The Annie Awards Honor Soul

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I think it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Soul is going to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film. I’m not complaining because I really, really liked Soul. (I also really liked Farmageddon but, sadly, there can only be one winner.) That said, if Soul needed a boost, it certainly got one from the Annie Awards last night.

The Annie Awards reward the best in animation. Here are their 2020 winners:

Best Feature
Onward
Soul
The Croods: A New Age
The Willoughbys
Trolls World Tour

Best Indie Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Calamity Jane
On-Gaku: Our Sound
Ride Your Wave
Wolfwalkers

Best FX for Feature
Over the Moon
Soul
The Croods: A New Age
Trolls World Tour
Wolfwalkers

Best Character Animation – Feature
Onward
Soul
The Croods: A New Age
The Willoughbys
Wolfwalkers

Best Character Design – Feature
Soul
The Croods: A New Age
The Willoughbys
Trolls World Tour
Wolfwalkers

Best Direction – Feature
Calamity Jane – Rémi Chayé
Over the Moon – Glen Keane
Ride Your Wave – Masaaki Yuasa
Soul – Pete Docter & Kemp Powers
Wolfwalkers – Tomm Moore & Ross Stewart

Best Music – Feature
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
The Willoughbys
Wolfwalkers

Best Production Design – Feature
Onward
Soul
The Willoughbys
Trolls World Tour
Wolfwalkers

Best Storyboarding – Feature
Earwig and the Witch
Over the Moon
Soul
The Croods: A New Age
Wolfwalkers

Best Voice Acting – Feature
Earwig and the Witch – Vanessa Marshall (Bella Yaga)
Onward – Tom Holland (Ian Lightfoot)
Over the Moon – Robert G. Chiu (Chin)
The Croods: A New Age, – Nicolas Cage (Grug)
Wolfwalkers – Eva Whittaker (Mebh Óg MacTíre)

Best Writing – Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon – Mark Burton & Jon Brown
Onward – Dan Scanlon, Jason Headley & Keith Bunin
Over the Moon – Audrey Wells
Soul – Pete Docter, Mike Jones & Kemp Powers
Wolfwalkers – Will Collins

Best Editorial – Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Calamity Jane
Onward
Soul
The Willoughbys

Here Are The 2020 Annie Nominations!

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The annual Annie Awards honor the best in animation. The winners will be announced on April 16th and you can find the nominees below:

Best Feature
Onward, Pixar Animation Studios

Soul, Pixar Animation Studios

The Croods: A New Age, DreamWorks Animation

The Willoughbys, Netflix Presents A BRON Animation Production in association with Creative Wealth Media

Trolls World Tour, DreamWorks Animation

Best Indie Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Studiocanal and Aardman present in association with Anton Capital Entertainment, an Aardman Production for Netflix

Calamity Jane, Maybe Movies

On-Gaku: Our Sound, Rock’n Roll Mountain, Tip Top, GKIDS

Ride Your Wave, Science SARU / GKIDS

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS

Best Special Production
Baba Yaga, Baobab Studios

Libresse / Bodyform -#WombStories, Chelsea Pictures

Nixie & Nimbo, Hornet

Shooom’s Odyssey,Picolo Pictures

The Snail and the Whale, Magic Light Pictures

Best Short Subject
Filles Bleues, Peur Blanche, Miyu Productions

KKUM, open the portal

Souvenir Souvenir, Blast Production

The Places Where We Live (Cake), FX Productions and FX

World of Tomorrow Episode Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime, Don Hertzfeldt

Best Sponsored
Erste Group ‘Edgar’s Christmas’, Passion Animation Studios

Max & Maxine, Hornet

The Last Mile, Nexus Studios

There’s a Monster in my Kitchen, Cartoon Saloon, Mother

Travel the Vote, Hornet

Best TV/Media – Preschool
Buddi, Episode: Snow, Unanico Group

Muppet Babies, Episode: Wock-a-bye-Fozzie, Oddbot/Disney Junior

Stillwater, Episode: The Impossible Dream / Stuck in the Rain, Apple / Gaumont / Scholastic

The Adventures of Paddington, Episode: Paddington Digs a Tunnel to Peru, Blue-Zoo Animation Studio and Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: I am Madam President, Episode: I am Madam President, 9 Story Media Group, Brown Bag Films

Best TV/Media – Children
Hilda, Episode: Chapter 9: The Deerfox, Silvergate Media for Netflix

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Episode: Finale Part 4: Rise, Nickelodeon Animation Studio

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Episode: Heart Part 2, DreamWorks Animation

Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Episode: Shattered, Lucasfilm Animation

Victor And Valentino, Episode: The Lonely Haunts Club 3: La Llorona, Cartoon Network Studios

Best TV/Media – General Audience
Close Enough, Episode: Logan’s Run’d/Room Parents, Cartoon Network Studios

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, Episode: Coven Of The Damned, Cartoon Network Studios

Harley Quinn, Episode: Something Borrowed, Something Green, Eshugadee Productions in association with Warner Bros. Animation

Rick and Morty, Episode: The Vat of Acid Episode, Rick and Morty LLC

The Midnight Gospel, Episode: Mouse of Silver, Titmouse Animation for Netflix

Best Student Film
100,000 Acres of Pine, Student director: Jennifer, Alice Wright School: The Animation Workshop

Coffin; Student directors: Yuanqing Cai, Nathan Crabot, Houzhi Huang, Mikolaj Janiw, Mandimby Lebon, Théo Tran Ngoc; School: Gobelins, l’école de l’image

La Bestia; Student directors: Marlijn Van Nuenen, Ram Tamez, Alfredo Gerard Kuttikatt; School: Gobelins, l’école de l’image

Latitude du printemps; Student directors: Sylvain Cuvillier, Chloé Bourdic, Théophile Coursimault, Noémie Halberstam, Ma?lis, Mosny, Zijing Ye; School: Rubika

O Black Hole!, Student director: Renee Zhan, Student producer: Jesse Romain, School: National Film and Television School, UK

Best FX for TV/Media
Fast & Furious: Spy Racers, Episode: Sirocco Fire Explosion, DreamWorks Animation; Chris Browne, Brand Webb, Russell Richardson, Ardy Ala, Reggie Fourmyle

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Episode: Welcome to Jurassic World, DreamWorks Animation; Emad Khalili, Ivan Wang

Lamp Life, Episode: Lamp Life, Pixar Animation Studios; Greg Gladstone, Keith Daniel Klohn, Matthew Wong

Tales of Arcadia: Wizards, Episode: Killahead, Part Two, DreamWorks Animation; Greg Lev, Igor Lodeiro, Brandon Tyra, Cui Wei, Ma Xiao

Transformers: War For Cybertron Trilogy (Siege), Episode: Episode 6, Rooster Teeth Productions for Netflix; Masanori Sakakibara

Best FX for Feature
Over the Moon, Netflix Pearl Studio; Ian Farnsworth, Brian Casper, Reinhold Rittinger, Zoran Stojanoski, Jennifer Lasrado

Soul, Pixar Animation Studios; Tolga Göktekin, Carl Kaphan, Hiroaki Narita, Enrique Vila, Kylie Wijsmuller

The Croods: A New Age, DreamWorks Animation; Amaury Aubel, Domin Lee, Alex Timchenko, Andrew Wheeler, Derek Cheung

Trolls World Tour, DreamWorks Animation; Zachary Glynn, Landon Gray, Youxi Woo, John Kosnik, Doug Rizeakos

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS; Kim Kelly, Leena Lecklin, Frédéric Plumey, Almu Redondo, Nicole Storck

Best Character Animation – TV/Media
Alien Xmas, Netflix Presents Fairview Entertainment / Sonar Entertainment / Chiodo Bros. Productions; Kim Blanchette

BoJack Horseman, Episode: Good Damage, Tornante Productions, LLC for Netflix; James Bowman

Cosmos: Possible Worlds, Episode: Vavilov Starburns Industries; Dan MacKenzie

Hilda, Silvergate Media for Netflix; David Laliberté

Lamp Life, Episode: Lamp Life, Pixar Animation Studios; Lucas Fraga Pacheco

Best Character Animation – Feature
Onward, Pixar Animation Studios; Shaun Chacko

Soul, Pixar Animation Studios; Michal Makarewicz

The Croods: A New Age, DreamWorks Animation; Rani Naamani

The Willoughbys, Netflix Presents A BRON, Animation Production in association with Creative Wealth Media; Andrés Bedate Martin

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS; Emmanuel Asquier-Brassart

Best Character Animation – Live Action
The Christmas Chronicles 2; Production Company: Netflix Presents A 26th Street Pictures / Wonder Worldwide Production; FX Production Company: Weta Digital; Nick Stein, Caroline Ting, Sebastian Trujillo, David Yabu, Paul Ramsden

The Mandalorian; Production Company: Lucasfilm; FX Production Company: Image Engine; Nathan Fitzgerald, Leo Ito, Chris Rogers, Eung Ho Lo, Emily Luk

The Umbrella Academy 2; Production Company: UCP for Netflix; FX Production Company: Weta Digital; Aidan Martin, Hunter Parks, Craig Young, Viki Yeo, Krystal Sae Eua

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made; Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures; FX Production Company: Framestore; Anders Beer, Marianne Morency, Hennadii Prykhodko, Sophie Burie, Cedric Le Poullennec

Best Character Animation – Video Game
League of Legends, Riot Games, Inc.; Jose “Sho” Hernandez, Lana Bachynski , Christopher Hsing, Matthew Johnson, Jason Hendrich

Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales, Insomniac Games; Brian Wyser, Michael Yosh, Danny Garnett, David Hancock

Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Moon Studios Xbox Game Studios iam8bit; Jim Donovan, Warren Goff, Boris Hiestand, Kim Nguyen, Jason Martinsen

The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog; Jeremy Yates, Eric Baldwin, Almudena Soria, Michal Mach, August Davies

Best Character Design – TV/Media
Amphibia, Episode: The Shut-In!, Disney TV Animation; Joe Sparrow

BNA, Episode: Runaway Raccoon, Trigger / Netflix; Yusuke Yoshigaki

Craig of the Creek, Cartoon Network Studios; Danny Hynes

Looney Tunes Cartoons, Warner Bros. Animation; Jim Soper

The Owl House, Episode: Young Blood, Old Souls, Disney Television Animation; Marina Gardner

Best Character Design – Feature
Soul, Pixar Animation Studios; Daniel López Muñoz

The Croods: A New Age, DreamWorks Animation; Joe Pitt

The Willoughbys, Netflix Presents A BRON Animation Production in association with Creative Wealth Media; Craig Kellman

Trolls World Tour, DreamWorks Animation; Timothy Lamb

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS; Federico Pirovano

Best Direction – TV/Media
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, Episode: Plague of Madness; Cartoon Network Studios; Genndy Tartakovsky

Great Pretender, Episode: Case 1_1, Los Angeles Connection Production I.G. for Fuji Television Network and Netflix; Hiro Kaburagi

Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Episode: Mao Mao’s Nakey, Titmouse Inc / Cartoon Network Studios; Michael Moloney

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Episode: Battle Nexus NYC, Nickelodeon Animation Studio; Alan Wan

The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, Episode: Hard to Swallow, Disney Television Animation; Eddie Trigueros

Best Direction – Feature
Calamity Jane, Maybe Movies; Rémi Chayé

Over the Moon, Netflix Presents a Netflix/Pearl Studio Production / a Glen Keane Productions Presentation; Glen Keane

Ride Your Wave, Science SARU / GKIDS; Masaaki Yuasa

Soul, Pixar Animation Studios; Pete Docter, Kemp Powers

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS; Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart

Best Music – TV/Media
Blood of Zeus, Episode: Escape or Die; Powerhouse Animation Studios for Netflix; Paul Edward-Francis

Mira Royal Detective, Episode: The Great Diwali Mystery, Wild Canary / Disney Junior; Amritha Vaz, Matthew Tishler, Jeannie Lurie

Star Trek: Lower Decks, Episode: Crisis Point, CBS’s Eye Animation Productions, Titmouse; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment; Chris Westlake

Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Episode: Victory and Death, Lucasfilm Animation; Kevin Kiner

The Tiger That Came to Tea, Lupus Films; David Arnold, Don Black

Best Music – Feature
Onward, Pixar Animation Studios; Mychael Danna, Jeff Danna

Over the Moon, Netflix Presents a Netflix/Pearl Studio Production / a Glen Keane Productions Presentation; Steven Price, Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield, Helen Park

Soul, Pixar Animation Studios; Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste

The Willoughbys, Netflix Presents A BRON Animation Production in association with Creative Wealth Media; Mark Mothersbaugh, Alessia Cara, Jon Levine, Colton Fisher

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS; Bruno Coulais, Kíla

Best Production Design – TV/Media
Baba Yaga, Baobab Studios; Glenn Hernandez, Matthieu Saghezchi

Shooom’s Odyssey, Picolo Pictures; Julien Bisaro

The Adventures of Paddington Episode: Paddington and Halloween, Blue-Zoo Animation Studio and Nickelodeon Animation Studio; Negar Bagheri

To: Gerard, DreamWorks Animation; Raymond Zibach

Trash Truck, Glen Keane Productions for Netflix; Eastwood Wong, Sylvia Liu, Elaine Lee, Tor Aunet, Lauren Zurcher

Best Production Design – Feature
Onward, Pixar Animation Studios; Noah Klocek, Sharon Calahan, Huy Nguyen, Bert Berry, Paul Conrad

Soul, Pixar Animation Studios; Steve Pilcher, Albert Lozano, Paul Abadilla, Bryn Imagire

The Willoughbys, Netflix Presents A BRON Animation Production in association with Creative Wealth Media; Kyle McQueen

Trolls World Tour, DreamWorks Animation; Kendal Cronkhite Shaindlin, Timothy Lamb

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS; María Pareja, Ross Stewart, Tomm Moore

Best Storyboarding – TV/Media
Archibald’s Next Big Thing, Episode: Baritone Tea Part 1, DreamWorks Animation; Ben McLaughlin

Big City Greens, Episode: Cheap Show, Walt Disney Television Animation; Kiana Khansmith

Looney Tunes Cartoons, Warner Bros. Animation; Andrew Dickman

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, Warner Bros. Animation; Milo Neuman

Shooom’s Odyssey, Picolo Pictures; Julien Bisaro

Best Storyboarding – Feature
Earwig and the Witch, Studio Ghibli; Goro Miyazaki

Over the Moon, Netflix Presents a Netflix/Pearl Studio Production / a Glen Keane Productions Presentation; Glen Keane

Soul, Pixar Animation Studios; Trevor Jimenez

The Croods: A New Age, DreamWorks Animation; Evon Freeman

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS; Guillaume Lorin

Best Voice Acting – TV/Media
Dragons Rescue Riders, Episode: Hunt for the Golden Dragon, DreamWorks Animation; Jeff Bennett (Erik the Wretched)

It’s Pony, Episode: Episode 107, Blue-Zoo Animation and Nickelodeon Animation Studio; Jessica DiCicco (Annie)

Phineas and Ferb the Movie Episode: Candace Against the Universe, Walt Disney Television Animation & Disney Plus; Ashley Tisdale (Candace)

Tales of Arcadia: Wizards, Episode: Our Final Act, DreamWorks Animation; David Bradley (Merlin)

ThunderCats ROAR!, Episode: ThunderSlobs, Warner Bros. Animation; Patrick Seitz (Mumm-Ra, Tygra)

Best Voice Acting – Feature
Earwig and the Witch, Studio Ghibli; Vanessa Marshall (Bella Yaga)

Onward, Pixar Animation Studios; Tom Holland (Ian Lightfoot)

Over the Moon, Netflix Presents a Netflix/Pearl Studio Production / a Glen Keane Productions

Presentation; Robert G. Chiu (Chin)

The Croods: A New Age, DreamWorks Animation; Nicolas Cage (Grug)

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS; Eva Whittaker (Mebh Óg MacTíre)

Best Writing – TV/Media
Big Mouth, Episode: The New Me, Netflix; Andrew Goldberg, Patti Harrison, Andrew Goldberg

Craig of the Creek, Cartoon Network Studios; Jeff Trammell, Tiffany Ford, Dashawn Mahone, Najja Porter

Fancy Nancy, Episode: Nancy’s New Friend, Disney Television Animation; Krista Tucker, Andy Guerdat, Matt Hoverman, Laurie Israel, Marisa Evans-Sanden

Harley Quinn, Episode: Something Borrowed, Something Green; Eshugadee Productions in association with Warner Bros. Animation; Sarah Peters

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Episode: Heart Part 2, DreamWorks Animation; Noelle Stevenson

Best Writing – Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Studiocanal and Aardman present in association with Anton Capital Entertainment, An Aardman Production for Netflix; Mark Burton, Jon Brown

Onward, Pixar Animation Studios; Dan Scanlon, Jason Headley, Keith Bunin

Over the Moon, Netflix Presents a Netflix/Pearl Studio Production / a Glen Keane Productions Presentation; Audrey Wells

Soul, Pixar Animation Studios; Pete Docter, Mike Jones, Kemp Powers

Wolfwalkers, Apple / GKIDS; Will Collins

Best Editorial – TV/Media
Cops and Robbers, Lawrence Bender Productions for Netflix; Brandon Terry, Ezra Dweck, Del Spiva

Hilda, Episode: Chapter 9: The Deerfox, Silvergate Media for Netflix; John McKinnon

If Anything Happens I Love You, Gilbert Films / Oh Good Productions for Netflix; Peter Ettinger, Michael Babcock

Lamp Life, Episode: Lamp Life, Pixar Animation Studios; Serena Warner

To: Gerard, DreamWorks Animation; James Ryan

Best Editorial – Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Studiocanal and Aardman present in association with Anton Capital Entertainment, An Aardman Production for Netflix; Sim Evan-Jones, ACE, Adrian Rhodes

Calamity Jane, Maybe Movies; Benjamin Massoubre

Onward, Pixar Animation Studios; Catherine Apple, Anna Wolitzky, Dave Suther

Soul, Pixar Animation Studios; Kevin Nolting, Gregory Amundson, Robert Grahamjones, Amera Rizk

The Willoughbys, Netflix Presents A BRON Animation Production inassociation with Creative Wealth Media; Fiona Toth, Ken Schretzmann, ACE

After Last Night, 1917 is your new Oscar front runner!

Posted on January 26, 2020 by Lisa Marie Bowman

There were a lot of very important awards given out last night and suddenly, the Oscar race has become much, much clearer. Yes, Parasite is a big contender and it’s certainly a big deal that it won at SAG. It’ll probably win quite a few Oscars. But, as of right now, the front runner for best picture is clearly 1917.

Not only has 1917 won the PGA award but, last night, Sam Mendes won the DGA. 1917 is coming on strong and it’s late release date is definitely working in its favor. It came out just in time to wow the Oscar voters but also late enough that there wasn’t time for any sort of backlash to develop against it. If I had to guess now, I’d say that 1917 is going to win Best Picture and we can at least take comfort in the fact that it’s better than the last Sam Mendes film that won.

Anyway, instead of doing like 30 different posts for each group that met last night, here’s a quick rundown:

The DGA (Director’s Guild of America) — Sam Mendes won Best Director for 1917. Honey Boy’s Alma Har’el won for Best First Time Director. The documentary award went to Steven Bogner and Julia Reichert for American Factory.

Annie Awards (Animation) — Klaus won Best Feature. I Lost My Body won best indie feature.

ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) — Roger Deakins for 1917

USC Scripter Awards (Adapted Screenplay) — Greta Gerwig for Little Women

CAS (Cinema Audio Society) — Best Feature went to Ford v. Ferrari. Best Animated Feature went to Toy Story 4. Best Documentary Feature was won by Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound.

So, for all you people making your Oscar bets — well, who knows? Listen, the Oscars are unpredictable. GREEN BOOK WON LAST YEAR, PEOPLE! So, anything’s possible. One thing to remember is that Best Picture is determined by a preferential voting system so it’s a close race between two films, it could easily be everyone’s second choice that wins. And that could mean an upset victory for something like Ford v Ferrari or even Little Women.

But, as for right now, 1917 is the front runner.

Here Are The 2019 Annie Nominations!

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Annie nominations were announced earlier today. The Annies honor the best in animation and, this year, a lot of attention is being paid to them because the race for Best Animated Feature seems to be wide open. It’s easy to imagine either Toy Story 4 or Frozen II winning the Oscar but it’s also just as easy to imagine a dark horse like Missing Link or maybe Klaus sneaking away with the award.

Now, I’m not going to post all of the Annie nominations here because there’s a lot of them and space is limited. If you want to see the complete list, Awards Circuit has it. Just click here. However, here are the Annie nominees for Best Feature Film:

Frozen II,

How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,

Klaus,

Missing Link,

Toy Story 4

I’ve seen all of these except for Klaus, which I’ll be watching this sometime this week. Still, if I was guessing, I’d say that these five films will probably also be the eventual nominees for Best Animated Film. As of right now, I’d go with Toy Story 4 for the win but, again, I haven’t watched Klaus yet.

Here Are The 2017 Annie Award Nominations!

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On December 4th, the Annie Award nominations were announced. The Annies honor the year’s best in animation. This year, just like almost everyone else who has handed out an award, the Annies are very appreciative of Coco.

Anyway, there are a lot of nominations so instead of posting them all below, I’m just going to post a few key categories. For a full list, check out the post at Awardscircuit.

Best Animated Feature

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
DreamWorks Animation

Cars 3
Pixar Animation Studios

Coco
Pixar Animation Studios

Despicable Me 3
Illumination

The Boss Baby
DreamWorks Animation

Best Animated Feature-Independent

In This Corner of the World
Taro Maki, GENCO, Inc. and Masao Maruyama,
MAPPA Co., Ltd

Loving Vincent
BreakThru Films, Production Company Trademark
Films, Co-Production Company

Napping Princess
Nippon TV
The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales
Folivari / Panique! / Studiocanal

The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine
Productions

Voice Acting In An Animated Feature

Nick Kroll in Captain Underpants

Anthony Gonzalez in Coco

Saara Chaudry in The Breadwinner

Laara Sadiq in The Breadwinner

Zach Galifianakis in The Lego Batman Movie

Here Are The Annie Nominations!

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The nominations for the Annie Awards were announced yesterdat! The Annie Awards honor the best in animation. Looking over the list of nominees, my initial thought is, “Wow, that’s a really long list!” So, I’m just going to post the nominations for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Achievement For Voice Acting In A Feature Film. You can view the complete list over at one of my favorite site for Oscar news, Awards Circuit!

Anyway, here are (some of) the Annie nominations!

Best Animated Feature:

Finding Dory

Kubo and the Two Strings

Kung Fu Panda 3

Moana

Zootopia

Voice Acting In An Animated Feature

Art Parkinson in Kubo and the Two Strings

Auli’i Cravalho in Moana

Katie Crown in Storks

Zooey Deschanel in Trolls

Jason Bateman in Zootopia

Inside Out and Anomalisa Get Some Love From Annie!

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The nominations for the Annie Awards were announced today! The Annie Awards honor the best in animation. Looking over the list of nominees, my initial thought is, “Wow, that’s a really long list!” So, I’m just going to post the nominations for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Achievement For Voice Acting In A Feature Film. You can view the complete list over at my favorite site for Oscar news, Awards Circuit!

(FYI: I love Awards Watch as well. For those of you still clinging onto Awards Daily, it’s time to jump ship.)

Anyway, here are (some of) the Annie nominations!

Best Animated Feature

Anomalisa – Paramount Pictures
Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Shaun the Sheep The Movie – Aardman Animations
The Good Dinosaur – Pixar Animation Studios
The Peanuts Movie – Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

Anomalisa – Paramount Pictures – Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh Character: Lisa Hesselman
Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios – Cast: Amy Poehler Character: Joy
Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios – Cast: Phyllis Smith Character: Sadness
Minions – Illumination Entertainment – Cast: Pierre Coffin Character: The Minions
Minions – Illumination Entertainment – Cast: Jon Hamm Character: Herb Overkill
The Peanuts Movie – Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation – Linus: Alex Garfin Character: Linus
The Peanuts Movie – Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation – Lucy: Hadley Belle Miller Character: Lucy
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paramount Animation – Cast: Tom Kenny Character: SpongeBob

The Nominees for the 42nd Annual Annie Awards Have Been Announced

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 42nd Annual Annie Nominations (honoring the best in animation) were announced today! You can see a full list of nominees here. Below are the nominations for best animated feature film, television series, and video game.

(Hopefully, at some point in the future, the Academy will finally start to give out an award for Best Voice Over Performance, which will make the Annies even more of an important precursor to the Academy Awards.)

Best Animated Feature
“Big Hero 6”
“Cheatin’”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“Song of the Sea”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“The LEGO Movie”
“The Tale of The Princess Kaguya”

Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production
“Archer”
“Back To Backspace”
“Bob’s Burgers”
“Rick and Morty”
“Mike Tyson Mysteries”
“Regular Show”
“The Simpsons”

Best Video Game
“Forza Horizon 2”
“Valiant Hearts: The Great War”
“Child of Light”

Here Are 2013 The Annie Nominations!

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2013 Annie Nominations were announced earlier today. The Annies honor the best of the year’s animated features and television series. The race for the Best Animated Feature Oscar is unusually competitive this year so it’s interesting to note that Frozen, Monsters U., Despicable Me 2, and The Croods received the most Annie nominations this year.

Below are the major nominations. A full list of the nominees can be found by clicking here.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
A Letter to Momo –  GKIDS
Despicable Me 2 –  Universal Pictures
Ernest & Celestine  – GKIDS
Frozen –  Walt Disney Animation Studios
Monsters University –  Pixar Animation Studios
The Croods  – DreamWorks Animation
The Wind Rises  – The Walt Disney Studios
BEST ANIMATED SPECIAL PRODUCTION
Chipotle Scarecrow  – Moonbot Studios
Listening Is an Act of Love  – StoryCorps
Room on the Broom –  Magic Light Pictures
Toy Story OF TERROR! - Pixar Animation Studios

BEST ANIMATED SHORT SUBJECT
Despicable Me 2 – Puppy  – Universal Pictures
Get A Horse!  – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Gloria Victoria  – National Film Board of Canada
My Mom is an Airplane  – Acme Filmworks
The Numberlys –  Moonbot Studios

BEST ANIMATED TV/BROADCAST COMMERCIAL
Despicable Me 2 – Cinemark  – Universal Pictures
Sound of the Woods – Acme Filmworks
The Polar Bears Movie  – CAA Marketing

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
Bubble Guppies  – Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Disney Sofia the First  – Disney Television Animation
Doc McStuffins  – Disney Television Animation
Justin Time  – Guru Studio
Peter Rabbit – Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience
Adventure Time –  Cartoon Network Studios
Beware the Batman  – Warner Bros. Animation
Disney Gravity Falls  – Disney Television Animation
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness –  Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Regular Show –  Cartoon Network Studios
Scaredy Squirrel –  Nelvana Ltd.
Teen Titans Go!  – Warner Bros. Animation
The Legend of Korra  – Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Archer  – FX Networks
Bob’s Burgers –  Bento Box Entertainment
Disney Tron Uprising  – Disney Television Animation
Futurama  – 20th Century Fox Television
Motorcity  – Titmouse Inc.

Best Animated Video Game
Diggs Nightcrawler  – Moonbot Studios
Tiny Thief  – 5 ANTS
The Last of Us –  Naughty Dog

Best Student Film
Chicken or the Egg  – Ringling College of Art and Design
Kellerkind – Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
Miss Todd  – Kristina Yee
Move Mountain  – Kirsten Lepore
SEMÃ•FORO –  University of Southern California
The Final Straw  – Ringling College of Art and Design
Trusts & Estates  – CalArts
Wedding Cake –  Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg

It’s Annie! Here are the latest Annie Nominations.

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In one final bit of film award news, the latest nominations for the Annie Awards were announced yesterday. The Annie Nominations honor the best in animation and, as a result, they really act as a precursor for only one Oscar category: Best Animated Feature Film. Films that win at the Annies often end up getting nominated for Best Animated Feature but, oddly enough, they rarely seem to win the actual award. (For instance, How To Train Your Dragon won the Annie for best feature over Toy Story 3.)

Below is the list of this year’s film-related nominations. Brave, Rise of the Guardians, and Wreck-It Ralph lead the nominations this year with ten each.

Best Animated Feature
“Brave” – Pixar Animation Studios
“Frankenweenie” – The Walt Disney Studios
“Hotel Transylvania” – Sony Pictures Animation
“ParaNorman” – Focus Features
“Rise of the Guardians” – DreamWorks Animation
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” – Aardman Animations
“The Rabbi’s Cat” – GKIDS
“Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Directing in a Feature Production
Genndy Tartakovsky, “Hotel Transylvania” – Sony Pictures Animation
Joann Sfar, Antoine Delesvaux, “The Rabbi’s Cat” – GKIDS
Remi Bezancon, Jean-Christophe Lie, “Zarafa” – GKIDS
Rich Moore, “Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Sam Fell, Chris Butler, “ParaNorman” – Focus Features

Writing in a Feature Production
Chris Butler, “ParaNorman” – Focus Features
Gideon Defoe, “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” – Aardman Animations
Hayao Miyazaki, Keiko Niwa, Karey Kirkpatrick, “From Up on Poppy Hill” – GKIDS
John August, “Frankenweenie” – The Walt Disney Studios
Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi, “Brave” – Pixar Animation Studios
Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee, “Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Storyboarding in a Feature Production
Emmanuela Cozzi, “ParaNorman” – Focus Features
Johanne Matte, “Rise of the Guardians” – DreamWorks Animation
Leo Matsuda, “Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Lissa Treiman, “Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Rob Koo, “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production
Adam Sandler as Dracula, “Hotel Transylvania” – Sony Pictures Animation
Alan Tudyk as King Candy, “Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Atticus Shaffer as “E” Gore, “Frankenweenie” – The Walt Disney Studios
Catherine O’Hara as Weird Girl, “Frankenweenie” – The Walt Disney Studios
Imelda Staunton as Queen Victoria, “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” – Aardman Animations
Jim Cummings as Budzo, “Adventures in Zambezia” – Saltzman Communications
Jude Law as Pitch, “Rise of the Guardians” – DreamWorks Animation
Kelly MacDonald as Merida, “Brave” – Pixar Animation Studios

Editing in a Feature Production
Catherine Apple, “Hotel Transylvania” – Sony Pictures Animation
Joyce Arrastia, “Rise of the Guardians” – DreamWorks Animation
Mark Rosenbaum, “Secret of the Wings” – DisneyToon Studios
Nicholas A. Smith, ACE, Robert Graham Jones, ACE, David Suther, “Brave” – Pixar Animation Studios
Tim Mertens, “Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Music in a Feature Production
Alexandre Desplat, “Rise of the Guardians” – DreamWorks Animation
Bruce Retief, “Adventures in Zambezia” – Saltzman Communications
Henry Jackman, “Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Joel McNeely, Brendan Milburn, Valerie Vigoda, “Secret of the Wings” – DisneyToon Studios
John Powell, Adam Schlesinger, Ester Dean, “Ice Age: Continental Drift” – Blue Sky Studios
John Powell, Cinco Paul, “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” – Illumination Entertainment
Mark Mothersbaugh, “Hotel Transylvania” – Sony Pictures Animation
Patrick Doyle, Mark Andrews, Alex Mandel, “Brave” – Pixar Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Dan Nguyen, “Brave” – Pixar Animation Studios
David Pate, “Rise of the Guardians” – DreamWorks Animation
Jaime Landes, “Brave” – Pixar Animation Studios
Phillppe LeBrun, “Rise of the Guardians” – DreamWorks Animation
Pierre Perifel, “Rise of the Guardians” – DreamWorks Animation
Travis Hathaway, “Brave” – Pixar Animation Studios
Travis Knight, “ParaNorman” – Focus Features
Will Becher, “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” – Aardman Animations

Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Erik de Boer, Amanda Dague, Matt Brown, Mary Lynn Machado, Aaron Grey, “Life of Pi – Orangutan” – Rhythm & Hues Studio
Erik de Boer, Matt Shumway, Brian Wells, Vinayak Pawar, Michael Holzl, “Life of Pi – Tiger” – Rhythm & Hues Studio
Jakub Pistecky, Maia Kayser, Scott Benzu, Steve King, Kiran Bhat, “The Avengers” – Industrial Light & Magic
Mike Beaulieu, Roger Vizard, Atushi Sato, Jackie Kochler, Derek Esparza, Richard Smith, Mac Tyrie – Columbia Pictures – “THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN” – Sony Pictures Animation

Character Design in a Feature Production
Bill Schwab, Lorelay Bove, Cory Loftis, Minkyu Lee, “Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Carlos Grangel, “Hotel Transylvania” – Sony Pictures Animation
Carter Goodrich, “Hotel Transylvania” – Sony Pictures Animation
Craig Kellman, “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” – DreamWorks Animation
Heidi Smith, “ParaNorman” – Focus Features
Yarrow Cheney, Eric Guillon, Colin Stimpson, “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” – Illumination Entertainment

Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Andrew Nawrot, Joe Gorski, Grant Laker – “ParaNorman” – Focus Features
Andrew Schneider, “Ice Age: Continental Drift” – Blue Sky Studios
Andy Hayes, Carl Hooper, David Lipton – “Rise of the Guardians” – DreamWorks Animation
Bill Watral, Chris Chapman, Dave Hale, Keith Klohn, Michael K. O’Brien, “Brave” – Pixar Animation Studios
Brett Albert – “Wreck-It Ralph” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Jihyun Yoon – “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” – DreamWorks Animation
Joel Aron – “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.

Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Jerome Platteaux, John Sigurdson, Ryan Hopkins, Raul Essig, Mark Chataway, “The Avengers” – Industrial Light & Magic
Stephen Marshall, Joseph Pepper, Dustin Wicke, “The Amazing Spider-Man” – Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation
Sue Rowe, Simon Stanley-Clamp, Artemis Oikonomopoulou, Holger Voss, Nikki Makar, Catherine Elvidge, “John Carter” – Cinesite
Willi Geiger, Rick Hankins, Florent Andorra, Florian Witzel, Aron Bonar, “Battleship” – Industrial Light & Magic

Best Animated Short Subject
“Brad and Gary” – Illumination Entertainment
“Bydlo” – National Film Board of Canada
“Eyes on the Stars” – StoryCorps
“Goodnight Mr. Foot” – Sony Pictures Animation
“Kali the Little Vampire” – National Film Board of Canada
“Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare’” – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox TV
“Paperman” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
“The Simpsons — ‘Bill Plympton Couch Gag’” – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox TV