Nov 28, 2016

"Zootopia" "Kubo and Two Strings" lead Annie's nominations [Full list]

Nominations for the 44th ASIFA-Hollywood Annie Awards were announced this morning, and Disney's Zootopia led the way with 11 nominations. Laika's Kubo and the Two Strings was close behind with 10 nominations.

The leading performance by the Walt Disney Company comes one year after Disney/Pixar's Inside Out scored a record-breaking 25 nominations and the Walt Disney Company won 75% of the categories in which it was eligible, sparking widespread complaints that the Annies do not accurately reflect the accomplishments of everyone who work in the animation industry.

Across its various divisions, the Walt Disney Company took 38 nominations this year. It's a curious turn of events considering that the Walt Disney Company claimed that the Annie Awards voting was rigged and pressured ASIFA-Hollywood to overhaul the awards voting process just a few years ago. In 2010, Disney Animation and Pixar president Ed Catmull, along with John Lasseter, withdrew all of Disney's productions from the Annie Awards in protest that Kung Fu Panda had won too many awards the previous year.

“We believe there is an issue with the way the Annies are judged, and have been seeking a mutually agreeable solution with the board,” Catmull told Variety at the time. “Although some initial steps have been taken, the board informed us that no further changes would be made to address our concerns.”

Catmull and Lasseter's strong-arm tactic eventually led to the ouster of ASIFA-Hollywood's president, Antran Manoogian, who was replaced by the duo of Frank Gladstone and (Cartoon Brew co-founder) Jerry Beck. An advisory committee of feature animation studios was formed, and numerous changes were made to the voting procedures to ensure that voters would judge categories on the merits of individual accomplishment rather than voting for a single popular film.

This year, three of the five nominees for best animated feature were Disney productions-Moana, Zootopia, and Finding Dory. Shockingly, Mark Osborne's The Little Prince, which won France's Cesar Award earlier this year for best animated feature, was locked out of nearly every category, garnering just two nods for production design and music. On a positive note, The Red Turtle picked up five nominations, and My Life As A Zucchini picked up three.

On the shorts side, four of the ten films shortlisted by the Academy this year were also nominated for Annie Awards: Theodore Ushev's Blinda Vaysha, Patrick Osborne's Pearl, Alan Barillaro's Piper, and Rob Valley's Pear Cider and Cigarettes.

Below is a list of all of 2016's Annie Awards nominees:

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

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