Monday morning, the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced nominations today for its 42nd Annual Annie Awards, recognizing the year”s best in the field of animation. Leading the pack with 13 nominations, including a nod for Best Animated Feature, is Laika Animation's “The Boxtrolls.” Dreamworks Animation's “How to Train Your Dragon 2” followed with 10 nominations, joining “Boxtrolls” in the Character Animation, Animation Effects, and Best Feature categories.
Rounding out the organization's big prize are “Big Hero 6” (seven nominations), “Cheatin'” (three), “Song of the Sea” (seven), “The Book of Life” (five), “The LEGO Movie” (six), and “The Tale of Kaguya” (three). The Annie Awards also announced nominations in TV, video game and short subject categories.
“We had a steady increase in submissions this year and I am excited to say it”s going to be a great awards ceremony,” remarked ASIFA-Hollywood Executive Director, Frank Gladstone. “We added a new category to the mix – Best Character Animation in a Video Game – bringing the total Annie categories to 36. The Annies are a true celebration of the best talent in the animation industry, from big studio features to indie films, television series to internet shows, games, shorts and student films alike, as well as a wonderful group of juried award recipients again this year.”
The Annie Awards will announce the winners of its 36 categories at a black tie ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015.
See the full list of nominations below:
Production Categories
Best Animated Feature
“Big Hero 6”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“Cheatin'”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The LEGO Movie”
“Song of the Sea”
“The Tale of Princess Kaguya”
Best Animated Special Production
“Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey”
“Dawn of the Dragon Racers”
“How Murray Saved Christmas”
“Polariffic”
“Toy Story That Time Forgot”
Best Animated Short Subject
“Coda”
“Duet”
“Feast”
“Inside Homer – The Simpsons Couch Gag (Episode #549)”
“Me and My Moulton”
“Silent”
“The Dam Keeper”
“The Raven”
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial
“Citizen M: 'Swan Song'”
“Flight of the Stories”
“LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham”
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
“Doc McStuffins”
“Peter Rabbit”
“Tumble Leaf”
“Wallykazam!”
“Zack & Quack”
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For a Children's Audience
“Adventure Time”
“Gravity Falls”
“Legend of Korra”
“Over The Garden Wall”
“Wander Over Yonder”
Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production
“Archer”
“Back To Backspace”
“Bob's Burgers”
“Rick and Morty”
“Mike Tyson Mysteries”
“Regular Show”
“The Simpsons”
Best Video Game
“Child of Light”
“Forza Horizon 2”
“Valiant Hearts: The Great War”
Best Student Film
“After School”
“Dead Over Heels”
“El Coyote”
“Frog's Legs”
“My Big Brother”
“Tiny Nomad”
Check out the rest of the nominations, including achievements in design and directing, on the next page.
Achievement Categories
Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production
“Big Hero 6”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The LEGO Movie”
“Mr. Peabody & Sherman”
“Penguins of Madagascar”
Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
“The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
“Edge of Tomorrow”
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
“Noah”
“Transformers: Age of Extinction”
“X-Men: Days of Future Past”
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Toy Story That Time Forgot,” Don Crum
“Toy Story That Time Forgot,” Carlo Vogele
“Toy Story That Time Forgot,” Ken Kim
“Tumble Leaf,” Michael Granberry
“Tumble Leaf,” Teresa Drilling
“Wander Over Yonder,” Justin Nichols
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” Fabio Lignini
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” Steven “Shaggy” Hornby
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” Thomas Grummt
“Penguins of Madagascar,” Ravi Kamble
“The Boxtrolls,” Travis Knight
“The Boxtrolls,” Malcolm Lamont
“The Boxtrolls,” Jason Stalman
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic
“Guardians of the Galaxy,” Kevin Spruce, Dale Newton, Sidney Kombo, Chris Mullins, Brad Silby
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” Eric Reynolds, David Clayton, Andreja Vuckovic, Guillaume Francois, Gios Johnston
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game
“Assassin's Creed Unity,” Mike Mennillo
“Child Of Light,” Alex Drouin
“Don't Starve: Console Edition”
Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Disney Mickey Mouse,” Andy Suriano
“Wander Over Yonder,” Benjamin Balistreri
“Welcome to the Wayne,” Zac Gorman
Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
“Big Hero 6,” Shiyoon Kim, Jin Kim
“The Book of Life,” Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez
“The Boxtrolls,” Mike Smith
“Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” Timothy Lamb, Joe Moshier
“Penguins of Madagascar,” Craig Kellman, Joe Moshier, Stevie Lewis, Todd Kurosawa
“Rio 2,” Sang Jun Lee, Jason Sadler, José Manuel Fernandez Oli
“Song of the Sea,” Tomm Moore, Marie Thorhauge, Sandra Anderson, Rosa Ballester Cabo
Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Adventure Time,” Yuasa Masaaki, Eunyoung Choi
“Archer,” Bryan Fordney
“Bob's Burgers,” Jennifer Coyle & Bernard Derriman
“Disney Mickey Mouse,” Aaron Springer
“Gravity Falls,” Rob Renzetti
“Over The Garden Wall,” Robert Alvarez, Ken Bruce, Larry Leichliter
“The Simpsons,” Matthew Nastuk
“Wander Over Yonder,” David Thomas
Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production
“Big Hero 6,” Don Hall & Chris Williams
“The Book of Life,” Jorge R. Gutierrez
“The Boxtrolls,” Anthony Stacchi & Graham Annable
“Cheatin',” Bill Plympton
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” Dean DeBlois
“The LEGO Movie,” Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, Directors; Chris McKay, Co-Director
“Song of the Sea,” Tomm Moore
“The Tale of Princess Kaguya,” Isao Takahata
Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Disney Mickey Mouse,” Christopher Willis
“Dora and Friends: Into the City!,” Peter Lurye, George Gabriel, Chris Gifford
“Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu,” Jay Vincent, Michael Kramer, Jeppe Riddervold, Erin Chapman
“Marvel's Avengers Assemble,” Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter & Michael McCuistion “Tumble Leaf,” Nathan Barr & Lisbeth Scott
Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production
“Cheatin',” Nicole Renaud
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” John Powell, Jónsi
“Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” Danny Elfman
“Song of the Sea,” Bruno Coulais & Kila
“The Tale of Princess Kaguya,” Joe Hisaishi
Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,” Kara Vallow, Brent Woods, Lucas Gray & Andrew Brandou “Disney Mickey Mouse,” Joseph Holt
“Mickey Shorts,” Narina Sokolova “The Powerpuff Girls,” Kevin Dart, Chris Turnham, Jasmin Lai & Elle Michalka
“Turbo FAST,” Antonio Canobbio, Khang Le, Mark Taihei, Howard Chen & Brandon Cuellar
“Wander Over Yonder,” Alex Kirwan, Chris Tsirigotis, Alexander Duckworth, Janice Kubo & Francis Giglio “Zack & Quack,” Erez Gavish
Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
“The Book of Life,” Simon Varela & Paul Sullivan
“The Boxtrolls,” Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure & August Hall
“The LEGO Movie,” Grant Freckelton
“Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” David James, Ruben Perez, Priscilla Wong, Timothy Lamb & Alexandre Puvilland
“Song of the Sea,” Adrien Merigeau
Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Disney Mickey Mouse,” Heiko Drengenberg
“Gravity Falls,” Luke Weber, Alonso Ramirez Ramos, Neil Graf & Steve Heneveld
“Legend of Korra,” Joaquim Dos Santos
“Star Wars Rebels,” Nathaniel Villanueva & Douglas Lovelace
“The Simpsons,” Louise Smythe
“Toy Story That Time Forgot” “Wander Over Yonder”
Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
“Big Hero 6,” Marc E. Smith
“The Boxtrolls,” Emanuela Cozzi
“The Boxtrolls,” Julian Nariño
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” Truong “Tron” Son Mai
“Planes: Fire & Rescue,” Piero Peluso
“Rio 2,” John Hurst
“Rio 2,” Rodrigo Castro
Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Disney Mickey Mouse,” Bill Farmer as the voices of Goofy and Grandma
“Fairly Oddparents,” Carlos Alazaraqui as the voice of Crocker
“Robot Chicken,” Seth Green as the voice of Robot Chicken Nerd
Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
“The Boxtrolls,” Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of Fish
“The Boxtrolls,” Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher
“Henry & Me,” Cyndi Lauper as the voice of Nurse Cyndi
“Rio 2,” Andy Garcia as the voice of Eduardo
Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Disney Mickey Mouse,” Darrick Bachman
“The Powerpuff Girls,” Dave Tennant, David P. Smith, Chris Mitchell & Will Mata
“The Simpsons,” Rob LaZebnik
“The Simpsons,” Tim Long
“Toy Story That Time Forgot,” Steve Purcell
Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production
“Big Hero 6,” Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson & Jordan Roberts
“The Boxtrolls,” Irena Brignull & Adam Pava
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” Dean DeBlois
“The LEGO Movie,” Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
“Song of the Sea,” Will Collins
Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Disney Mickey Mouse,” Illya Owens
“Dragons: Defenders of Berk,” Ernesto Matamoros “Family Guy,” Mike Elias “Toy Story That Time Forgot,” David Suther, Bradley Furnish & David Condolora “Turbo FAST,” Todd Raleigh & Doug Vito
Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
“Big Hero 6,” Tim Mertens
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” John K. Carr
“The LEGO Movie,” David Burrows, Todd Hansen, Doug Nicholas, Jonathan Tappin & Courtney O'Brien-Brown
“Planes: Fire & Rescue,” Dan Molina, Mark Keefer & Karen Hathaway
“Song of the Sea,” Darragh Byrne
Juried Awards
The Winsor McCay Award
For Lifetime Achievement
Didier Brunner, Don Lusk and Lee Mendelson
The June Foray Award
For significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation
Charles Solomon
The Ub Iwerks Award
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