The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced nominations for its 45th Annual Annie Awards™ recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. Leading the way with 13 nominations was Pixar Animation Studios’ Coco. Scoring 10 nods was Cartoon Saloon/Aircraft Pictures/Melusine Productions’ The Breadwinner.
Coco is one of five films in the running for Best Animated Feature, the other nominees being Captain Underpants (DreamWorks Animation), Cars 3 (Pixar Animation Studios), Despicable Me 3 (Illumination) and The Boss Baby (DreamWorks Animation).
Nominated for Best Animated Feature-Independent, spotlighting features with a much smaller distribution footprint than major studio releases, are: The Breadwinner, 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) and The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales (Folivari/Panique!/Studiocanal).
“The Annies continue to grow in the number of submissions again this year, pointing out animation’s diversity in both style and storytelling, not only from our local community, but from the industry worldwide,“ said Frank Gladstone, ASIFA’s executive director. “That the Annies are now an established and important part of the ‘award season’ is enormously gratifying for all of us who tell our stories frame by frame.”
The Annie Awards™ cover 36 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Feature-Independent, Special Productions, Commercials, Short Subjects, Student Films and Outstanding Individual Achievements, as well as the honorary Juried Awards. The winners will be announced at a black tie ceremony on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
“No doubt about it, our nominees represent the best work in the field,” said ASIFA-Hollywood president, Jerry Beck. “I am particularly proud of the diversity of voices, techniques and artistic styles displayed in the feature films, television programming, independent shorts, commercials and gaming we screened this year. The animation community embodies the finest qualities of the creative arts–and our Annie nominees this year certainly bare that out.”
Juried Awards will also be presented honoring career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation. Three Winsor McCay recipients have been selected by the ASIFA-Hollywood Board of Directors: British character animator, James Baxter; SpongeBob SquarePants creator, Stephen Hillenburg; and the Canadian animation duo, Wendy Tilby & Amanda Forbis, for their career contributions to the art of animation; The Ub Iwerks Award will be presented to TVPaint for its versatile software for 2D animation. Cuphead, the 1930s inspired wonder-game from StudioMDHR will receive this year’s Special Achievement Award; and the June Foray Award will be presented to animation historian Didier Ghez for his significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation. The Certificate of Merit award will be presented to David Nimitz, devoted friend and caretaker of veteran voice actress and ASIFA-Hollywood & Annie Award™ pioneer, June Foray, who passed away in July at the age of 99.
Here’s a rundown of this year’s Annie Award nominees:
45th Annual Annie Awards
Nominations
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 / Melusinen 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
Branston Pickle’s ‘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
Walt Disney Imagineering, Weta Digital, Lightstorm Entertainment
Sr. VFX Supervisor: Richard Baneham
VFX Supervisor: Thrain Shadbolt
Compositing Supervisor: Sam Cole
CG Supervisor: Pavani Rao Boddapati
CG Supervisor: Daniele Tosti
Cars 3
Pixar Animation Studios
Development & Effects Artist: Amit Baadkar
Effects Lead: Greg Gladstone
Effects Lead: Stephen Marshall
Effects Supervisor: Jon Reisch
Effects Lead: Tim Speltz
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Effects Artist: Shaun Galinak
Effects Lead: Dave Hale
Effects Artist: Jason Johnston
Effects Artist: Carl Kaphan
Effects Lead: Keith Daniel Klohn
Despicable Me 3
Illumination
Computer Graphics Supervisor: Bruno Chauffard
Computer Graphics Supervisor: Frank Baradat
Lighting & Compositing Supervisor: Nicolas Brack
Effects Supervisor: Milo Riccarand
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Head of Effects: Christopher Hendryx
Effects Animator: Dan Lund
Effects Animator: Mike Navarro
Effects Animator: Hiroaki Narita
Effects Animator: Steven Chitwood
Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
DreamWorks Trolls Holiday
DreamWorks Animation
Character Animator: Kevan Shorey
Character: All Characters
DreamWorks Trolls Holiday
Episode: 1
DreamWorks Animation
Lead Animator: Ben Willis Character: All
Characters
DreamWorks Trolls Holiday
DreamWorks Animation
Character Animator: Onur Yeldan Character:
All Characters
Trollhunters
Episode: 205 – “Homecoming”
DreamWorks Animation Television
Character Animator: Bruno Chiou Character:
Blinky, Dictatious, Aaarrrgghh!!
Character Animator: Yi-Fan Cho Character:
Blinky, Dictatious, Aaarrrgghh!!
Lead Animator: Kevin Jong Character: Blinky,
Dictatious, Aaarrrgghh!!
Lead Animator: Chun-Jung Chu Character:
Blinky, Dictatious, Aaarrrgghh!!
Tumble Leaf
Episode: Rutabagels / Okra-Ball
Amazon Studios Bix Pix Entertainment
Character Animator: Michael Granberry
Character: Maple, Fig, Stick and Okra
Character Animator: Joe Heinen Character:
Fig, Gourd, Coco, Maple, Pine, Zucchini,
Okra, Grubs, Chicks and Beetle Bus
Character Animator: Rachel Larsen
Character: Coco, Pine, Maple, Fig, Stick and Okra
Character Animator: Hilary Lile
Character:
Maple, Fig and Okra
Character Animator: Dan MacKenzie
Character: Pine, Fig, Gourd, Rutabaga,
Beetles, Coco, Okra and Maple
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Animator: John Chun Chiu Lee Character: All characters
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Animator: Allison Rutland Character: All characters
The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales
Folivari / Panique! / Studiocanal
Animator: Marco Nguyen Character: all characters in scene
Directing Animator: Benjamin Renner
Character: all characters in scene
Supervising Animator: Patrick Imbert
Character: all characters in scene
The Boss Baby
DreamWorks Animation
Animation Suvervisor: Bryce McGovern
Character: various, see clip
The Boss Baby
DreamWorks Animation
Animation Supervisor: Rani Naamani
Character: various, see clip
Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Game of Thrones S7 Ep.6 Beyond The Wall
HBO
Animation Supervisor: Paul Story
Animation Lead: Todd Labonte
Creatures Lead: Matthew Muntean
Senior Modeller: Cajun Hylton
Texture Artist: Georgy Arevshatov
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures.
Animation Supervisor: Arslan Elver
Lead Animator: Liam Russell
Lead Animator: Alvise Avati
Lead Animator: Alessandro Cuicci
Kong / Kong: Skull Island
Warner Bros. / Legendary Entertainment / Tencent Pictures
Animation Supervisor: Jance Rubinchik
Animation Lead: Adrian Millington
Animator: Alberto Martinez Arce
Animator: Kyle Winkelman
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
EuropaCorp, Fundamental Films, Gulf Film, River Road Entertainment
Senior Facial Modeller: Andrei Coval
Animation Supervisor: Paul Story
Animation Supervisor: Eric Reynolds
Shader TD: Olivier Lesaint
Shader TD: Artur Vill
War for the Planet of the Apes
Chernin Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, River
Road Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
Animation Supervisor: Daniel Barrett
Animation Supervisor: Sidney Kombo-Kintombo
Animation Supervisor: Emile Ghorayeb
Lead Motion Editor: Luisma Lavin Peredo
Lead Facial Modeller: Alessandro Bonora
Character Animation in a Video Game
Cuphead
StudioMDHR
Lead Animator: Hanna Abi-Hanna Character: The Devil, Grim Matchstick, Beppi The Clown, Werner Werman
Cuphead
StudioMDHR
Lead Animator: Tina Nawrocki Character: Baroness Von Bon Bon, Hopus Pocus, Pirouletta, Giant, Tipsy Troupe, Lobster, Porkrind, Dragonfly, The Devil – DEATH
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Ninja Theory Ltd
Character Animator: Chris Goodall
Character: Senua
Character Animator: Jitaik Lim
Character: Senua
Character Animator: Kirill Spiridonov
Character: Senua
Horizon Zero Dawn
Guerrilla Games
Lead Animator: Richard Oud
Character: All mechanical creatures
Lead Animator: Kevin Quaid
Character: All humanoids
Character Animator: Niek Neervens
Character: All humanoids
Character Animator: Jonathan Colin
Character: All humanoids
Character Animator: Peer Lemmers
Character: All mechanical creatures
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Naughty Dog, LLC.
Lead Animator: Almundena Soria
Character:
All Characters
Lead Animator: Keith Paciello
Character: All Characters
Lead Animator: Paul Augustus Davies
Character: All Characters
Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Buddy Thunderstruck
Episode: Buddy Double / Beaver Dam Fast Pizza
Stoopid Buddy and American Greetings for Netflix
Character Designer: Ryan Wiesbrock
Character: Buddy Thunderstruck, Darnell, Moneybags, Big Tex, Jacko + all other characters
Character Designer: Becky van Cleve
Character: Buddy Thunderstruck, Darnell, Moneybags, Big Tex, Jacko + all other characters
Character Designer: Rob Ronning
Character: Buddy Thunderstruck, Darnell, Moneybags, Big Tex, Jacko + all other characters
Character Designer: Nikki Rice Malki
Character: Buddy Thunderstruck, Darnell, Moneybags, Big Tex, Jacko + all other characters
Character Designer: Felicia Bleu Rose
Character: Buddy Thunderstruck, Darnell, Moneybags, Big Tex, Jacko + all other characters
Danger & Eggs
Episode: Tube of Pain / Broccoli
Amazon Studios
Character Design : Mike Owens
Character: Phillip
Samurai Jack
Episode: XCVI
Adult Swim
Character Design: CRAIG KELLMAN
Character: Various
Tangled: The Series
Episode: Tangled Before Ever After
Walt Disney Television Animation
Co-Executive Producer: Shane Prigmore
Character: Rapunzel, Eugene, Maximus, Cassandra
Character Designer: Bobby Pontillas
Character: King Frederick, Queen Arianna, Landy Caine, Fidella
Character Designer: Taylor Krahenbuhl
Character: Pub Thugs
Character Designer: Mayumi Nose
Character: Pascal
Trollhunters
Episode: Ep 201 – “Escape from the Darklands”
DreamWorks Animation Television
Character Designer: Jules Rigolle Character:
Goblins, Dictatious, Enrique, Gum Gums, Gunmar, Queen Usurna, Nyarlagroth
Character Designer: Alfredo Torres
Character: Goblins, Dictatious, Enrique, Gum Gums, Gunmar, Queen Usurna, Nyarlagroth
Lead Texture Artist: Linda Chen Character:
Goblins, Dictatious, Enrique, Gum Gums, Gunmar, Queen Usurna, Nyarlagroth
Art Director: Rustam Hasanov
Character: Gunmar, Goblins and Gumm Gumms
Color Key Artist: Alfonso Blaas
Character: Enrique, Goblins, Queen Usurna, Nyarlagroth, Gumm Gumms
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Character Art Director: Daniel Arriaga
Character: All characters
Additional Character Art Direction: Daniela Strijleva
Character: All characters
Character Design/ Sculptor: Greg Dykstra
Character: All characters
Character Modeller: Alonso Martinez
Character: All characters
Character Designer: Zaruhi Galstyan
Character: All characters
Despicable Me 3
Illumination
Character Designer: Eric Guillon
Character: All: Balthazar Bratt, Dru, Gru, Minions, Valerie Da Vinci, Gru’s Mom, Vincenzo, Freedonians
Smurfs: The Lost Village
Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures
Patrick Mate: Patrick Mate Character:
Multiple Characters
The Boss Baby
DreamWorks Animation
Character Designer: Joe Moshier Character:
Various, see jpeg files
The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine Productions
Character Design: Reza Riahi Character:
Story World Characters (Rough Design)
Character Design: Louise Bagnall Character:
Story World Characters (Clean Character Design)
Concept Artist / Character Texture Artist:
Alice Dieudonné
Character: Story World Characters (Texture Design)
Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Episode: The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular!
Walt Disney Television Animation
Director: Dave Wasson
Director: Eddie Trigueros
Director: Alonso Ramirez-Ramos
Dragons: Race to the Edge
Episode: Sandbusted
Dreamworks Animation Television
Director: T.J. Sullivan
Tangled: The Series
Episode: Tangled Before Ever After
Walt Disney Television Animation
Director: Tom Caulfield
Director: Stephen Sandoval
The Simpsons – Treehouse of Horror XXVIII
Episode: Treehouse of Horror XXVIII
Gracie Films in Association with 20th
Director: Timothy Bailey
Trollhunters
Episode: Ep 211 – “Unbecoming”
DreamWorks Animation Television
Director: Andrew Schmidt
Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Director: Lee Unkrich
Co-Director: Adrian Molina
The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales
Folivari / Panique! / Studiocanal
Co-Director: Benjamin Renner
Co-Director: Patrick Imbert
The Boss Baby
DreamWorks Animation
Director: Tom McGrath
The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine Productions
Director: Nora Twomey
The LEGO Batman Movie
Warner Animation Group
Director: Chris McKay
Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Episode: The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular!
Walt Disney Television Animation
Composer: Christopher Willis
Home Adventures With Tip & Oh
Episode: Ep 030A “Chercophonie”
DreamWorks Animation Television
Composer: Alex Geringas
Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures
Episode: Trouble on Tibalt
The LEGO Group, Lucasfilm, Wil Film
Composer: Michael Kramer
The Powerpuff Girls
Episode: Home, Sweet Homesick
Cartoon Network Studios
Composer: Mike Reagan
Lyricist: Bob Boyle
Tumble Leaf
Episode: The Nature Of Friendship / The Ship Shop
Amazon Studios Bix Pix Entertainment
Composer/Lyricist: Lisbeth Scott
Music in an Animated Feature Production
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
DreamWorks Animation
Composer: Theodor Shapiro
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Composer/Lyricist: Kristin Anderson-Lopez
Composer/Lyricist: Robert Lopez
Composer: Germaine Franco
Lyricist: Adrian Molina
Loving Vincent
BreakThru Films, Production Company Trademark
Films, Co-Production Company
Composer: Clint Mansell
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Composer/Lyricist: Elyssa Samsel
Composer/Lyricist: Kate Anderson
Composer: Christophe Beck
The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine Productions
Composer: Mychael Danna
Composer: Jeff Danna
Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Big Hero 6 The Series
Episode: Baymax Returns
Walt Disney Television Animation
Production Design: Mark Taihei
Production Design: Ben Plouffe
Production Design: Chris Whittier
Production Design: Sylvia Filcak
Production Design: Amy Chen
Disney Mickey Mouse
Episode: The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular!
Walt Disney Television Animation
Production Design: Jenny Gase-Baker
Production Design: Justin Martin
June
Episode: N/A
Broad Reach Pictures / Chromosphere / Lyft
Production Design: Jasmin Lai
Production Design: Théo Guignard
Production Design: Arthur Chaumay
Production Design: Tiffany Ford
Production Design: Sylvia Liu
Samurai Jack
Episode: XCIII
Adult Swim
Production Design: Scott Wills
The Loud House
Episode: “Tricked!”
Nickelodeon
Production Design: Amanda Rynda
Production Design: Larry Murphy
Production Design: Edgar Duncan
Production Design: Hallie Wilson
Production Design: Jared Morgan
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Production Design: Harley Jessup
Production Design: Danielle Feinberg
Production Design: Bryn Imagire
Production Design: Nathaniel McLaughlin
Production Design: Ernesto Nemesio
Ferdinand
Blue Sky Studios/Twentieth Century Fox Animation
Production Design: Tom Cardone
Production Design: Arden Chan
Production Design: Andrew Hickson
Production Design: Mike Lee
Production Design: Jason Sadler
LEAP!
Main Journey
Production Design: Florent Masurel
Production Design: Pierre-Antoine Moelo
Production Design: Julien Meillard
Production Design: Jean-Jacques Cournoyer
Mary and The Witch’s Flower
Studio Ponoc
Production Design: Tomotaka Kubo
Production Design: Tomoya Imai
Production Design: Satoko Nakamura
The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine Productions
Production Design: Ciaran Duffy
Production Design: Julien Regnard
Production Design: Daby Zainab Faidhi
Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Episode: Bee Inspired
Walt Disney Television Animation
Storyboard Artist: Eddie Trigueros
Home for the Holidays
Episode: Ep 900 “Tip and Oh: Home for the Holidays”
DreamWorks Animation Television
Storyboard Artist: Ben Bury
Niko and the Sword of Light
Episode: From the Phantom Woods to the Mountains of Misery
Amazon Studios
Storyboard Artist: Kim Arndt
Storyboard Artist: Alexandria Kwan
Trollhunters
Episode: 205 – “Hero with a Thousand Faces”
DreamWorks Animation Television
Storyboard Artist: David Woo
Trollhunters
Episode: 213 – “In the Hall of the Gumm-Gumm
King”
DreamWorks Animation Television
Storyboard Artist: Hyunjoo Song
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Storyboard Artist: Dean Kelly
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Storyboard Artist: Madeline Sharafian
The Boss Baby
DreamWorks Animation
Storyboard Artist: Glenn Harmon
The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine Productions
Storyboard Artist: Julien Regnard
The Star
Sony Pictures Animation/Walden Media
Storyboard Artist: Louie del Carmen
Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
BoJack Horseman
Episode: Time’s Arrow
Tornante Productions, LLC for Netflix
Voice Actor: Wendie Malick
Character: Beatrice Horseman
Bunsen is a Beast
Episode: n/a
Nickelodeon
Voice Actor: Jeremy Rowley
Character: Bunsen
Disney Mickey Mouse
Episode: The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular!
Walt Disney Television Animation
Voice Actor: Chris Diamantopoulos
Character: Mickey Mouse
SpongeBob SquarePants
Episode: n/a
Nickelodeon
Voice Actor: Tom Kenny Character:
SpongeBob SquarePants
The Amazing World of Gumball
Episode: The Grades
Great Marlborough Productions limited for Cartoon Network
Voice Actor: Nicolas Cantu
Character: Gumball
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
DreamWorks Animation
Actor: Nick Kroll
Character: Professor Poopypants
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Cast: Anthony Gonzalez Character: Miguel
The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine Productions
Voice: Saara Chaudry Character: Parvana
The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine Productions
Voice: Laara Sadiq Character: Fattema
The LEGO Batman Movie
Warner Animation Group
Zach Galifianakis
Character: Joker
Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Archer
Episode: Archer Dreamland: Jane Doe
FX Productions
Writer: Adam Reed
Disney Mickey Mouse
Episode: Locked in Love
Walt Disney Television Animation
Writer: Darrick Bachman
Milo Murphy’s Law
Episode: The Island of the Lost Dakotas
Disney Television Animation
Writer: Joshua Pruett
Rick and Morty
Episode: 307 – “The Ricklantis Mixup”
Williams Street Productions
Writer: Ryan Ridley
Writer: Dan Guterman
Trollhunters
Episode: 201 – “Escape from the Darklands”
DreamWorks Animation Television
Writer: AC Bradley
Writer: Kevin Hageman
Writer: Dan Hageman
Writer: Aaron Waltke
Writer: Chad Quandt
Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Writer: Adrian Molina
Writer: Matthew Aldrich
Loving Vincent
BreakThru Films, Production Company Trademark
Films, Co-Production Company
Writer: Dorota Kobiela
Writer: Hugh Welchman
Writer: Jacek Dehnel
Mary and The Witch’s Flower
Studio Ponoc
Writer: Riko Sakaguchi
Writer: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Writer: David Freedman
Writer: Lynda Freedman
The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine
Productions
Writer: Anita Doron
Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Bob’s Burgers
Episode: Bob, Actually
Twentieth Century Fox Television / Bento Box Entertainment
Nominee: Mark Seymour
Nominee: Chuck Smith
Nominee: Eric Davidson
BoJack Horseman
Episode: Stupid Piece of Sh*t
Tornante Productions, LLC for Netflix
Nominee: Jose Martinez
Dinotrux
Episode: Ep 053 – “Superchargers”
DreamWorks Animation Television
Nominee: William Rinaldi
Nominee: Justin Baker
Pickle and Peanut
Episode: Bear-I-cade
Disney Television Animation
Nominee: John Royer
Samurai Jack
Episode: XCIII, XCIV, XCIX
Adult Swim
Nominee: Paul Douglas
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
Coco
Pixar Animation Studios
Nominee: Steve Bloom
Nominee: Lee Unkrich
Nominee: Greg Snyder
Nominee: Tim Fox
Ferdinand
Blue Sky Studios/Twentieth Century Fox Animation
Nominee: Harry Hitner
Nominee: Tim Nordquist
The Breadwinner
Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Melusine Productions
Nominee: Darragh Byrne
The LEGO Batman Movie
Warner Animation Group
Nominee: David Burrows
Nominee: Matt Villa
Nominee: John Venzon
The Star
Sony Pictures Animation/Walden Media
Nominee: Pamela Ziegenhagen
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More