Great news for animation fans: The nominations have been announced for the 45th annualAnnie Awards! Unsurprisingly, Pixar’s recent feature filmCocosits atop the heap with a total of 13 nominations, but before you get to thinking that it’s business as usual in the movie-making world, it’s very worth noting thatThe Breadwinneralso landed 10 nominations. That’s an impressive feat considering theAngelina Jolie-backed film about a fearless and headstrong young girl in Afghanistan hails from Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon and will be distributed in the U.S. through GKIDS. Both films could walk away as Best Picture winners since the categories are divvied up into major studio productions and independent films.
Speaking of major studios, DreamWorks Animation leads overall nominations with 22, including movies likeThe Boss BabyandCaptain Underpantsand TV projects likeGuillermo del Toro’sTrollhunters. Pixar’s 15 nominations (with a couple thrown in forCars 3) were edged out by Disney’s 18, the bulk of which come from TV shows but also include the “short” film,Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. And on the TV side,Trollhuntersis tied withDisney Mickey Mousewith six nominations, followed byGenndy Tartakovsky’s incomparableSamurai Jackwith four.
More niche shows like Netflix’sBuddy Thunderstruck,Big Mouth, andBoJack Horseman; Amazon’sNiko and the Sword of Light; Disney Channel’sTangled: The Seriesand Cartoon Network’sWe Bare Bearsare also in the running. The list of nominees can be found on theAnnie Awards' official site, but we’ve collected them for you in one convenient location below.
Additionally, the Winsor McCay Award for career contributions to animation will be given to British character animatorJames Baxter,SpongeBob SquarePantscreatorStephen Hillenburg, and Canadian animation duoWendy TilbyandAmanda Forbis. TVPaint will receive the Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement will go for its 2D animation software. Studio MDHR Entertainment’s video gameCupdheadwill receive the Special Achievement Award, and the June Foray Award for benevolent impact will go to animation historian,Didier Ghez. The Annie Awards will be held on Saturday, February 3rd.
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
Best Animated Special Production
Imaginary Friend Society “Feeling Sad” - Hornet
“Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” - Walt Disney Animation Studios
“Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems” - Tonko House, Inc.
“Revolting Rhymes” - Magic Light Pictures
“Tangled Before Ever After” - Walt Disney Television Animation
Best Animated Short Subject
“Dear Basketball” -Glen Keane Productions, Kobe Studios, Believe Entertainment Group
“Hedgehog’s Home” - National Film Board of Canada, Bonobostudio
“Negative Space” - IKKI Films/Manuel Cam Studio
“Scavengers” - Titmouse, Inc./Adult Swim
“Son of Jaguar” - Google Spotlight Stories, Reel FX
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial
“Biscotti. Una storia buona” - Hornet
“June” - Broad Reach Pictures/Chromosphere/Lyft
“League of Legends ‘Legends Never Die’” - Passion Animation Studios
“Please the Cheese” - Psyop
“Sainsbury’s ‘The Greatest Gift'” - Passion Animation Studios
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children
“Mickey and the Roadster Racers” / Episode: Goofy Gas! - Walt Disney Television Animation
“Octonauts” / Episode: Operation Deep Freeze - Vampire Squid Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media company, in association with Brown Bag Films
“Peg + Cat, The Mariachi Problem” / Episode: 220B, The Mariachi Problem - The Fred Rogers Company/100 Chickens Productions
“The Stinky & Dirty Show” / Episode: HaHaHigher / The Waiting Game - Amazon Studios
“Through the Woods” / Episode: A Snowy Morning - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, The Fred Rogers Company, PIP Animation Services
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Children
“Buddy Thunderstruck” / Episode: To Protect and Swerve / Robo Truck of the Future - Stoopid Buddy and American Greetings for Netflix
“Lost in Oz” / Episode: The Pearl of Pingaree - Amazon Studios
“Niko and the Sword of Light” / Episode: From the Cliffs of Catastrophe to the Pools of Destiny - Amazon Studios
“Tangled: The Series” / Episode: Queen for a Day - Walt Disney Television Animation
“We Bare Bears” / Episode: Panda’s Art - Cartoon Network Animation Studios
Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production
“Big Mouth” / Episode: Am I Gay? - Netflix
“BoJack Horseman” / Episode: Stupid Piece of Sh*t - Tornante Productions, LLC for Netflix
“Rick and Morty” / Episode: 303 -“Pickle Rick” - Williams Street Productions
“Robot Chicken” / Episode: Freshly Baked: The Robot Chicken Santa Claus Pot Cookie Freakout Special: Special Edition - Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
“Samurai Jack” / Episode: XCIII - Adult Swim
Best Student Film
“Cradle” - Devon Manney
“Elsewhere” - Junyi Xiao
“Good Night, Everybuds!” - Director: Benedikt Hummel, Sound Design & Mix: Lena Beck, Music: Andreas Pfeiffer, Producer: Stefan Michel
“Once a hero” - Xia Li
“Poles Apart” - Director: Paloma Baeza; Producer: Ser En Low, All Student Crew
Animated Effects in an Animated Production
“Avatar Flight of Passage” - VFX Supervisor: Thrain Shadbolt Sr.; Richard Baneham; Compositing Supervisor: Sam Cole; CG Supervisor: Pavani Rao Boddapati; Daniele Tosti
“Cars 3” - Development & Effects Artist: Amit Baadkar; Effects Lead: Greg Gladstone; Stephen Marshall; Tim Speltz; Effects Supervisor: Jon Reisch
“Coco” - Effects Artist: Shaun Galinak; Jason Johnston; Carl Kaphan; Effects Lead: Dave Hale; Keith Daniel Klohn
“Despicable Me 3” - Computer Graphics Supervisor: Bruno Chauffard; Frank Baradat; Lighting & Compositing Supervisor: Nicolas Brack; Effects Supervisor: Milo Riccarand
“Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” - Head of Effects: Christopher Hendryx; Effects Animator: Dan Lund; Mike Navarro; Hiroaki Narita; Steven Chitwood
