Feb 4, 2017

'Zootopia' will receive 6 Annie Awards including best animation feature (Complete list of winners & Analysis)

“I've been to several Annies and this by far is the fucking weirdest one ever,” said Zootopia co-director Rich Moore, as he accepted the Annie Award for directing an animated feature production.

It was one of six awards that Zootopia won at ASIFA-Hollywood's 44th annual Annie Awards, which took place tonight at Royce Hall on campus of University of California, Los Angeles. The Disney film also won the top prize for animated feature, as well as recognition for best writing in an animated feature. In all, the Walt Disney Company won 11 out of the 31 awards that were voted on by ASIFA-Hollywood members.

Laika's Kubo and the Two Strings managed three wins from ten nominations. Impressively, it included wins for character animation and production design in an animated feature, as well as editing, but with all the momentum Kubo had going into the Annies, the results can be seen as largely disappointing, especially compared to Zootopia's haul.

Michael Dudok de Wit won the independent animated feature category for his co-production with Studio Ghibli, The Red Turtle. That win will give him a boost of recognition heading into the Oscars, where his film is one of the five nominees alongside Zootopia and Kubo.

On the television side, Bob's Burger's won for both general audience tv production and writing in an tv/broadcast production, but another significant winner was Dreamworks' Trollhunters, which picked up three honors for character animation, character design, and storyboarding in a tv production.

The evening was easily the most political Annie Awards ever, with references opposing Trump's immigration ban made by Jan Pinkava, who spoke while accepting for the Google Spotlight Stories team, the Spaniards at Headless who won character design for Trollhunters, voice actor Carlos Alazaraqui, and Pearl production designer Tuna Bora, among others. The most blunt political statement of the evening was uttered by writer Wendy Molyneux, while accepting an award with her sister for Bob's Burger's:

It was also refreshing to see greater diversity among the Annie winners tonight, something that was noticeable only because it has been missing so often in the past. Veteran animator Marlon West, an African-American artist, won his supervision of Moana's effects animation, and among his effects leads was a woman artist, Erin V. Ramos. Also, four awards in tv/broadcast production-writing, production design, editing, and storyboarding-were won by woman as well.

The short film winners at the Annies tonight provide almost no clarity on the Oscar category. The winner for animated special production was Rob Valley's one-man indie masterpiece Pear Cider and Cigarettes while Alan Barillaro's Pixar short Piper won for animated short subject. But then, Patrick Osborne's Google short Pearl picked up three important Annies, for best directing, music, and production design in a tv/broadcast production. So, three of the five Oscar nominees came up as big winners tonight.

A complete list of winners can be found below.

Best Animated Feature

Best Animated Feature – Independent

Best Animated Special Production

Best Animated Short Subject

Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial

Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children

Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Children

Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production

Best Student Film

Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in an Animated Production

Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Feature Production

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Video Game

Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated Feature Production

Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature Production

Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production-TIE

Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated Feature Production

Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated Feature Production

Winsor McCay Award – for their career contributions to the art of animation

Ub Iwerks Award – for technical advancement in the art of animation

Special Achievement Award

June Foray Award – for their significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation

Certificate of Merit