Disney, DreamWorks Top List of Winners at 37th Annual Annie Awards
Pixar Animation Studio’s “Up” wins the Best Animated Feature honor at the 37th Annual Annie Awards held at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday, Feb. 6. Walt Disney Animation Studios won six Annies overall including three for its feature The “Princess and the Frog” and three for its television production “Prep and Landing.” DreamWorks Animation won five Annies including Best Television Production for Children and Directing/TV for “The Penguins of Madagascar,” Character Animation/TV and Storyboarding/Feature for “Monsters vs. Aliens” and Storyboarding/TV for “Merry Madagascar.” A complete list of winners can be viewed at the Annie Award’s official website www.annieawards.org. The Annie Awards ceremony will be webcast on the Annies website beginning Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
Best Home Entertainment Production went to 20th Century Fox’s “Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder;” Best Animated Short Subject went to ShadowMachine’s Robot Chicken: Star Wars 2.5; Acme Filmworks won Best Animated Television Commercial for Spanish Lottery ‘Deportees’; Best Animated Television Production went to Disney’s Prep and Landing; and Best Animated Television Production for Children went to DreamWorks’ The Penguins of Madagascar.
The Winsor McCay award was given to three industry leaders – Tim Burton, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Bruce Timm. Named in honor of the prolific animator, Winsor McCay, this award stands as one of the highest honors given to an individual in the animation industry in recognition for career contributions to the art of animation. Tim Burton accepted his Winsor via video. Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor, director, producer and one of pop culture’s most recognizable figures, William Shatner, handled hosting duties this year and was joined on stage by a lively mix of animation luminaries, celebrity presenters and comedic talent including animation legend June Foray, actors Seth Green John Leguizamo, Sean Astin and industry notables Pete Docter, Ed Catmull and Henry Selick. A special tribute to the late Roy Disney was introduced by Don Hahn.
“ASIFA-Hollywood congratulates all of the Annie Award winners,” said ASIFA-Hollywood President Antran Manoogian. “With so many outstanding animated productions and talented artists vying for an Annie, it made it another difficult year to select the best in our industry.”
Often a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the Annie Awards recognize the year’s best animated features, television productions, commercials, short subjects and outstanding individual achievements in the field of animation. Entries submitted for consideration were from productions that originally aired, were exhibited in an animation festival or commercially released between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.
Created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards have grown in scope and stature for the past three decades, and is considered the highest and most prestigious honor given in animation by the animation industry. 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 film preservation, special events, classes and screenings.
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“Ǝvolution” Comes Full Circle At The Chelsea Film Festival
The Chelsea Film Festival, running from October 16th through October 20th, 2024, at Regal Cinemas here in Union Square, is set to host the East Coast premiere of Ǝvolution, a thought-provoking experimental micro-short film that proves big ideas can come in small packages and in perfect circles.
In just 1 minute 16 seconds, this cinematic gem by Award-Winning Director Romina Schwedler, with original music by Argentine Composer Ignacio Montoya Carlotto, explores a cycle as old as time: life leads to progress, progress leads to destruction, and destruction, well, leads back to life. But is this vicious circle unbreakable? Ǝvolution suggests the answer is yes, unless we decide to open our eyes.
Inspired by the overwhelming number of recent events that threaten human existence, Ǝvolution, possibly the shortest film in this 12th edition of the festival, plays out entirely through the symbolism of circles, cleverly illustrating —in the blink of an eye— the repeating patterns of history, and confronting viewers with the uncomfortable truth that our so-called “progress” may, in fact, be guiding us to our own ruin.Premiering at the Regal 14 Union Square, New York City, on October 18, 2024, at 11 a.m., Romina Schwedler's micro-short, featuring Leah Young with cinematography by Alan J. Carmona, will be sure to spark conversations longer than the film itself! Forcing viewers to reconsider the true meaning of evolution, not just as a biological process, but as a reflection of our collective journey as humans.
With a string of festival appearances across the globe, including CineGlobe at CERN (Switzerland/France), Oscar®... Read More