LAIKA’s ‘Boxtrolls’ Lead 42nd Annie Award Nominations

BURBANK, CA -- 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.

The Annie Awards cover 36 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Special Production, Commercials, Short Subjects and Outstanding Individual Achievements. The winners will be announced at a black tie ceremony on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. A pre-reception and press line begins at 5:00 pm with the awards ceremony following at 7:00 pm. A post-show celebration immediately follows the ceremony. All events will be held at Royce Hall.

Best Animated Features nominations include: Big Hero 6 (Walt Disney Animation Studios), Cheatin’ (Plymptoons Studio), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (DreamWorks Animation SKG), Song of the Sea (GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon), The Book of Life (Reel FX), The Boxtrolls (Focus Features/LAIKA), The LEGO Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures), and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (GKIDS/Studio Ghibli).

LAIKA's The Boxtrolls led the pack with 13 nominations, followed by DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon 2 (10 nominations), Disney's Big Hero 6 and Cartoon Saloon's Song of the Sea (both of which had seven nominations), and The LEGO Movie (six nominations).

“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 juried awards honoring career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation will also be presented. Three Winsor McCay recipients have been selected by the ASIFA-Hollywood Board of Directors -- Didier Brunner, Don Lusk and Lee Mendelson for their career contributions to the art of animation; June Foray Award -- Charles Solomon for his significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation; Ub Iwerks Award -- DreamWorks Animation's Apollo Software for technical advancement that has made a significant impact on the art or industry of animation; and Special Achievement Award -- The Walt Disney Family Museum recognizing the unique and significant impact on the art and industry of animation.         

The full list of nominations for the 42nd Annual Annie Awards is shown below:

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

#1 Best Animated Feature

• Big Hero 6 -- Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Cheatin' -- Plymptoons Studio
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation
• Song of the Sea -- GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
• The Book of Life -- Reel FX
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA
• The LEGO Movie -- Warner Bros. Pictures
• The Tale of The Princess Kaguya -- GKIDS/Studio Ghibli

#2 Best Animated Special Production

• Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey -- Voyager Pictures LLC
• Dawn of the Dragon Racers -- DreamWorks Animation
• How Murray Saved Christmas -- Universal Television
• Polariffic -- Bent Image Lab
• Toy Story That Time Forgot -- Pixar Animation Studios

#3 Best Animated Short Subject

• Coda -- 62 George Street
• Duet -- Glen Keane Productions
• Feast -- Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Inside Homer - The Simpsons Couch Gag (Episode #549) -- Acme Filmworks
• Me and My Moulton -- National Film Board of Canada
• Silent -- Creative Artists Agency
• The Dam Keeper -- Tonko House LLC
• The Raven -- Moonbot Studios

#4 Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial

• Citizen M: "Swan Song" -- Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
• Flight of the Stories -- Aardman Animations
• LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham -- Plastic Wax

#5 Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children

• Doc McStuffins -- Disney Channel / Disney XD
• Peter Rabbit -- Nickelodeon Animation Studio
• Tumble Leaf -- Amazon Studios
• Wallykazam! -- Nickelodeon Animation Studio
• Zack & Quack -- Zodiak Kids

#6 Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for a Children's Audience

• Adventure Time -- Cartoon Network
• Gravity Falls -- Disney Television Animation
• Legend of Korra -- Nickelodeon Animation Studio
• Over The Garden Wall -- Cartoon Network
• Wander Over Yonder -- Disney Television Animation

#7 Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production

• Archer -- FX Networks
• Back To Backspace -- Cartoon Network Studios
• Bob's Burgers -- Bento Box Entertainment
• Rick and Morty -- Starburns Industries, Inc.
• Mike Tyson Mysteries -- Warner Bros. Animation
• Regular Show -- Cartoon Network Studios
• The Simpsons -- The Simpsons

#8 Best Video Game

• Forza Horizon 2 -- Microsoft - Turn 10 Studios
• Valiant Hearts: The Great War -- Ubisoft
• Child of Light -- Ubisoft

#9 Best Student Film

• After School -- Junyi Xiao
• Dead Over Heels -- Jose Matheu
• El Coyote -- Javier Barboza
• Frog's Legs -- Katie Tamboer
• My Big Brother -- Jason Rayner
• Tiny Nomad -- Toniko Pantoja

ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

#10 Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production

• Big Hero 6 -- Walt Disney Animation Studios (Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation (James Jackson, Lucas Janin, Tobin Jones, Baptiste Van Opstal, Jason Mayer)
• Mr. Peabody & Sherman -- DreamWorks Animation (Fangwei Lee, Krzysztof Rost, Jihyun Yoon, Robert Chen)
• Penguins of Madagascar -- DreamWorks Animation (Mitul Patel, Nicolas Delbecq, Santosh Khedkar, Yash Argawal)
• The Book of Life -- Reel FX (Augusto Schillaci, Erich Turner, Bill Konersman, Chris Rasch, Joseph Burnette)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/Laika (Rick Sevy, Peter Vickery, Kent Estep, Peter Stuart, Ralph Procida)
• The LEGO Movie -- Warner Bros. Pictures (Jayandera Danappal, Matt Ebb, Christian Epunan Hernandez, Danielle Brooks, Raphael Gadot)

#11 Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in a Live Action Production

• Edge of Tomorrow -- Sony Pictures Imageworks (Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist)
• Noah -- Industrial Light & Magic (Raul Essig, Karin Cooper, Rick Hankins, Owen Calouro)
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- Sony Pictures Imageworks (Charles-Felix Chabert, Daniel La Chapelle, Spencer Lueders, Klaus Seitschek, Chris Messineo)
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug -- Weta Digital (Areito Echevarria, Andreas Soderstrom, Ronnie Menahem, Christoph Sprenger, Kevin Romond)
• Transformers: Age of Extinction -- Industrial Light & Magic (Michael Balog, Jim Van Allen, Rick Hankins, John Hansen)
• X-Men: Days of Future Past -- Digital Domain (Jeremy Hampton, Daniel Stern, Edmond Smith III, Hiroshi Tsubokawa, Daniel Jenkins)

#12 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

• Toy Story That Time Forgot -- Pixar Animation Studios (Don Crum)
• Toy Story That Time Forgot -- Pixar Animation Studios (Carlo Vogele)
• Toy Story That Time Forgot -- Pixar Animation Studios (Ken Kim)
• Tumble Leaf -- Amazon Studios (Michael Granberry)
• Tumble Leaf -- Amazon Studios (Teresa Drilling)
• Wander Over Yonder -- Disney Television Animation (Justin Nichols)

#13 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production

• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation (Fabio Lignini)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation (Steven "Shaggy" Hornby)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation (Thomas Grummt)
• Penguins of Madagascar -- DreamWorks Animation (Ravi Kamble)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Travis Knight)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Malcolm Lamont)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features (Jason Stalman)

#14 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production

• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes -- Weta Digital (Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic)
• Guardians of the Galaxy --Framestore (Kevin Spruce, Dale Newton, Sidney Kombo, Chris Mullins, Brad Silby)
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug -- Weta Digital (Eric Reynolds, David Clayton, Andreja Vuckovic, Guillaume Francois, Gios Johnston)

#15 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game

• Assassin's Creed Unity -- Ubisoft (Mike Mennillo)
• Don't Starve: Console Edition -- Klei Entertainment Inc.
• Child of Light -- Ubisoft (Alex Drouin)

#16 Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

• Disney Mickey Mouse -- Disney Television Animation (Andy Suriano)
• Wander Over Yonder -- Disney Television Animation (Benjamin Balistreri)
• Welcome to the Wayne -- Nickelodeon Animation Studio (Zac Gorman)

#17 Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

• Big Hero 6 -- Walt Disney Animation Studios (Shiyoon Kim, Jin Kim)
• Mr. Peabody & Sherman -- DreamWorks Animation (Timothy Lamb, Joe Moshier)
• Penguins of Madagascar -- DreamWorks Animation (Craig Kellman, Joe Moshier, Stevie Lewis, Todd Kurosawa)
• Rio 2 -- Blue Sky Studios (Sang Jun Lee, Jason Sadler, José Manuel Fernandez Oli)
• Song of the Sea -- GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon (Tomm Moore, Marie Thorhauge, Sandra Anderson, Rosa Ballester Cabo)
• The Book of Life -- Reel FX (Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Mike Smith)

#18 Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

• Adventure Time -- Cartoon Network (Yuasa Masaaki, Eunyoung Choi)
• Archer -- FX Networks (Bryan Fordney)
• Bob's Burgers -- Bento Box Entertainment (Jennifer Coyle & Bernard Derriman)
• Disney Mickey Mouse -- Disney Television Animation (Aaron Springer)
• Gravity Falls -- Disney Television Animation (Rob Renzetti)
• Over The Garden Wall -- Cartoon Network (Robert Alvarez, Ken Bruce, Larry Leichliter)
• The Simpsons -- The Simpsons (Matthew Nastuk)
• Wander Over Yonder -- Disney Television Animation (David Thomas)

#19 Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production

• Big Hero 6 -- Walt Disney Animation Studios (Don Hall & Chris Williams)
• Cheatin’ -- Plymptoons Studio (Bill Plympton)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation (Dean DeBlois)
• Song of the Sea -- GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon (Tomm Moore)
• The Book of Life -- Reel FX (Jorge R. Gutierrez)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Anthony Stacchi & Graham Annable)
• The LEGO Movie -- Warner Bros. Pictures (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, Directors; Chris McKay, Co-Director)
• The Tale of The Princess Kaguya -- GKIDS/Studio Ghibli (Isao Takahata)

#20 Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

• Disney Mickey Mouse -- Disney Television Animation (Christopher Willis)
• Dora and Friends: Into the City! -- Nickelodeon Animation Studio (Peter Lurye, George Gabriel, Chris Gifford)
• LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu -- Jam (Jay Vincent, Michael Kramer, Jeppe Riddervold, Erin Chapman)
• Marvel's Avengers Assemble -- Dynamic Music Partners (Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter & Michael McCuistion)
• Tumble Leaf -- Amazon Studios (Nathan Barr & Lisbeth Scott)

#21 Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production

• Cheatin’ -- Plymptoons Studio (Nicole Renaud, Composer)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation (John Powell, Jónsi)
• Mr. Peabody & Sherman -- DreamWorks Animation (Danny Elfman)
• Song of the Sea -- GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon (Bruno Coulais & Kila)
• The Tale of The Princess Kaguya -- GKIDS/Studio Ghibli (Joe Hisaishi)

#22 Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

• Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey -- Voyager Pictures LLC (Kara Vallow, Brent Woods, Lucas Gray & Andrew Brandou)
• Disney Mickey Mouse -- Disney Television Animation (Joseph Holt)
• Mickey Shorts -- Disney (Narina Sokolova)
• The Powerpuff Girls -- Cartoon Network (Kevin Dart, Chris Turnham, Jasmin Lai & Elle Michalka)
• Turbo FAST -- DreamWorks Animation (Antonio Canobbio, Khang Le, Mark Taihei, Howard Chen & Brandon Cuellar)
• Wander Over Yonder -- Disney Television Animation (Alex Kirwan, Chris Tsirigotis, Alexander Duckworth, Janice Kubo & Francis Giglio)
• Zack & Quack -- Zodiak Kids (Erez Gavish)

#23 Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

• Mr. Peabody & Sherman -- DreamWorks Animation (David James, Ruben Perez, Priscilla Wong, Timothy Lamb & Alexandre Puvilland)
• Song of the Sea -- GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon (Adrien Merigeau)
• The Book of Life -- Reel FX (Simon Varela & Paul Sullivan)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure & August Hall)
• The LEGO Movie -- Warner Bros. Pictures (Grant Freckelton)

#24 Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

• Disney Mickey Mouse -- Disney Television Animation (Heiko Drengenberg)
• Gravity Falls -- Disney Television Animation (Luke Weber, Alonso Ramirez Ramos, Neil Graf & Steve Heneveld)
• Legend of Korra -- Nickelodeon Animation Studio (Joaquim Dos Santos)
• Star Wars Rebels -- Disney Channel / Disney XD (Nathaniel Villanueva & Douglas Lovelace)
• The Simpsons -- Film Roman (Brad Ableson, Matthew Faughnan & Stephen Reis)
• Toy Story That Time Forgot -- Pixar Animation Studios (Louise Smythe)
• Wander Over Yonder -- Disney Television Animation (Mark Ackland)

#25 Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

• Big Hero 6 -- Walt Disney Animation Studios (Marc E. Smith)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation (Truong "Tron" Son Mai)
• Planes: Fire & Rescue -- Disneytoon Studios (Piero Peluso)
• Rio 2 -- Blue Sky Studios (John Hurst)
• Rio 2 -- Blue Sky Studios (Rodrigo Castro)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Julian Nariño)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Emanuela Cozzi)

#26 Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

• Disney Mickey Mouse -- Disney Television Animation (Bill Farmer as the voices of Goofy and Grandma)
• Fairly Oddparents -- Nickelodeon Animation Studio (Carlos Alazaraqui as the voice of Crocker)
• Robot Chicken -- Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (Seth Green as the voice of Robot Chicken Nerd)

#27 Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

• Henry & Me -- Reveal Animation Studios (Cyndi Lauper as the voice of Nurse Cyndi)
• Rio 2 -- Blue Sky Studios (Andy Garcia as the voice of Eduardo)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of Fish)

#28 Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

• Disney Mickey Mouse -- Disney Television Animation (Darrick Bachman)
• The Powerpuff Girls -- Cartoon Network (Dave Tennant, David P. Smith, Chris Mitchell & Will Mata)
• The Simpsons -- 20th Century Fox (Rob LaZebnik)
• The Simpsons -- 20th Century Fox (Tim Long)
• Toy Story That Time Forgot -- Pixar Animation Studios (Steve Purcell)

#29 Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production

• Big Hero 6 -- Walt Disney Animation Studios (Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson & Jordan Roberts)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation (Dean DeBlois)
• Song of the Sea -- GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon (Will Collins)
• The Boxtrolls -- Focus Features/LAIKA (Irena Brignull & Adam Pava)
• The LEGO Movie -- Warner Bros. Pictures (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller)

#30 Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production

• Disney Mickey Mouse -- Disney Television Animation (Illya Owens)
• Dragons: Defenders of Berk -- DreamWorks Animation Television (Ernesto Matamoros)
• Family Guy -- Super 78 (Mike Elias)
• Toy Story That Time Forgot -- Pixar Animation Studios (David Suther, Bradley Furnish & David Condolora)
• Turbo FAST -- DreamWorks Animation (Todd Raleigh & Doug Vito)

#31 Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Feature Production

• Big Hero 6 -- Walt Disney Animation Studios (Tim Mertens)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 -- DreamWorks Animation (John K. Carr)
• Planes: Fire & Rescue -- Disneytoon Studios (Dan Molina, Mark Keefer & Karen Hathaway)
• Song of the Sea -- GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon (Darragh Byrne)
• The LEGO Movie -- Warner Bros. Pictures (David Burrows, Todd Hansen, Doug Nicholas, Jonathan Tappin & Courtney O'Brien-Brown)

ASIFA-Hollywood is the world’s first and foremost professional organization dedicated to promoting the Art of Animation and celebrating the people who create it. 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 Aid Foundation, animated film preservation, special events, classes and screenings.

Source: ASIFA-Hollywood

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.