BURBANK, Calif. --

ASIFA-Hollywood has unveiled nominations for its 48th Annual Annie Awards™ recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. This year’s ceremony will be streamed live on Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m. PST. 

This year’s Best Animated Feature nominations include: 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) and Trolls World Tour (DreamWorks Animation).            

Best Animated Feature-Independent, spotlighting features with a much smaller distribution footprint than major studio releases, include: 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), Ride Your Wave (Science SARU) and Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Saloon/Melusine).

“What an odd year this has been! While animation has fared better than much of the entertainment industry, the situation around the pandemic has thrown all of us for a loop,” remarked Frank Gladstone, Annies executive producer. “We had no idea what to expect going into award season. To then see a year where we had more submissions than ever before was a huge and most welcome surprise. Though it might have initially seemed a little counter-intuitive, now we are approaching the Annies with optimism and the new year with a renewed sense of community.”

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. 

Juried Awards will also be presented during the ceremony, honoring unparalleled achievement and exceptional contributions to animation. The Winsor McCay Award for career contributions to the art of animation are being presented to three recipients–Willie Ito; posthumously to Sue Nichols; and Bruce Smith. The June Foray Award for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation will be awarded to animator and art director, Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi. The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement that has made a significant impact on the art and industry of animation will be presented to Epic Games for its Unreal Engine; and The Special Achievement Award recognizing the 
unique and significant impact on the art and industry of animation will be presented to Howard, the documentary about lyricist and storyteller, the late Howard Ashman.   

ASIFA-Hollywood is the world’s first and foremost professional organization dedicated to promoting the Art of Animation and celebrating the people who create it. Today, ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest chapter of the international organization ASIFA, supports a range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, Animation Aid Foundation, animated film preservation, special events, classes and screenings.   

Created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards™ have grown in scope and stature for the past four decades. Here’s a rundown of Annie nominees:

Nominations

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

Ride Your Wave
Science SARU

Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
Apple Original Films/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’
Pasion 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 director: Yuanqing Cai, Nathan Crabot, Houzhi Huang, Mikolaj Janiw, Mandimby Lebon, Théo Tran Ngoc
School: Gobelins, l’école de l’image

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

Latitude du printemps
Student director: Sylvain
Cuvillier, Chloé Bourdic,
Théophile Coursimault,
Noémie Halberstam, Malis 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
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
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
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
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

Marvels 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
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
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
Masaaki Yuasa

Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Pete Docter, Kemp Powers

Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
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
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
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
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
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
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
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+
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
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
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
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine
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 in
association with Creative
Wealth Media
Fiona Toth, Ken Schretzmann, ACE

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