Press Release from ASIFA Hollywood
BURBANK, CA (April 20, 2010) – The official webcast of the 37th Annual Annie Awards ceremony presented by ASIFA-Hollywood is now on the group’s website and available for viewing at www.annieawards.org [1].
Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor, director, producer and one of pop culture’s most recognizable figures, William Shatner, handled hosting duties. Presenters included animation legend June Foray, actors Seth Green, John Leguizamo, Sean Astin and industry notables Pete Docter, Ed Catmull and Henry Selick who provided a lively show honoring the year’s best animated productions and outstanding individual achievements in the field of animation.
The webcast also featured a special tribute to the late Roy Disney and the presentation of the Winsor McCay Award to three industry leaders Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tim Burton and Bruce Timm.
The 37th Annual Annie Awards were presented on February 6, 2010, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. The Best Feature Annie Award went to Pixar's "Up,” and the film's director, Pete Doctor won the Individual Achievement Award for Feature Direction. 20th Century Fox's Futurama was presented with the Annie for Best Home Entertainment Production and ShadowMachine's Robot Chicken won Best Short Subject for "Star Wars 2.5.” The Best Animated Television Commercial went to Acme Filmworks for their spot "Deportes" for the Spanish Lottery. Disney's TV special "Prep and Landing" won the Annie for Best Animated Television Production, as well as the Individual Achievement Awards for Character Design (Bill Schwab) and Production Design (Andy Harkness). Dreamworks' "Penguins of Madagascar" won Best Animated Television Production for Children and its director, Bret Haaland won the award for Direction in a Television Production.
Laika's "Coraline" was honored for its character design (Shane Prigmore), music (Bruno Coulais) and Production Design (Tadahiro Uesugi). The Voice Acting Annie went to Tom Kenny for his work as SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon, and Jen Cody, the voice of Charlotte in Disney's "Princess and the Frog.” The prestigious Character Animation Annies went to Eric Goldberg for "Princess and the Frog" and Phillip To for Dreamworks' "Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space." Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach were honored for Writing in a Feature Production for "Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
The Winsor McCay Award, for career achievement in animation went to Tim Burton, Bruce Timm and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Tom Sito won the June Foray Award for Benevolent Impact on Animation, and William T. Reeves took home the Ub Iwerks Award for Technical Achievement. Martin Meunier and Brian McLean were honored with a Special Achievement Award for their work on Laika's "Coraline.”
Created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards have grown in scope and stature for the past three decades, and is considered the highest and most prestigious honor given in animation by the animation industry. Today ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest chapter of the international organization ASIFA, supports a range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, animation film preservation, special events, classes and screenings.
Links:
[1] http://www.annieawards.org