Pepsi/ Mirinda’s "Genie" has won the best commercial honor at the 28th annual Annie Awards, which recognize excellence in animation. Mike Wellins of Will Vinton Studios, Portland, Ore., directed the stop-motion animation spot for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
"Genie" topped a field of Annie TV commercial nominees that also consisted of: Crayola’s "About Face" directed by David Wasson of Acme Filmworks, Hollywood, for Leo Burnett Co., Chicago; WebTV’s "Xmas Elf" helmed by Acme’s Corky Quakenbush for FCB, San Francisco; Nike’s "Playa’s Delight" featuring basketball star Kevin Garnett and directed by Ed Bell of San Francisco-based Wild Brain for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland; and Village Pantry’s "Carpool" directed by Darrell Van Citters of Burbank, Calif.-based Renegade Animation for Ron Foth Advertising, Columbus, Ohio.
Presented by the Burbank-based chapter of the International Animated Film Society—a.k.a. ASIFA-Hollywood—the Annie Awards’ competition honors animation in various entertainment disciplines, including feature film, TV programs, spots and interactive media. The big winner was Toy Story 2, which topped seven Annie categories, including best animation feature. The movie was made by computer animation house Pixar in Richmond, Calif., and Walt Disney Pictures, Burbank. Among the other Toy Story 2 honorees were composer Randy Newman and voice actors Tim Allen and Joan Cusack. Pixar’s John Lasseter directed the film.
ASIFA is the French acronym for Association Internationale du Film d’Animation, an organization founded 43 years ago in France by a group of professional animators. ASIFA was chartered by UNESCO in 1960 to encourage the art of animation and further international understanding and goodwill through the animation medium. Currently, there are ASIFA chapters in nearly 30 countries. The Hollywood chapter founded the Annie Awards in ’72.
Emceed by Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, who are the voices of TV’s "Pinky and the Brain," the awards ceremony was held this past Saturday (11/11) at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.
