The 42nd Annual Annie Awards will be giving away recognitions to the year’s best in the field of animation on 31 January at the UCLA’s Royce Hall.
Trophies will be given away by comedy-folk duo Garfunkel & Oates, actress-songwriters Riki Lindhome and Kate Mucucci, veteran voice talent and industry legend June Foray, songwriter and music director Richard Sherman, filmmaker and artist Tomm Moore, industry professionals Leslie Iwerks, John Musker, Ron Clements and ASIFA-Hollywood executive director Frank Gladstone.
“Since 2002, the Annies have often been a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature,” remarked Gladstone. “And each year our audience, nominees and range of films grows to encompass a wider and increasingly influential filmmaking community.”
The Annie Awards honour overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of 36 categories including Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Special Production, Commercials, Short Subjects and Outstanding Individual Achievements. The Best Animated Features nominations this year are 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).
The Annie Awards also honour career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation with its Juried awards. This year’s recipients include Winsor McCay award – producers Didier Brunner and Lee Mendelson, and legendary animator Don Lusk ; June Foray award – author and critic Charles Solomon; Ub Iwerks award – DreamWorks Animation’s Apollo Software; and Special Achievement award – The Walt Disney Family Museum.
Created in 1972 by June Foray, the Annie Awards have grown in scope and stature for the past four decades.