Susan McKinsey Goldberg, awarded for outstanding production design on Fantasia/2000, and Eric Goldberg, Susan's husband, who also took home the prize for outstanding character animation for his work on Fantasia/2000. Photo courtesy of

On Saturday, November 11, 2000, ASIFA-Hollywood held their 28th annual Annie Award ceremony at the aforementioned historic Alex Theatre in Glendale's thriving downtown arts district. The awards presentation went by at a lively clip due to the always funny and endearing duo of Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, the voice team of Pinky and the Brain. While presenters kept their banter to a minimum (thank you!), the winners were allowed to thank their crew and staff and even make wagers from the stage. I am glad that ASIFA-Hollywood realizes that the Annies are an opportunity for their award winners to shine and give them ample time to accept their prizes. There were many lovely moments, including June Foray presenting her award of service to Linda Simensky who was obviously honored. Winsor McCay Award winner Lucille Bliss could hardly contain herself and proved that one is only as old as one feels as she raced through her speech, listing past and current projects, stating that she was excited and ready to keep right on acting. Susan McKinsey Goldberg was so thankful and moved, she held back tears while accepting her award for outstanding production design on Fantasia/2000. After helping to create such a glorious sequence as "Rhapsody in Blue" though, I think the entire audience wanted to shout back, "No, thank you!"