The 42nd Annual Annie Awards came and went last weekend, and if there were any clear winners that night, it was DreamWorks and Disney (or at least, their TV divisions).
As predicted, DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 swept the Annies with a grand total of six awards (seven if you count the Ub Iwerks achievement award given to DreamWorks for their newly-developed Apollo software). These awards included Best Directing, Best Music, Best Character Animation, Best Storyboarding, Best Editorial and, of course, Best Animated Film.
This grand sweep now positions How to Train Your Dragon 2 as the clear frontrunner for the Oscars, or at least the one to beat now that The LEGO Movie is out of the running.
That’s not to say that the other movies went home empty-handed!
LAIKA’s The Boxtrolls won two honors (Best Production Design and Best Voice Actor). The LEGO Movie won Best Writing in an Animated Feature. Big Hero 6 grabbed an honor for Best Effects in an Animated Feature, while The Book of Life won what may be their first award of the season for Best Character Design (a first for Reel FX).
Disney’s TV division also had a very good night, walking home with nine awards. Six of those awards in particular were won by Disney TV Animation’s Mickey Mouse. Disney’s Feast also walked home with the award for Best Short Subject.
Sticking to the TV side of things, Amazon Studios landed their first Annie Award for Tumble Leaf (Best Animated Production for Preschoolers). The Simpsons held strong, winning Best Animated Production for General Audiences. Disney XD’s Gravity Falls contributed to the number of awards doled out to Disney TV when it won Best Animated Production for Children. FOX’s reboot of Cosmos: A Spacetime Oddessy won Best Animated Special Production (surprisingly winning out over Pixar’s Toy Story That Time Forgot). Aardman Animation even got some recognition when it won Best Animated Television Commercial for Flight of the Stories.
As noted by our very own Kajsa Rain Forden (who was lucky enough to attend the ceremony in person), the awards were proceeded through at a relatively quicker pace than usual due to the unique lack of a central host (Patrick Warburton hosted the 41st Annie Awards). Instead, audiences were treated to an eclectic combination of various presenters. Those presenters included female comedy/acting duo Garfunkel and Oates, Big Hero 6 actor Ryan Potter with Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau of Man of Action, Song of the Sea director Tomm Moore, and directing duo Ron Clements and John Musker to name a few.
Even with one film and one TV show dominating on both ends, this year’s Annies was a tad more balanced than last year. Each film out of the leading five got recognized that night; another confirmation as to why the Annie Awards are special: it’s a night in celebration of the medium of animation. Charles Soloman said it best: animation is an art form as valid and capable of housing so many diverse sets of talent as any.
Congratulations to the winners and the nominees of what’s now officially in the books as the 42nd Annual Annie Awards!
Click here for Kasja Rain Forden’s red carpet coverage of the Annies. See the full list of winners below (courtesy of Cartoon Brew).
What do you think? Were there any surprises? Was anybody shut out?
PRODUCTION CATEGORIES
Best Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon 2 – DreamWorks Animation
Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey – Voyager Pictures LLC
Best Animated Short Subject
Feast – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial
Flight of the Stories – Aardman Animations
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
Tumble Leaf - Amazon Studios
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience
Gravity Falls – Disney Television Animation
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production
The Simpsons – The Simpsons
Best Animated Video Game
Valiant Hearts: The Great War – Ubisoft
Best Student Film
My Big Brother - Jason Rayner
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik – Big Hero 6 – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist – Edge of Tomorrow – Sony Pictures Imageworks
Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Justin Nichols – Wander Over Yonder – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Feature Production
Fabio Lignini – How to Train Your Dragon 2 - DreamWorks Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Weta Digital
Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Video Game
Mike Mennillo – Assassin’s Creed Unity – Ubisoft
Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Benjamin Balistreri – Wander Over Yonder – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez – The Book of Life – Reel FX
Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Aaron Springer – Disney Mickey Mouse - Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Dean DeBlois – How to Train Your Dragon 2 – DreamWorks Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Christopher Willis – Disney Mickey Mouse – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature Production
John Powell, Jónsi – How to Train Your Dragon 2 – DreamWorks Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Narina Sokolova – Mickey Shorts - Disney
Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure & August Hall – The Boxtrolls – Focus Features/Laika
Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Joaquim Dos Santos – Legend of Korra -Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Truong “Tron” Son Mai – How to Train Your Dragon 2 – DreamWorks Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Bill Farmer as the voices of Goofy and Grandma – Disney Mickey Mouse – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher – The Boxtrolls – Focus Features/Laika
Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Darrick Bachman – Disney Mickey Mouse – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Phil Lord & Christopher Miller – The Lego Movie – Warner Bros. Pictures
Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Illya Owens – Disney Mickey Mouse – Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
John K. Carr – How to Train Your Dragon 2 – DreamWorks Animation
JURIED AWARDS
Winsor McCay Award (for Lifetime Achievement)
Didier Brunner, Don Lusk and Lee Mendelson
June Foray Award (for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation)
Charles Solomon
Ub Iwerks (for technical advancement that has made a significant impact on the art or industry of animation)
DreamWorks Animation’s Apollo Software
Special Achievement Award (recognizing the unique and significant impact on the art and industry of animation)
The Walt Disney Family Museum
Edited by: Hannah Wilkes