Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia won the top honor as it was named Best Animated Feature at the 44th Annual Annie Awards, Saturday evening (2/4) at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Zootopia garned a total of six Annies: Outstanding Storyboarding–Dean Wellins; Outstanding Character Design–Cory Loftis; Outstanding Voice Acting–Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde; Outstanding Writing-–Jared Bush & Phil Johnston; and Best Directing–Byron Howard & Rich Moore.
The Red Turtle (Studio Ghibli – Wild Bunch – Why Not Productions) was named Best Independent Animated Feature.
Laika’s Kubo And The Two Strings garnered three Annies–for Outstanding Achievement in Character Animation, Production Design and Editorial.
Best Animated Special Production was awarded to Pear Cider and Cigarettes (Massive Swerve Studios and Passion Pictures Animation). Best Animated Short distinction was earned by Piper (Pixar Animation Studios). Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial was Loteria’s “Night Shift" (Passion Pictures Ltd.).
The Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for a General Audience Annie went to Bob’s Burgers for the “Glued, Where’s My Bob?” episode (Bento Box Entertainment). Taking the Annie for Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production was The Jungle Book (Walt Disney Pictures).
“It was a big year for animation all around. We saw a huge number of projects, great diversity of subjects and styles and increasing international participation,” said Frank Gladstone, Annie Awards executive producer. “Animation’s positive impact on communities worldwide was evident throughout the evening.”
Special honors
The Winsor McCay recipients this year were legendary animator Dale Baer; independent animation champion Caroline Leaf; and influential anime director Mamoru Oshii for career contributions to the art form.
The Ub Iwerks Award was presented to Google Spotlight’s Virtual Reality Platform for technical advancement.
The Special Achievement Award was presented to Life, Animated, a documentary about animation’s effect on one young autistic man’s journey.
The June Foray Award was presented to Bill & Sue Kroyer for their career-long benevolent and public-spirited influence within the animation community.
Certificate of Merit awards were presented to Leslie Ezeh, ASIFA-Hollywood volunteer coordinator and Gary Perkovac, ASIFA-Hollywood’s office manager.
The Annie Awards™ honor 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.
Here’s a category-by-category rundown of Annie winners:
PRODUCTION CATEGORIES
Best Animated Feature
Zootopia
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated Feature-Independent
The Red Turtle
Studio Ghibli – Wild Bunch – Why Not Productions
Best Animated Special Production
Pear Cider And Cigarettes
Massive Swerve Studios and Passion Pictures Animation
Best Animated Short Subject
Piper
Pixar Animation Studios
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial
Loteria ‘Night Shift’
Passion Pictures Ltd
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
Tumble Leaf
Episode: Mighty Mud Movers / Having a Ball
Amazon Studios and Bix Pix Entertainment
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Children
Adventure TIme
Episode: Bad Jubies
Bix Pix Entertainment Cartoon Network Frederator Studios
Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Bob’s Burgers
Episode: Glued, Where’s My Bob?
Bento Box Entertainment
Best Student Film
Citipati – Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Moana
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Head of Effects Animation: Marlon West
Effects Lead: Erin V. Ramos
Effects Lead: Blair Pierpont
Foundation Effects Lead: Ian J. Coony
Effects Lead: John M. Kosnik
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Dr. Strange – Mirror Dimension
Marvel Studios
FX Supervisor: Georg Kaltenbrunner
Digital Artist : Michael Marcuzzi
Digital Artist : Thomas Bevan
Digital Artist : Andrew Graham
Digital Artist: Jihyun Yoon
Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
DreamWorks Trollhunters
Episode: Becoming, Part 1
DreamWorks Animation Television
Character Animator: Mike Chaffe Character:
Blinky, Aaarrrgghh!!
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
Kubo and the Two Strings
LAIKA
Animator: Jan Maas Character: Multiple
Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production
The Jungle Book – Walt Disney Pictures – Animation Supervisor: Andrew R. Jones, Animation Supervisor: Peta Bayley, Animation Supervisor: Gabriele Zucchelli, Character Supervisor: Benjamin Jones
Character Animation in a Video Game
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Naughty Dog
Lead Animator: Jeremy Yates Character: All
Lead Animator: Almudena Soria Character: All
Lead Animator: Eric Baldwin Character: All
Lead Animator: Paul Davies Character: All
Lead Animator: Tom Bland Character: All
Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
DreamWorks Trollhunters
Episode: Win, Lose or Draal
DreamWorks Animation Television
Character Designer: Victor Maldonado
Character: All Characters
Character Designer: Alfredo Torres
Character: All Characters
Character Designer: Jules Rigolle Character: All Characters
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Zootopia
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Character Design : Cory Loftis Character:
Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps, Flash, Chief Bogo,
Clawhauser, Mr. Big, Fru Fru, Koslov,
Bellwether, Yax, Finnick, Doug, Mr. and Mrs.
Otterton, Duke Weaselton, Misc. Characters
Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Pearl
Episode: N/A
Google Spotlight Stories/Evil Eye Pictures
Director: Patrick Osborne
Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Zootopia
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Director: Byron Howard
Director: Rich Moore
Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Pearl
Episode: N/A
Google Spotlight Stories/Evil Eye Pictures
Composer: Scot Stafford
Composer/Lyricist: Alexis Harte
Composer/Lyricist: JJ Wiesler
Music in an Animated Feature Production
The Little Prince
Netflix and On Animation Studios
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Composer: Richard Harvey
Composer/Lyricist: Camille (no last name)
Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Pearl
Episode: N/A
Google Spotlight Stories/Evil Eye Pictures
Production Design: Tuna Bora
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Kubo and the Two Strings
LAIKA
Production Design: Nelson Lowry
Production Design: Trevor Dalmer
Production Design: August Hall
Production Design: Ean McNamara
Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
DreamWorks Trollhunters
Episode: Win, Lose or Draal
DreamWorks Animation Television
Storyboard Artist: Hyunjoo Song
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Zootopia
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Storyboard Artist: Dean Wellins
Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show
Episode: Ponce de León
DreamWorks Animation Television
Cast: Carlos Alazaraqui Character: Ponce de León
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Moana
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Voice Actress: Auli’i Cravalho Character: Moana
Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Bob’s Burgers
Episode: The Hormone-iums
Bento Box Entertainment
Writer: Lizzie Molyneux
Writer: Wendy Molyneux
Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Zootopia
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Writer: Jared Bush
Writer: Phil Johnston
Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse
Episode: Sock Burglar
Disney Television Animation
Illya Owens
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
Kubo and the Two Strings
LAIKA
Christopher Murrie
