Animation - Annie Awards

Sony's Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was the big winner at this year's Annie Awards...

The film picked up the award for all seven categories for which it was nominated including the coveted Best Animated Feature. Other multiple award winners included Mary Poppins Returns, Hilda and, yes, Mickey Mouse with 3 apiece and 2 awards each going to Incredibles 2 (surprisingly low since it got 11 nominations) and, of all things, Bojack Horseman. An even bigger surprise what that Ralph Breaks the Internet, which had 10 nominations only took home one award. Other notable awards for us were Greenpeace's Rangtan advert, Bryan Cranston getting the voice acting award for his role in Isle of Dogs and Guillermo del Toro's Trollhunters which grabbed the best animated effects award.

This year, a new category was added - Best Virtual Reality Production - and awarded to Crow: The Legend (Baobab Studios). 

"What a terrific night," said ASIFA-Hollywood Executive Director, Frank Gladstone when interviewed at the end of the event. "While the weather was a challenge this year, everyone rose to the occasion and we had a brilliant time. This year's awards garnered the largest amount of submissions yet, leading to a great list of nominees, so it was no surprise that the Annie recipients continued to showcase animation's rising influence and diversity."

Three Winsor McCay Award recipients have been selected by the ASIFA-Hollywood Board of Directors for their exemplary industry careers – Academy Award-winning director, animator and art director, Ralph Eggleston; Frank Braxton (posthumously), the first African-American animator, animation director and guild president; and casting director, voice director and voice actress Andrea Romano. The Winsor McCay Award stands as one of the highest honours given to an individual in the animation industry in recognition for career contributions to the art of animation.

The June Foray award was also a posthumous award this year, given to Adam Burke for his "significant and benevolent impact on the animation community".

Blender Open Source Animation Software was given the Ub Iwerks Award. Ton Roosendaal, Dutch software developer and film producer, accepted the award. And, the Certificate of Merit recipient was presented to dedicated ASIFA-Hollywood volunteer, Jason Jones.

The Annie Awards honour overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of 36 categories from best feature, best feature – independent, production design, character animation, and effects animation to storyboarding, writing, music, editing and voice acting, and have often been a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The ceremony was live-streamed again this year at www.annieawards.org/watch-it-live where animation enthusiasts and those unable to attend the event, could watch the show. 

Here's the full list of ** WINNERS ** and the other nominations in each category.

  

 

Best Animated Feature

Early Man, Aardman Animations
Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios
Isle of Dogs, Fox Searchlight Pictures/Indian Paintbrush/American Empirical Pictures
Ralph Breaks the Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios
** WINNER ** Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Animation


Best Animated Independent Feature

Ce Magnifique Gâteau!, Beast Animation, Vivement Lundi!, Pedri Animation
MFKZ, Ankama/Studio 4ºC
** WINNER ** Mirai, Studio Chizu
Ruben Brandt, Collector, Hungarian National Film Fund
Tito and the Birds, Bits Productions, Split Studio


Best Animated Special Production

Back to the Moon, Google Spotlight Stories, Google Doodles, Nexus Studios
** WINNER ** Mary Poppins Returns, Walt Disney Studios
The Emperor’s Newest Clothes, HBO / Starburns Industries
The Highway Rat, Magic Light Pictures


Best Animated Short Subject

Grandpa Walrus, Caïmans Productions
Lost & Found, Wabi Sabi Studios
** WINNER ** SOLAR WALK, Nørlum
Untravel, Production: Film House Baš Čelik, Serbia Coproduction: BFilm, Bratislava / Your Dreams Factory, Bratislava
Weekends, past lives productions


Best Virtual Reality Production

Age of Sail, Google Spotlight Stories, Broad Reach Pictures
BattleScar, AtlasV
** WINNER ** Crow: The Legend, Baobab Studios
Mind Palace, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
Moss, Polyarc

Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial

Goldfish at the Fair, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
** WINNER ** Greenpeace ‘There’s a Rang-Tan In My Bedroom’, Passion Animation Studios
Grinch / 40 / Olympics Spot, Illumination
JD.com, ‘Joy and Heron’, Passion Pictures
The Fearless Are Here, Nexus Studios


Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children

** WINNER ** Ask the StoryBots, JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix
Dinotrux: Supercharged, DreamWorks Animation Television
Hey Duggee, Studio AKA
PJ Masks, Frog Box Entertainment One
Tumble Leaf, Amazon Studios and Bix Pix Entertainment


Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Children

** WINNER ** Hilda, Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks
Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, DreamWorks Animation Television
Little Big Awesome, Amazon Studios
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Tales of Arcadia: Trollhunters, DreamWorks Animation Television


Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production

Big Mouth, Netflix
Bob’s Burgers, 20th Century Fox Television/Bento Box Entertainment
** WINNER ** BoJack Horseman, Tornante Productions, LLC for Netflix
Human Kind Of, Cartuna, Facebook Watch
The Venture Bros., Adult Swim / Titmouse, Inc.


Best Student Film

A Blink of An Eye, Kiana Naghshineh
** WINNER ** Best Friend, Nicholas Olivieri, Yi Shen, Juliana De Lucca, Varun Nair, David Feliu
Facing It, Sam Gainsborough
Hors Piste, Léo Brunel, Loris Cavalier , Camille Jalabert, Oscar Mallet
Sister, Siqi Song

Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production

DreamWorks Theatre Presents Kung Fu Panda, DreamWorks Animation; FX Artist: Zach Glynn, FX Artist: Chyuan Huang, FX Artist: Michael Losure, FX Artist: K.C. Ong, FX Artist: Alex Timchenko
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nickelodeon Animation Studio; FX Animator: Jeffrey Lai
SuperMansion, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios; VFX Supervisor: Mike Spitzmiller, VFX Lead Artist: Steve Gallant, VFX Artist: Iain Collins, VFX Artist: Daniel Craven, VFX Artist: Lynda Rollins
** WINNER ** Tales of Arcadia: Trollhunters, DreamWorks Animation Television; Visual Effects Supervisor: David M.V. Jones, Overseas FX Supervisor: Vincent Chou, Overseas Lead FX Artist: Clare Yang
Watership Down, 42 / Biscuit Entertainment with Netflix; VFX Supervisor: Philip Child, CG Supervisor: Nilesh Sardesai


Animated Effects in an an Animated Feature Production

Early Man, Aardman Animations; VFX Supervisor: Howard Jones, Director of Photography: Dave Alex Riddett, Head of 3D: Grant Hewlett, Crowd Lead: Pat Andrew, 3D Artist: Elena Vitanza Chiarani
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Sony Pictures Animation; FX Supervisor: Patrick Witting, FX Lead: Kiel Gnebba, FX Animator: Spencer Lueders, FX Animator: Joe Pepper, FX Animator: Sam Rickles
Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios; Effects Sequence Lead: Greg Gladstone, Effects Artist: Tolga Göktekin, Effects Artist: Jason Johnston, Effects Artist: Eric Lacroix, Effects Sequence Lead: Krzysztof Rost
Next Gen, Baozou with Alibaba Pictures Inc. in association with Tangent Animation for Netflix; Visual Effects Lead: So Ishigaki, Senior Visual Effects Lead: Graham Wiebe
** WINNER ** Ralph Breaks The Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios; Head of Effects Animation: Cesar Velazquez, Effects Lead: Marie Tollec, Effects Lead: Alexander Moaveni, Effects Lead: Peter DeMund, Foundation Effects Lead: Ian J. Coony


Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

Age of Sail, Google Spotlight Stories, Broad Reach Pictures; Character Animator: Sikand Srinivas, Character: All
Back to the Moon, Google Spotlight Stories, Google Doodles, Nexus Studios; Lead Animator: Lucas Vigroux Character: All
** WINNER ** Hilda, Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks; Character Animator: Scott Lewis, Character: The King, Hilda, Arfur
Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, Walt Disney Television Animation; Character Animator: Juliane Martin, Character: Eugene, Rapunzel, Cassandra
Tumble Leaf, Amazon Studios and Bix Pix Entertainment; Character Animator: Dan MacKenzie, Character: Multiple


Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production

Early Man, Aardman Animations; Lead Character Animator: Laurie Sitzia, Characters: Goona, Dug, Chief Bobnar, the Tribe, the rabbit and Lord Nooth
Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studio; Animator: Lance Fite Character: All Characters
Isle of Dogs, Fox Searchlight Pictures / Indian Paintbrush / American Empirical Pictures; Lead Animator: Jason Stalman Characters: Chief and Nutmeg
Ralph Breaks the Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios; Animator: Vitor Vilela Characters: Wreck-It Ralph, Fix-It Felix, Double Dan, Vanellope Von Schweetz, Ralphzilla, Yesss, Root Beer Tapper Patrons, Pancake Bunny, Milkshake Kitty, Baby Mo, Mo’s Mom
** WINNER ** Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Animation; Animator: David Han Character: Multiple


Character Animation in a Live Action Production

Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel; Animation Supervisor: Paul Story, Animation Supervisor: Sidney Kombo Kintombo, Lead Facial Motion Editor: Eteuati Tema, Facial Motion Editor: Jacob Luamanuvae Su’a, Lead Modeller: Sam Sharplin
Christopher Robin, Walt Disney Pictures; Animation Supervisor: Arslan Elver, Animation Supervisor: Laurent Laban, Lead Animator: Kayn Garcia, Modeller: Claire Blustin, Rigger: Marc-André Coulombe
** WINNER ** Mary Poppins Returns, Walt Disney Pictures; Chris Sauve, James Baxter, Sandro Cleuzo
Paddington 2, StudioCanal, Heyday Films, Marmalade Films Ltd; Animation Director: Pablo Grillo, Animation Supervisor: Laurent Laban
Animation Supervisor: Kyle Dunlevy, Lead Animator: Stuart Ellis, Lead Animator: Liam Russell
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Walt Disney Studios; Animation Supervisor: Richard Oey, Animation Lead: Adrien Annesley, Animation Lead: Allison Orr, Key Animation Artist: Wei Liang Yap, Key Animation Artist: Shan Hao

Character Animation in a Video Game

God of War, Santa Monica Studio; Lead Animator: Erica Pinto Character: All characters in cinematics, Lead Animator: Mehdi Yssef Character: All characters in gameplay, Lead Animator: Bruno Velazquez Character: All characters
** WINNER ** GRIS, Nomada Studio; Lead Animator: Adrian Miguel Character: Gris (Cinematics and In-Game), Lead Animator: Adrian Garcia Character:
Gris (Cinematics), Lead Animator: Adrian Miguel Character: Sombra
Marvel’s Spider-Man, Insomniac Games; Lead Animator: Bobby Coddington, Character: Spider-Man
Moss, Polyarc; Lead Animator: Richard Lico, Character: Quill
Shadow of The Tomb Raider, Square Enix; Lead Animator: David Hubert Character: All cinematic characters, Character Animator: Jacob Gardner, Character: All cinematic characters, Character Animator: Giovanni Spinelli, Character: All cinematic characters, Character Animator:, Marco Foglia Character:, All cinematic characters, Character Animator: Jean-Philippe Chaurette, Character: All gameplay characters


Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

Age of Sail, Google Spotlight Stories, Broad Reach Pictures; Character Designer: Bruno Mangyoku, Character: various characters
Niko and the Sword of Light, Amazon Studios; Character Designer: Jim Bryson, Character: Niko, Lyra, Nar Est, Breadtroll, Cutie Pootie,
Combo Plate Vendor, Windcrag
** WINNER ** Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, Walt Disney Television Animation; Character Designer: Amanda Jolly Character: Rapunzel Bird, Cassandra Bird, Father Parrot, Special Birds
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, DreamWorks Animation Television; Art Director: Chris Mitchell Character: Rocky, Bullwinkle, Fearless Leader, Boris, Natasha, Director Peachfuzz
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, DreamWorks Animation Television; Character Designer: Keiko Murayama
Character: Baby Natasha, Baby Boris, Grandwinkle, Mayor Grundstrom, Boris’ Gang, Gang


Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios; Character Art Director: Matt Nolte Character: All Characters
Mary Poppins Returns, Walt Disney Studios; Lead Character Designer: James Woods, Character: Animated Cast
Next Gen, Baozou with Alibaba Pictures Inc. in association with Tangent Animation for Netflix; Character Designer: Marceline Tanguay, Character: Multiple
Ralph Breaks The Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios; Art Director – Characters: Ami Thompson, Character: Wreck-It Ralph, Vanellope Von Schweetz, Yesss, Maybe, Shank, Spamley, Gord, The eboy, ebay Elaine, Netuser, Netizens, Internet Troll, Slaughter Race Crew, Disney Princesses, Ralphzilla, Jimmy, Tiffany, Baby Calhoun, Pancake Bunny, Milkshake Kitty, KnowsMo
** WINNER ** Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Animation; Shiyoon Kim, Characters: Uncle Aaron, Rio, Peter, Miles, King Pin, Gwen, Aunt May, Goblin, Jefferson


Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

Ask the StoryBots, JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix; Director: Evan Spiridellis
** WINNER ** Disney Mickey Mouse, Disney Television Animation; Director: Eddie Trigueros
Niko and the Sword of Light, Amazon Studios; Director: Sung Jin Ahn
SuperMansion, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios; Director: Nick Simotas
Tales of Arcadia: 3Below, DreamWorks Animation Television; Director: Guillermo del Toro, Director: Rodrigo Blaas


Directing in an Animated Feature Production

Early Man, Aardman Animations; Director: Nick Park
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Sony Pictures Animation; Director: Genndy Tartakovsky
Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios; Director: Brad Bird
Ralph Breaks The Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios; Director: Rich Moore, Director: Phil Johnston
** WINNER ** Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Animation; Director: Bob Persichetti, Director: Rodney Rothman, Director: Peter Ramsey

Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

Back to the Moon, Google Spotlight Stories, Google Doodles, Nexus Studios; Composer: Mathieu Alvado
** WINNER ** Disney Mickey Mouse, Disney Television Animation; Composer: Christopher Willis
Elena of Avalor, Disney Television Animation; Composer: Tony Morales, Composer/Lyricist: John Kavanaugh, Lyricist: Craig Gerber, Lyricist: Silvia Olivas, Lyricist: Rachel Ruderman
Tangled: The Series, Walt Disney Television Animation; Composer: Alan Menken, Lyricist: Glenn Slater, Composer: Kevin Kliesch
The Tom and Jerry Show, Warner Bros. Animation; Composer: Vivek Maddala


Music in an Animated Feature Production

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, Illumination; Composer: Danny Elfman, Lyricist: Tyler, The Creator
Early Man, Aardman Animations; Composer/Lyricist: Harry Gregson-Williams, Composer/Lyricist: Tom Howe, Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams, Composer: Tom Howe
** WINNER ** Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios; Composer: Michael Giacchino
Ralph Breaks The Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios; Composer: Henry Jackman, Composer: Alan Menken, Lyricist: Phil Johnston, Lyricist: Tom MacDougall, Composer/Lyricist: Dan Reynolds
Smallfoot, Warner Bros. Pictures / Warner Animation Group; Composer: Heitor Pereira, Composer/Lyricist: Karey Kirkpatrick, Composer/Lyricist: Wayne Kirkpatrick


Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

** WINNER ** Age of Sail, Google Spotlight Stories, Broad Reach Pictures; Production Design: Céline Desrumaux; Production Design: Jasmin Lai
Disney Mickey Mouse, Disney Television Animation; Production Design: Justin Martin
Little Big Awesome, Amazon Studios; Production Design: Antonio Canobbio, Art Director, Production Design: Howard Chen, Background Layout Production Design: Ivan Louey, Background Layout Supervisor, Production Design: Crystal Yoori Son, Background Paint
Niko and the Sword of Light, Amazon Studios; Production Design: Antonio Canobbio, Art Director, Production Design: Bobby Walker, Background Paint, Production Design: Michelle Rhee, Background Layout, Production Design: Richard Chang, Background Paint, Production Design: Joseph Martinez, Background Layout
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, DreamWorks Animation Television; Production Design: Chris Mitchell, Production Design: Chris Turnham, Production Design: Tor Anut, Production Design: DanBob Thompson, Production Design: Aaron Spurgeon


Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

Early Man, Aardman Animations; Production Design: Matt Perry, Production Design: Richard Edmunds
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Sony Pictures Animation; Production Design: Scott Wills
Isle of Dogs, Fox Searchlight Pictures / Indian Paintbrush / American Empirical Pictures; Production Design: Adam Stockhausen, Production Design: Paul Harrod
Mary Poppins Returns, Walt Disney Studios; Production Design: Jeff Turley
** WINNER ** Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Animation; Production Design: Justin K. Thompson


Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

Ben 10, Cartoon Network Studios; Storyboard Artist: Will Patrick
Big Hero 6: The Series, Walt Disney Television Animation; Storyboard Artist: Trey Buongiorno
** WINNER ** Disney Mickey Mouse, Disney Television Animation; Storyboard Artist: Ramirez Ramos Alonso
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nickelodeon Animation Studio; Storyboard Artist: Kevin Molina-Ortiz
Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Walt Disney Television Animation; Storyboard Artist: Sabrina Cotugno


Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, Illumination; Storyboard Artist: Habib Louati
** WINNER ** Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios; Storyboard Artist: Dean Kelly
Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios, Storyboard Artist: Bobby Alcid Rubio
Mary Poppins Returns, Walt Disney Studios; Storyboard Artist: Ovi Nedelcu
Ralph Breaks The Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios; Storyboard Artist: Michael Herrera

Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

** WINNER ** BoJack Horseman, Tornante Productions, LLC for Netflix; Voice Actor: Will Arnett Character: BoJack
F Is for Family, Wild West Television in association with Gaumont Television for Netflix; Voice Actor: Debi Derryberry Character: Maureen, Bridget, Phillip, Nurse Beatrice, Scott, Ken
Pete the Cat, Amazon Studios, Alcon Television Group, LLC; Actor: Juliette Donenfeld Character: Sally Squirrel
Skylanders Academy, Activision Blizzard Studios; Voice Actor: Patrick Warburton Character: Captain Flynn
Unikitty, Warner Bros. Animation; Voice actor: Tara Strong Character: Princess Unikitty


Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

Early Man, Aardman Animations; Voice Actor: Eddie Redmayne Character: Dug
Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios, Voice Actor: Holly Hunter Character: Helen Parr / Elastigirl
** WINNER ** Isle of Dogs, Fox Searchlight Pictures / Indian Paintbrush / American Empirical Pictures; Voice Actor: Bryan Cranston Character: Chief
Next Gen, Baozou with Alibaba Pictures Inc. in association with Tangent Animation for Netflix; Voice Actor: Charlyne Yi Character: Mai
Ralph Breaks The Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios; Voice Actor: Sarah Silverman Character: Vanellope Von Schweetz


Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

Big Mouth, Netflix; Writer: Emily Altman
Craig of the Creek, Cartoon Network Studios; Story By: Matt Burnett, Story By: Ben Levin, Story By: Shauna McGarry, Story By: Jeff Trammell, Story By: Tiffany Ford
** WINNER ** Hilda, Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks; Writer: Stephanie Simpson
Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Walt Disney Television Animation; Writer: Dominic Bisignano, Writer: Aaron Hammersley, Writer: Amy Higgins, Writer: John Infantino, Writer: Daron Nefcy
We Bare Bears, Cartoon Network Animation Studios; Writer: Mikey Heller, Story By: Sang Yup Lee, Story By: Louie Zong


Writing in an Animated Feature Production

Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios; Writer: Brad Bird
Mirai, Studio Chizu; Writer: Mamoru Hosoda, Story By: Mamoru Hosoda, Writer: Stephanie Sheh
Ralph Breaks The Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios; Writer: Phil Johnston, Writer: Pamela Ribon
** WINNER ** Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Animation; Writer: Phil Lord, Writer: Rodney Rothman
Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, Warner Bros. Animation; Writer: Michael Jelenic; Writer: Aaron Horvath


Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

** WINNER ** Big Hero 6: The Series, Walt Disney Television Animation; Nominee: Charles Jones, Nominee: Joe Molinari, Nominee: Dao Le, Nominee: Vartan Nazarian, Nominee: David Vazquez
Puppy Dog Pals, Wild Canary Animation / Disney Junior; Nominee: Adam Rickabus
SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon Animation Studio; Nominee: Estrella Miyakawa Capin, Nominee: Christopher Hink, Nominee: Bob Tomlin, Nominee: Rick Dominicus
Tales of Arcadia: 3Below, DreamWorks Animation Television; Nominee: John Laus, Nominee: Graham Fisher
The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, DreamWorks Animation Television; Nominee: Steve Downs, Nominee: John Wall, Nominee: Adam Smith, Nominee: Collin Erker


Editorial in an Animated Feature Production

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, Illumination; Nominee: Chris Cartagena
Incredibles 2, Pixar Animation Studios; Nominee: Stephen Schaffer, ACE, Nominee: Anthony J. Greenberg, Nominee: Katie Schaefer Bishop
Ralph Breaks The Internet, Walt Disney Animation Studios; Nominee: Jeremy Milton, Nominee: Fabienne Rawley, Nominee: Jesse Averna, Nominee: John Wheeler, Nominee: Pace Paulsen
Ruben Brandt, Collector, Hungarian National Film Fund; Nominee: Milorad Krstic, Nominee: Marcell Laszlo, Nominee: Laszlo Wimmer, Nominee: Danijel Daka Milosevic
** WINNER ** Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Animation; Nominee: Bob Fisher, Nominee: Andrew Leviton, Nominee: Vivek Sharma

Images - IMDb