Pixar Animation Studios was the big winner at the 43rd Annual Annie Awards, Saturday evening (2/6) as Inside Out earned Best Animated Feature distinction along with 11 other wins including Best Directing for Pete Docter, Writing for Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley, Editing for Kevin Nolting, Music for Michael Giacchino, Production Design for Ralph Eggleston and Voice Acting for Phyllis Smith as “Sadness.”
This year was the first for the new Annie category Best Animated Feature-Independent with Filme de Papel’s Boy and the World taking this top honor.
The Best Animated Special Production was awarded to He Named Me Malala (Parkes-MacDonald/Little Door); Best Animated Short Subject to World of Tomorrow (Don Hertzfeldt); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial to Coca-Cola’s “Man and Dog” (Psyop); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children to Tumble Leaf, the “Mirror” episode (Amazon Studios and Bix Pix Entertainment); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Children to Wander Over Yonder, “The Breakfast” episode (Disney Television Animation); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for a General Audience to The Simpsons, the “Halloween of Horror” episode (Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox Television); Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production to The Revenant–The Bear (Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Anonymous Content, M Productions, Appian Way, RatPac-Dune Entertainment; and Best Student Film to ed (Sheridan College–Taha Neyestani).
“The Annies are drawing more attention from both our industry and the general motion picture industry,” said ASIFA-Hollywood executive director, Frank Gladstone. “We wait all year for this event and it never disappoints! It was a fun evening looking back at our history and celebrating what we have accomplished over this past year.”
This year’s Juried Award recipients included the Winsor McCay lifetime achievement award bestowed upon Joe Ranft (posthumously), Phil Roman and Isao Takahata. The Winsor McCay Award is one of the highest honors given to an individual in the animation industry in recognition for career contributions to the art of animation. And Don Hahn was this year’s June Foray award recipient which honors an individual who has given significant and benevolent contributions to the art and industry of animation.
The Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of 36 categories, and have often been a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Best Animated Feature
Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Best Animated Special Production
He Named Me Malala – Parkes-MacDonald / Little Door
Best Animated Short Subject
Don Hertzfeldt – World of Tomorrow
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial
Coca-Cola's "Man and Dog" – Psyop
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children
Tumble Leaf – Episode: Mirror – Amazon Studios and Bix Pix Entertainment
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Children
Wander Over Yonder – Episode: The Breakfast – Disney Television Animation
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for a General Audience
The Simpsons – Episode: Halloween of Horror – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox Television
Best Animated Feature-Independent
Boy and the World – Filme de Papel
Best Student Film
ed – Taha Neyestani, Sheridan College
Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Jon Reisch and Stephen Marshall – The Good Dinosaur – Pixar Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Michael Balog, Jim Van Allen, Florent Andorra and Georg Kaltenbrunner – Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron – Sokovia Destruction – Marvel Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Television/BroadcastProduction
Chi-Ho Chan – Dragons: Race to the Edge – Episode: “Have Dragon Will Travel, Part 1” – DreamWorks Animation Television
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Feature Production
Allison Rutland – Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Matthew Shumway, Adrian Millington, Blaine Toderian, Alexander Poei and Kevin Lan – The Revenant – The Bear (Judy) – Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Anonymous Content, M Productions, Appian Way, RatPac-Dune Entertainment
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game
David Gibson – Evolve – 2K Games
Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in a TV/Broadcast Production
Craig Kellman – Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas – Screen Novelties and Warner Bros.
Animation
Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Albert Lozano and Chris Sasaki – Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Matt Braly – Gravity Falls – Episode: Northwest Mansion Mystery – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Pete Docter – Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Music in a TV/Broadcast Production
Christopher Willis – Disney Mickey Mouse – Episode: ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production
Michael Giacchino – Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Kevin Dart, Sylvia Liu, Chris Turnham and Eastwood Wong – The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show – Episode: “Peabody’s Parents/Galileo” – DreamWorks Animation Television
Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Ralph Eggleston – Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a TV/Broadcast Production
Alonso Ramirez Ramos – Disney Mickey Mouse – Episode: ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Tony Rosenast – Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Kristen Schaal – Bob’s Burgers – Episode: Hawk & Chick – Twentieth Century Fox Television and Bento Box Entertainment
Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Phyllis Smith – Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Steven Davis and Kelvin Yu – Bob’s Burgers – Episode: The Hauntening – Twentieth Century Fox Television Bento Box Entertainment
Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley – Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in a TV/Broadcast Production
Illya Owens – Disney Mickey Mouse – Episode: Coned – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
Kevin Nolting – Inside Out – Pixar Animation Studios
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