS),
- The Book of Life (Reel FX),
- The Boxtrolls (Laika/Focus Features),
- The LEGO Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures),
- The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (Studio Ghibli/GKIDS).
Otherwise, the nominations are not too surprising. Someone dropping in from Mars and having missed the last twelve months might be slightly surprised at how poorly some highly touted sequels did - '
Rio 2' and 'Penguins of Madagascar' spring to mind, for instance - and also at the weak showing overall by DreamWorks Animation. However, that effect is pretty subtle, because the DreamWorks banner was upheld nicely by 'How to Train Your Dragon 2.' That one mildly underperforming sequel (by some measures) makes their year appear to be a lot better than it really was with disasters such as '
Mr. Peabody & Sherman' and what already appears to be a weak showing from 'Penguins' as well.
'The Lego Movie' nabbed a top nomination, but otherwise, the nominators were unimpressed. In terms of the shorts, the voting looks to narrow down between '
Coda' and '
Feast,' with 'Coda' the quality favorite but 'Feast' benefitting from the Disney machine (though that didn't help its short entry last year). '
Duet' is a fantastic short, but doesn't seem to have grabbed the Zeitgeist this year.
Otherwise, the year is wide open, at least as compared to 2013 (with '
Frozen') and 2012 (with the weak but pc-favorite '
Brave.') This may be in large part due to the fact that Pixar did not release any films in 2014 since their releases often dominate the awards season.
Favorites? Look for 'Big Hero 6' and 'Coda' to eke out wins. But 'Big Hero 6' is a very, very weak favorite; while Disney hasn't said it is underperforming, the lack of positive headlines about it since its release speaks volumes. While not a disappointment, 'Hero' is not a game-changing world-beater like 'Frozen,' either - but then, what is? 'Coda,' a huge fan favorite, suffers from being a foreign entry, but it has enough support to mount at the very least a strong challenge to whoever wins. The Irish should be smiling.
The winners will be announced at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, January 31st, 2015 at UCLA’s Royce Hall at 7:00 pm.
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'Frozen' was the big winner last year |
The Annies are recognizing video game animation more and more, which is a nice bow toward the real world. Video game animation is in many ways the cutting edge of the entire field, with all due respect to CGI and its constant development (which, incidentally, is almost as old as the Annies themselves if you go all the way back to 'Westworld').
According to ASIFA-Hollywood Executive Director, Frank Gladstone:
“We had a steady increase in submissions this year and I am excited to say it’s going to be a great awards ceremony. We added a new category to the mix – Best Character Animation in a Video Game – bringing the total Annie categories (including Juried awards) to 36. The Annies are a true celebration of the best talent in the animation industry, from big studio features to indie films, television series to internet shows, games, shorts and student films alike, as well as a wonderful group of juried award recipients again this year.”
#1 Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cheatin'
Plymptoons Studio
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Song of the Sea
GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
The Book of Life
Reel FX
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
The LEGO Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
GKIDS/Studio Ghibli
#2 Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Voyager Pictures LLC
Dawn of the Dragon Racers
DreamWorks Animation
How Murray Saved Christmas
Universal Television
Polariffic
Bent Image Lab
Toy Story That Time Forgot
Pixar Animation Studios
#3 Best Animated Short Subject
Coda
62 George Street
Duet
Glen Keane Productions
Feast
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Inside Homer - The Simpsons Couch Gag (Episode #549)
Acme Filmworks
Me and My Moulton
National Film Board of Canada
Silent
Moonbot/Dolby (Creative Artists Agency)
The Dam Keeper
Tonko House LLC
The Raven
Moonbot Studios
#4 Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial
Citizen M: "Swan Song"
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
Flight of the Stories
Aardman Animations
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
Plastic Wax
#5 Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
Doc McStuffins
Disney Channel / Disney XD
Peter Rabbit
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Tumble Leaf
Amazon Studios
Wallykazam!
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Zack & Quack
Zodiak Kids
#6 Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For a Children's Audience
Adventure Time
Cartoon Network
Gravity Falls
Disney Television Animation
Legend of Korra
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Over The Garden Wall
Cartoon Network
Wander Over Yonder
Disney Television Animation
#7 Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Archer
FX Networks
Back To Backspace
Cartoon Network Studios
Bob's Burgers
Bento Box Entertainment
Rick and Morty
Starburns Industries, Inc.
Mike Tyson Mysteries
Warner Bros. Animation
Regular Show
Cartoon Network Studios
The Simpsons
#8 Best Video Game
Forza Horizon 2
Microsoft - Turn 10 Studios
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Ubisoft
Child of Light
Ubisoft
#9 Best Student Film
After School
Junyi Xiao
Dead Over Heels
Jose Matheu
El Coyote
Javier Barboza
Frog's Legs
Katie Tamboer
My Big Brother
Jason Rayner
Tiny Nomad
Toniko Pantoja
Achievement Categories
#10 Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
James Jackson, Lucas Janin, Tobin Jones, Baptiste Van Opstal, Jason Mayer
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
DreamWorks Animation
Fangwei Lee, Krzysztof Rost, Jihyun Yoon, Robert Chen
Penguins of Madagascar
DreamWorks Animation
Mitul Patel, Nicolas Delbecq, Santosh Khedkar, Yash Argawal
The Book of Life
Reel FX
Augusto Schillaci, Erich Turner, Bill Konersman, Chris Rasch, Joseph Burnette
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Rick Sevy, Peter Vickery, Kent Estep, Peter Stuart, Ralph Procida
The LEGO Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
Jayandera Danappal, Matt Ebb, Christian Epunan Hernandez, Danielle Brooks, Raphael Gadot
#11 Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Edge of Tomorrow
Sony Pictures Imageworks
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist
Noah
Industrial Light & Magic
Raul Essig, Karin Cooper, Rick Hankins, Owen Calouro
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Sony Pictures Imageworks
Charles-Felix Chabert, Daniel La Chapelle, Spencer Lueders, Klaus Seitschek, Chris Messineo
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Weta Digital
Areito Echevarria, Andreas Soderstrom, Ronnie Menahem, Christoph Sprenger, Kevin Romond
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Industrial Light & Magic
Michael Balog, Jim Van Allen, Rick Hankins, John Hansen
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Digital Domain
Jeremy Hampton, Daniel Stern, Edmond Smith III, Hiroshi Tsubokawa, Daniel Jenkins
#12 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Toy Story That Time Forgot
Pixar Animation Studios
Don Crum
Toy Story That Time Forgot
Pixar Animation Studios
Carlo Vogele
Toy Story That Time Forgot
Pixar Animation Studios
Ken Kim
Tumble Leaf
Amazon Studios
Michael Granberry
Tumble Leaf
Amazon Studios
Teresa Drilling
Wander Over Yonder
Disney Television Animation
Justin Nichols
#13 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Fabio Lignini
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Steven "Shaggy" Hornby
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Thomas Grummt
Penguins of Madagascar
DreamWorks Animation
Ravi Kamble
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Travis Knight
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Malcolm Lamont
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features
Jason Stalman
#14 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Weta Digital
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic
Guardians of the Galaxy
Framestore
Kevin Spruce, Dale Newton, Sidney Kombo, Chris Mullins, Brad Silby
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Weta Digital
Eric Reynolds, David Clayton, Andreja Vuckovic, Guillaume Francois, Gios Johnston
#15 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game
Assassin's Creed Unity
Ubisoft
Mike Mennillo
Don't Starve: Console Edition
Klei Entertainment Inc.
Child Of Light
Ubisoft
Alex Drouin
#16 Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Disney Television Animation
Andy Suriano
Wander Over Yonder
Disney Television Animation
Benjamin Balistreri
Welcome to the Wayne
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Zac Gorman
#17 Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Shiyoon Kim, Jin Kim
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
DreamWorks Animation
Timothy Lamb, Joe Moshier
Penguins of Madagascar
DreamWorks Animation
Craig Kellman, Joe Moshier, Stevie Lewis, Todd Kurosawa
Rio 2
Blue Sky Studios
Sang Jun Lee, Jason Sadler, José Manuel Fernandez Oli
Song of the Sea
GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
Tomm Moore, Marie Thorhauge, Sandra Anderson, Rosa Ballester Cabo
The Book of Life
Reel FX
Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Mike Smith
#18 Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Adventure Time
Cartoon Network
Yuasa Masaaki, Eunyoung Choi
Archer
FX Networks
Bryan Fordney
Bob's Burgers
Bento Box Entertainment
Jennifer Coyle & Bernard Derriman
Disney Mickey Mouse
Disney Television Animation
Aaron Springer
Gravity Falls
Disney Television Animation
Rob Renzetti
Over The Garden Wall
Cartoon Network
Robert Alvarez, Ken Bruce, Larry Leichliter
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
Matthew Nastuk
Wander Over Yonder
Disney Television Animation
David Thomas
#19 Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Don Hall & Chris Williams
Cheatin'
Plymptoons Studio
Bill Plympton
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Dean DeBlois
Song of the Sea
GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
Tomm Moore
The Book of Life
Reel FX
Jorge R. Gutierrez
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Anthony Stacchi & Graham Annable
The LEGO Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, Directors; Chris McKay, Co-Director
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
GKIDS/Studio Ghibli
Isao Takahata
#20 Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Disney Television Animation
Christopher Willis
Dora and Friends: Into the City!
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Peter Lurye, George Gabriel, Chris Gifford
Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu
Jam
Jay Vincent, Michael Kramer, Jeppe Riddervold, Erin Chapman
Marvel's Avengers Assemble
Dynamic Music Partners
Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter & Michael McCuistion
Tumble Leaf
Amazon Studios
Nathan Barr & Lisbeth Scott
#21 Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production
Cheatin'
Plymptoons Studio
Nicole Renaud, Composer
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
John Powell, Jónsi
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
DreamWorks Animation
Danny Elfman
Song of the Sea
GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
Bruno Coulais & Kila
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
GKIDS/Studio Ghibli
Joe Hisaishi
#22 Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Voyager Pictures LLC
Kara Vallow, Brent Woods, Lucas Gray & Andrew Brandou
Disney Mickey Mouse
Disney Television Animation
Joseph Holt
Mickey Shorts
Disney
Narina Sokolova
The Powerpuff Girls
Cartoon Network
Kevin Dart, Chris Turnham, Jasmin Lai & Elle Michalka
Turbo FAST
DreamWorks Animation
Antonio Canobbio, Khang Le, Mark Taihei, Howard Chen & Brandon Cuellar
Wander Over Yonder
Disney Television Animation
Alex Kirwan, Chris Tsirigotis, Alexander Duckworth, Janice Kubo & Francis Giglio
Zack & Quack
Zodiak Kids
Erez Gavish
#23 Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
DreamWorks Animation
David James, Ruben Perez, Priscilla Wong, Timothy Lamb & Alexandre Puvilland
Song of the Sea
GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
Adrien Merigeau
The Book of Life
Reel FX
Simon Varela & Paul Sullivan
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure & August Hall
The LEGO Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
Grant Freckelton
#24 Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Disney Television Animation
Heiko Drengenberg
Gravity Falls
Disney Television Animation
Luke Weber, Alonso Ramirez Ramos, Neil Graf & Steve Heneveld
Legend of Korra
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Joaquim Dos Santos
Star Wars Rebels
Disney Channel / Disney XD
Nathaniel Villanueva & Douglas Lovelace
The Simpsons
Film Roman
Brad Ableson, Matthew Faughnan & Stephen Reis
Toy Story That Time Forgot
Pixar Animation Studios
Louise Smythe
Wander Over Yonder
Disney Television Animation
Mark Ackland
#25 Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Marc E. Smith
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Truong "Tron" Son Mai
Planes: Fire & Rescue
Disneytoon Studios
Piero Peluso
Rio 2
Blue Sky Studios
John Hurst
Rio 2
Blue Sky Studios
Rodrigo Castro
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features
Julian Nariño
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Emanuela Cozzi
#26 Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Disney Television Animation
Bill Farmer as the voices of Goofy and Grandma
Fairly Oddparents
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Carlos Alazaraqui as the voice of Crocker
Robot Chicken
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
Seth Green as the voice of Robot Chicken Nerd
#27 Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Henry & Me
Reveal Animation Studios
Cyndi Lauper as the voice of Nurse Cyndi
Rio 2
Blue Sky Studios
Andy Garcia as the voice of Eduardo
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of Fish
#28 Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Disney Television Animation
Darrick Bachman
The Powerpuff Girls
Cartoon Network
Dave Tennant, David P. Smith, Chris Mitchell & Will Mata
The Simpsons
20th Century Fox
Rob LaZebnik
The Simpsons
20th Century Fox
Tim Long
Toy Story That Time Forgot
Pixar Animation Studios
Steve Purcell
#29 Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson & Jordan Roberts
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Dean DeBlois
Song of the Sea
GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
Will Collins
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
Irena Brignull & Adam Pava
The Lego Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
#30 Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Disney Television Animation
Illya Owens
Dragons: Defenders of Berk
DreamWorks Animation Television
Ernesto Matamoros
Family Guy
Super 78
Mike Elias
Toy Story That Time Forgot
Pixar Animation Studios
David Suther, Bradley Furnish & David Condolora
Turbo FAST
DreamWorks Animation
Todd Raleigh & Doug Vito
#31 Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Tim Mertens
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
John K. Carr
Planes: Fire & Rescue
Disneytoon Studios
Dan Molina, Mark Keefer & Karen Hathaway
Song of the Sea
GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
Darragh Byrne
The LEGO Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
David Burrows, Todd Hansen, Doug Nicholas, Jonathan Tappin & Courtney O'Brien-Brown
Juried Awards
The Winsor McCay Award - For Lifetime Achievement
Didier Brunner, Don Lusk and Lee Mendelson
The June Foray Award - for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation
Charles Solomon
The Ub Iwerks Award – for technical advancement that has made a significant impact on the art or industry of animation
DreamWorks Animation's Apollo Software
Special Achievement Award - recognizing the unique and significant impact on the art and industry of animation.
The Walt Disney Family Museum
2020