Well, I was gone a long time.

First off, I hope the first months of the new year went well for everyone. I won’t necessarily go into detail about why I was gone so long (that’s for the comment section), but it’s safe to say that I have emerged from my self-imposed sabbatical, willing and ready to write a lot more and a little differently.

Also, I want to thank everyone for participating in our live tweet-a-long for this year’s Annie Awards. That was super fun, and I hope to do more stuff like that soon.

Now, for the subject at hand….

Back in February, the animation world once again descended upon the UCLA campus in Berkeley, California for the 44th Annual Annie Awards. If you’ve been reading the website for a long time, then the Annie Awards need no introduction, except to say that it’s the only night where the animation industry gets a spotlight rarely afforded to by other mainstream awards ceremonies.

Similar to last year, the show commenced through a diverse rotation of presenters, spanning different areas of expertise in the animation world and even resulting in some interesting odd-couple pairings (Kobe Bryant and Glen Keene, anyone?). As for the results….

Let’s get this one out the way: Zootopia was the big winner of the night, sweeping six wins that included Best Animated Feature, Best Directing, and a tie for Best Voice Acting with Moana (another Disney movie!). Now, on to the highlights:

1. The other big contender, LAIKA’s Kubo and the Two Strings, didn’t go home empty-handed either. It won three honors for Best Production Design, Best Character Animation, and Best Editorial.

 2. While two of it’s 2016 films grabbed nominations in a number of categories, it was DreamWorks Animation’s TV unit that had a great night. In the Animated Television/Broadcast Production categories, DreamWorks Trollhunters won Best Character Animation, Best Character Design, and Best Storyboarding. Adding on to that was Mr. Peabody and Sherman, which took home an award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast production.

 3. Patrick Osbourne continued his ascent as one of the industry’s promising new talents when his Google Spotlight Stories short film Pearl won Best Directing (Animated Television/Broadcast), Best Production Design (Animated Television/Broadcast), and Best Music (Animated Television/Broadcast).

 4. Regardless of where you stand on the subject of whether or not the live-action remake of The Jungle Book should be considered as a live-action movie or not, the animated/Photo-real CG aspects of the film were impressive enough to score an Annie for Character Animation in a Live-Action Production.

 5. Is it any surprise that a movie scored by Hans Zimmer should win an Annie? Because that’s what happened when The Little Prince won Best Music in an Animated Feature Production.

 6. With Adventure Time set to end in 2018, is there a better way to honor (or begin to honor) the show than with an Annie for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production?

And that was my general rundown of the show’s highlights. What do you think? Are there any movies that you feel got snubbed or ignored? How do you feel about the timely comments concerning immigrants in the animation industry (PLEASE keep it civil). Finally, are there any movies this year you think will be contenders for next year’s Annie Awards?

Have fun in the comments below! NOTE: Spoilers for 2016 winners and nominees are allowed. Stop here if you have yet to watch any of these films or TV shows! 

Edited by: Kelly Conley