50th Annual Annie Award Nominations Announced

ASIFA-Hollywood has just released nominations for its 50th Annual Annie Awards recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. This year, the ceremony is scheduled to be held live, in-person on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

Disney and Pixar's Turning Red (Pixar Animation Studios); Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company); Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (DreamWorks Animation); The Sea Beast (Netflix); and Wendell & Wild (Netflix Presents A Monkeypaw Production / A Gotham Group Production) lead the pack as nominees for Best Animated Feature.

Best Animated Feature-Independent, spotlighting features with a much smaller distribution footprint than major studio releases, include Charlotte (January Films, Ltd., Balthazar Productions, and Walking the Dog); Inu-Oh (Science SARU); Little Nicholas, Happy As Can Be (On Classics (Mediawan) / Bidibul Productions); Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (Marcel the Movie LLC); and My Father's Dragon (Cartoon Saloon for Netflix).

Overall, Netflix leads all studios / producers with a whopping 50 nominations, followed by Disney (across the company) with 21, DreamWorks Animation with 14, and Pixar with 10. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio leads all nominees with 11, followed by Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and The Sea Beast with 8 each, and The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse with 7.

“After two years of virtual awards, as much fun as they were, everyone is so eager to get back to a live, in-person event,” remarked Frank Gladstone, Annies executive producer. “This is doubly true since this is the Annie Awards 50th year, our Golden Anniversary! We are returning to UCLA’s Royce Hall for an Annies with all the trimmings, and a few surprises. It is important for all of us to be together again, celebrating our community, our accomplishments, and our love for animation and the people who create it.”

Juried Awards will be presented during the ceremony, honoring unparalleled achievement and exceptional contributions to animation. The Winsor McCay Award in recognition of lifetime or career contributions are being presented to three recipients – Pete Docter, animated feature writer/director and Pixar CEO; Evelyn Lambart (posthumously), early National Film Board of Canada collaborator, including her significant series of short films; and Craig McCracken, prolific, influential television series creator. The June Foray Award for significant and benevolent or charitable impact will be awarded to Mindy Johnson, author, historian and educator.

The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement affecting the animation industry will be presented to Visual Effects Reference Platform, initially developed by Nick Cannon and Francois Chardavoine to eliminate incompatibilities between digital content creation software. The Certificate of Merit Award for service to the art and industry will be presented to John Omohundro.

This year’s sponsors and advertisers include: Platinum Level – DreamWorks Animation, Netflix, Nickelodeon, and Walt Disney Animation Studios/Pixar Animation Studios; Gold Level – Disney TV Animation, Illumination Entertainment and Riot Games; Silver Level – Pixar Animation Studios, and Walt Disney Animation Studios; Bronze Level – Epic Games, GKIDS, LightBox Expo, Skydance Animation and The Gotham Group; and Education/Nonprofit Level – The Animation Guild LATSE Local 839 and Sheridan College.

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, animation open source support, 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. For information regarding the Annie Awards, please visit https://annieawards.org/.

The full list of nominations in all categories is shown below:

Best Feature

• Disney and Pixar's Turning Red - Pixar Animation Studios
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - DreamWorks Animation
• The Sea Beast - Netflix
• Wendell & Wild - Netflix Presents A Monkeypaw Production / A Gotham Group Production

Best Indie Feature

• Charlotte - January Films, Ltd., Balthazar Productions, and Walking the Dog
• Inu-Oh - Science SARU
• Little Nicholas, Happy As Can Be - On Classics (Mediawan) / Bidibul Productions
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - Marcel the Movie LLC
• My Father's Dragon - Cartoon Saloon for Netflix

Best Special Production

• Prehistoric Planet - BBC Studios in association with Apple
• Superworm - Magic Light Pictures
• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions
• The House - Nexus Studios for Netflix
• The Sandman - A Netflix Original Series / A Warner Bros. Television Production

Best Short Subject

• Amok - Boddah
• Black Slide - The Hive Studio, in co-production with FlipBook Studio
• Ice Merchants - COLA Animation production & Wild Stream
• Love, Dad - 13ka, in co-production with FAMU & nutprodukcia
• The Flying Sailor - National Film Board of Canada

Best Sponsored

• Can't Negotiate the Melting Point of Ice - NOMINT
• Minions: The Rise of Gru / The Office - Illumination
• Save Ralph - Arch Model Studio
• Ted Lasso: The Missing Christmas Mustache - Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television
• Today's Holiday Moments are Tomorrow's Memories - Hornet

Best TV/Media - Preschool

• Elinor Wonders Why - Episode: 136B - Rest is Best - SHOE Ink. LLC
• Gabby's Dollhouse - Episode: Cakey's Cupcake Cousins - DreamWorks Animation
• Rise Up, Sing Out - Episode: Name Tag - Disney TV Animation
• Spirit Rangers - Episode: Thunder Mountain - Laughing Wild / Netflix
• The Tiny Chef Show - Episode: Pancakes - Tiny Chef Productions LLC / Imagine Entertainment

Best TV/Media - Children

• Abominable and the Invisible City - Episode: Everest Returns - DreamWorks Animation
• Big Nate - Episode: The Legend of the Gunting - Nickelodeon Animation
• Moominvalley - Episode: Lonely Mountain - Gutsy Animations
• The Owl House - Episode: King's Tide - Disney TV Animation
• We Baby Bears - Episode: The Real Crayon - Cartoon Network Studios

Best TV/Media - Mature

• Bob's Burgers - Episode: Some Like it Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner - 20th Television/Bento Box Entertainment
• Harley Quinn - Episode: Batman Begins Forever - Warner Bros. Animation
• Rick and Morty - Episode: Night Family - Rick and Morty LLC
• The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror XXXIII - Episode: Treehouse of Horror XXXIII - A Gracie Films Production in Association with 20th Television Animation
• Tuca & Bertie - Episode: The Pain Garden - The Tornante Company

Best TV/Media – Limited Series

• BAYMAX! - Episode: Sofia - Walt Disney Animation Studios
• El Deafo - Episode: Everybody Sounds So Weird - Lighthouse Studios in association with Apple
• HouseBroken - Episode: Who's Having A Merry Trashmas? - Kapital Entertainment and FOX Entertainment
• Oni: Thunder God's Tale - Episode: The Demon Moon Rises - A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production
• Undone - Episode: Rectify - Tornante Company and Amazon Studios

Best Student Film

• Au revoir Jérôme ! - Student Director: Adam Sillard, Gabrielle Selnet & Chloé Farr - School: Gobelins, l'école de l'image
• Birdsong - Student Director: Michelle Cheng - Student Producer: Michelle Cheng - School: California Institute of the Arts
• Synchronie Passagère - Student Director: Julia Le Bras-Juarez - School: Supinfocom Rubika
• The Most Boring Granny in the Whole World - Student Director: Damaris Zielke - Student Producer: Jiayan Chen - School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
• The Soloists - Student Director: Mehrnaz Abdollahinia, Feben Elias Woldehawariat, Razahk Issaka, Celeste Jamneck & Yi Liu - School: Gobelins, l'école de l'image

Best FX - TV/Media

• Cars on the Road - Episode: Road Rumblers - Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios - FX Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios - Christopher Foreman, Elana Lederman, John Lockwood, Jae Jun Yi, Justin Ritter
• Love Death + Robots - Episode: Bad Traveling - Production Company: Blur Studio for Netflix - FX Production Company: Blur Studio - Kirby Miller, Igor Zanic, Joseph H. Coleman, Steven Dupuy, Josh Schwartz
• Prehistoric Planet - Episode: Coasts - Production Company: BBC Studios in association with Apple - FX Production Company: MPC - MPC
• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Episode: special production - Production Company: NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions - FX Production Company: NoneMore Productions - Peter Baynton, Raymond Pang, Martial Coulon
• The House - Episode: special production - Production Company: Nexus Studios for Netflix - FX Production Company: Nexus Studios - Germán Díez, Álvaro Alonso Lomba, Hugo Vieites Caamaño

Best FX - Feature

• Avatar: The Way of Water - Production Company: 20th Century Studios / Disney Studios - FX Production Company: Wētā FX - Johnathan M. Nixon, David Moraton, Nicholas Illingworth, David Caeiro Cebrian, Alex Nowotny
• Disney and Pixar's Lightyear - Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios - FX Production Company: Pixar - Carl Kaphan, Cody Harrington, Hope Schroers, Jon Barry, Nate Skeen
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Production Company: Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company - FX Production Company: MPC - Aaron Weintraub, Warren Lawtey, Alireza Malmiri, Baptiste Malbranque, Mikhail Donchenko
• Minions: The Rise of Gru - Production Company: Illumination - FX Production Company: Illumination - Frank Baradat, Simon Pate, Milan Voukassovitch, Milo Riccarand
• The Sea Beast - Production Company: Netflix - FX Production Company: Sony Pictures Imageworks - Spencer Lueders, Dmitriy Kolesnik, Kiel Gnebba, Oleksandr (Alex) Loboda , Jeremy Hoey

Best Character Animation - TV/Media

• Entergalactic - Episode: special production - Netflix / Mad Solar / Khalabo Ink Society / Edelgang - Aziz Kocanagullari
• Oni: Thunder God's Tale - Episode: The Mighty Storm Gods - A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production - Toshihiro Nakamura
• StoryBots: Answer Time - Episode: Taste - JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix - Henrique Baron
• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Episode: special production - NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions - Tim Watts
• The House - Episode: special production - Nexus Studios for Netflix - Kecy Salangad

Best Character Animation - Feature

• Disney and Pixar's Turning Red - Pixar Animation Studios - Teresa Falcone
• Disney and Pixar's Turning Red - Pixar Animation Studios - Eric Anderson
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company - Tucker Barrie
• The Bad Guys - DreamWorks Animation - Jorge Capote
• The Bad Guys - DreamWorks Animation - Min Hong

Best Character Animation - Live Action

• Avatar: The Way of Water - Wētā FX - Daniel Barrett, Stuart Adcock, Todd Labonte, Douglas McHale, Stephen Cullingford
• Beast – Framestore - Alvise Avati, Chris McGaw, Bora Şahin, Krzysztof Boyoko, Laurent Benhamo
• Finch – MPC - Simon Allen, Harinarayan Rajeev, Paul Nelson, Matthias Schoenegger
• Jurassic World Dominion - Industrial Light & Magic - Jance Rubinchik, Alexander Lee, Rich Bentley, Antoine Verney Carron, Sally Wilson
• Peacemaker - Wētā FX -Michael Cozens, Mark Smith, Kai-Hua Lan, Selene McLean, Richard John Moore

Best Character Animation - Video Game

• Cuphead - The Delicious Last Course - Studio MDHR - Chad Moldenhauer, Hanna Abi-Hanna
• God of War Ragnarök - Santa Monica Studio - NA NA
• Horizon Forbidden West – Guerrilla -Richard Oud, Jan-Erik Sjovall, Guerrilla Animation Team
• Moss: Book II - Episode: A single game – Polyarc - Richard Lico
• Potionomics - Voracious Games - Emily Lattanavong , Anguel Bogoev

Best Character Design - TV/Media

• Amphibia - Episode: The Hardest Thing - Disney TV Animation - Joe Sparrow
• Entergalactic - Episode: special production - Netflix / Mad Solar / Khalabo Ink Society / Edelgang - Meybis Ruiz Cruz
• Love Death + Robots - Episode: Jibaro - Blur Studio for Netflix - Alberto Mielgo
• Oni: Thunder God's Tale - Episode: The Demon Moon Rises - A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production - Rebecca Chan
• Spirit Rangers - Episode: Belly of the Beast - Laughing Wild / Netflix - Marie Delmas

Best Character Design - Feature

• Luck - Skydance LLC - Massimiliano Narciso
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - DreamWorks Animation - Jesús Alonso Iglesias
• Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie - Nickelodeon Animation Studio - Ida Hem
• The Bad Guys - DreamWorks Animation - Taylor Krahenbuhl
• Wendell & Wild - Netflix Presents A Monkeypaw Production / A Gotham Group Production - Pablo Lobato

Best Direction - TV/Media

• BAYMAX! - Episode: Sofia - Walt Disney Animation Studios - Lissa Treiman
• exception / エクセプション - Episode: Misprint - Studio 5 / Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. for Netflix- Yûzô Satô | サトウユーゾー
• More Than I Want To Remember - Episode: short subject - Mugeni Film LLC, MTV Entertainment Studios - Amy Bench , Maya Edelman
• Oni: Thunder God's Tale - Episode: The Demon Moon Rises - A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production - Daisuke " Dice" Tsutsumi
• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Episode: special production - NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions - Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy

Best Direction - Feature

• Disney and Pixar's Turning Red - Pixar Animation Studios - Domee Shi
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company - Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - Marcel the Movie LLC - Dean Fleischer Camp, Kirsten Lepore, Stephen Chiodo 
• My Father's Dragon - Cartoon Saloon for Netflix - Nora Twomey
• Wendell & Wild - Netflix Presents A Monkeypaw Production / A Gotham Group Production - Henry Selick

Best Music - TV/Media

• Love Death + Robots - Episode: The Very Pulse of the Machine - Blur Studio for Netflix - Rob Cairns
• Oni: Thunder God's Tale - Episode: Onari's Kushi Power - A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production - Zach Johnston, Matteo Roberts
• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Episode: special production - NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions - Isobel Waller-Bridge, Charlie Mackesy
• The Cuphead Show! - Episode: Carn-Evil - Netflix Animation - Ego Plum
• The House - Episode: special production - Nexus Studios for Netflix - Gustavo Santaolalla

Best Music - Feature

• Disney and Pixar's Turning Red - Pixar Animation Studios - Ludwig Göransson, Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company - Alexandre Desplat, Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale
• Mad God - Tippett Studio - Dan Wool
• The Bad Guys - DreamWorks Animation - Daniel Pemberton
• The Sea Beast – Netflix - Mark Mancia, Nell Benjamin, Laurence O'Keefe

Best Production Design - TV/Media

• Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal - Episode: Echoes of Eternity - Adult Swim - Scott Wills
• Mall Stories - Atilla the Grilla - Episode: short subject - Chromosphere / Kikutowne - Jasmin Lai, Lauren Zurcher, Junyi Wu
• Oni: Thunder God's Tale - Episode: The Demon Moon Rises - A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production - Robert Kondo, Rachel Tiep-Daniels, Lia Tin, Yohei Hashizume, Masa Inada
• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Episode: special production - NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions - Mike McCain
• The House - Episode: special production - Nexus Studios for Netflix - Niklas Nilsson, Alexandra Walker

Best Production Design - Feature

• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company - Curt Enderle, Guy Davis
• Mad God - Tippett Studio - Phil Tippett
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - DreamWorks Animation - Nate Wragg, Joseph Feinsilver, Claire Keane, Wayne Tsay, Naveen Selvanathan
• The Bad Guys - DreamWorks Animation - Luc Desmarchelier, Floriane Marchix
• The Sea Beast – Netflix - Matthias Lechner, Jung Woonyoung

Best Storyboarding - TV/Media

• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners - Episode: Let You Down - CD Projekt Red in association with Netflix - Kaneko Yoshiyuk
• Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight - Episode: The Knight's Code - DreamWorks Animation - Grace Liu
• Looney Tunes Cartoons - Episode: Hex Appeal - Warner Bros. Animation - Mike Ruocco
• Love Death + Robots - Episode: The Very Pulse of the Machine - Blur Studio for Netflix - Emily Dean
• The Cuphead Show! - Episode: A Very Devil Christmas - Netflix Animation - Karl Hadrika

Best Storyboarding – Feature

• Minions: The Rise of Gru – Illumination - Nima Azarba (null)
• Minions: The Rise of Gru – Illumination - Dave Feiss (null)
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - DreamWorks Animation - Anthony Holden (null)
• Strange World - Walt Disney Animation Studios - Jeff Snow (null)
• Strange World - Walt Disney Animation Studios - Javier Ledesma Barbolla (null)

Best Voice Acting - TV/Media

• Looney Tunes Cartoons - Episode: Hex Appeal - Warner Bros. Animation - Candi Milo (Witch Hazel)
• StoryBots: Answer Time - Episode: Glue - JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix - Fred Tatsciore (Bang)
• Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls Mayhem in the Multiverse - Episode: Full Movie - Warner Bros Animation - Tara Strong (Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Raven)
• The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder - Episode: New Kids On The Block - Disney TV Animation - Karen Malina White (Dijonay Jones)
• Zootopia+ - Episode: The Godfather of the Bride - Walt Disney Animation Studios - Maurice LaMarche (Mr. Big)

Best Voice Acting - Feature

• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company - David Bradley
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company - Gregory Mann
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - Marcel the Movie LLC - Jenny Slate
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - DreamWorks Animation - Wagner Moura
• The Sea Beast – Netflix - Zaris-Angel Hator

Best Writing - TV/Media

• BAYMAX! - Episode: Sofia - Walt Disney Animation Studios - Cirocco Dunlap
• Big Nate - Episode: The Legend of the Gunting - Nickelodeon Animation Studio - Mitch Watson, Emily Brundige, Ben Lapides, Sarah Allan
• Love Death + Robots - Episode: Bad Traveling - Blur Studio for Netflix - Andrew Kevin Walker
• The House - Episode: special production - Nexus Studios for Netflix - Enda Walsh
• Tuca & Bertie - Episode: The Pain Garden - The Tornante Company - Lisa Hanawalt

Best Writing - Feature

• Disney and Pixar's Turning Red - Pixar Animation Studios - Domee Shi, Julia Cho
• ETERNAL SPRING (長春) - Lofty Sky Entertainment Inc. - Jason Loftus
• Inu-Oh - Science SARU - AKIKO NOGI
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - Marcel the Movie LLC - Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, Nick Paley, Elisabeth Holm

Best Editorial - TV/Media

• Amphibia - Episode: All In - Disney TV Animation - Andrew Sorcini, Yoonah Yim, Jennifer Calbi, Julie Anne Lau, Louis Russell
• Green Eggs and Ham - Episode: The Sam Who Came In From The Cold - Gulfstream Pictures/ A Stern Talking To/ A Very Good Production in association with Warner Bros. Animation for Netflix - Margaret Hou
• Karma's World - Episode: Keys, The Inventor - 9 Story Media Group, Brown Bag Films and Karma’s World Entertainment for Netflix - Damien Dunne, Ultan Murphy, Emma O'Brien, Fred O'Connor, Aiden McKenna
• Star Trek: Lower Decks - Episode: The Stars At Night - CBS’s Eye Animation Productions, Titmouse; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment - Andy Maxwell, Zach Lamplugh, Brandon Brocker, Paul Mazzotta
• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Episode: special production - NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions - Daniel Budin

Best Editorial - Feature

• Disney and Pixar's Lightyear – Pixar Animation Studios
• Disney and Pixar's Turning Red - Pixar Animation Studios
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Dreamworks Animation
• The Sea Beast – Netflix

Source: ASIFA-Hollywood

Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.