Pixar the Big Winner at 43rd Annual Annie Awards

LOS ANGELES -- Pixar Animation Studios was the big winner at the 43rd Annual Annie Awards, Saturday evening at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Inside Out received Best Animated Feature along with 11 other categories, including Outstanding Music -- Michael Giacchino; Outstanding Editing -- Kevin Nolting; Outstanding Production Design -- Ralph Eggleston; Outstanding Voice Acting -- Phyllis Smith as “Sadness”; Outstanding Writing -- Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley; and Best Directing -- Pete Docter. This year was the first for the new 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 World of Tomorrow (Don Hertzfeldt); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial Man and Dog (Psyop); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children Tumble Leaf -- Mirror (Amazon Studios and Bix Pix Entertainment); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Children Wander Over Yonder -- The Breakfast (Disney Television Animation); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for a General Audience The Simpsons -- Halloween of Horror (Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox Television); Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production: The Revenant -- The Bear (Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Anonymous Content, M Productions, Appian Way, RatPac-Dune Entertainment; and Best Student Film ed (Sheridan College -- Taha Neyestani).

-- See the full list of nominees for the 43rd Annual Annie Awards --

“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.”

Presenting the coveted Annie trophies this year were actor, producer & director Edward James Olmos with actress Rita Moreno; actor & writer Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) with actress Laraine Newman (Dawn Of The Croods); actors Alexander Garfin and Hadley Belle Miller (“Linus and Lucy” from The Peanuts Movie) & Snoopy via Video; actress Kristen Schaal (Bob’s Burgers), composer Christophe Beck (Frozen); Phyllis Smith (voice of Sadness from Inside Out) with Bing Bong (Richard Kind) via video; Anomalisa co-directors Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, John Musker and ASIFA-Hollywood President, Jerry Beck and Executive Director, Frank Gladstone.

This year’s Juried Award recipients included Winsor McCay lifetime achievement award -- 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. 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 full list of winners at the 43rd Annual Annie Awards is shown below:

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:
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/Broadcast Production:
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

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. The ceremony was live-streamed again this year at www.annieawards.org/watch-it-live where animation enthusiasts and those unable to attend the event, could watch the show. Highlights of the ceremony will be uploaded to the Annies website in the next few weeks.

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, special events, classes and screenings.

Created in 1972 by June Foray, the Annie Awards have grown in scope and stature for the past four decades.

Source: ASIFA-Hollywood

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.