Soul and Wolfwalkers were the big winners at the 48th annual Annie Awards for animation, presented in a virtual ceremony tonight. The Disney / Pixar juggernaut ran away with seven trophies, including Best Feature, while the ‘relatively small European film’ – as the filmmakers described it achieved five wins, including Indie Feature.
After battling all night, they both compete for the Academy Award this weekend Forward, Over the Moon and A Shaun the Sheep film: Farmageddon – all three of whom went home empty-handed tonight.
On the TV side, there were also big winners Hilda, who won three prizes, and Genndy Tartakovsky’s primal, who scooped a few. Big mouth took the writing price, and – from a galaxy far, far away – The Mandalorian and Star Wars: The Clone Wars picked up a price each.
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Annie Awards Nominations: ‘Soul’ and ‘Wolfwalkers’ lead field for animation awards
So how will tonight’s victories work out Soul and / or Wolfwalkers factor in a particular much-watched trophy show taking place on April 25th? Well, since the Academy Awards ‘Best Animated Feature category launched in 2002, 13 of the 19 Annies’ top prize winners – and six of the past nine – have won Oscar gold. But last year was an anomaly, like Netflix’s Klaus all but the Annies, beat out the eventual Oscar winner, Disney / Pixar’s Toy Story 4
Soul has been the darling of guild awards this season, winning animation awards from the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and PGA, among others. But Wolfwalkers – a co-pro between Ireland, the UK and France has held its own by winning more than a dozen awards from critics and from AFI Fest and National Board of Review.
The Winsor McCay Award for Career Contributions to Animation Art was presented to animator Willie Ito, designer Sue Nichols (posthumous) and animator / director Bruce Smith. The June Foray Award for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation went to animator and art director Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi.
The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement that has made a significant impact on the art and industry of animation was presented to Epic Games for its Unreal Engine, and the Special Achievement Award recognizing the unique and significant impact on the art and industry of animation, went to The Stone Circle Pictures Documentary Howard
Tonight’s presenters included actors Josh Gad, Matthew Rhys, Philippa Soo, Eva Whittaker and Patrick Warburton; composer Michael Giacchino; directors Sergio Pablos and Jill Culton; producer-director Nora Twomey; producer-director Matthew A. Cherry; and the cast of the web series Important role.
In total, trophies were awarded in 36 categories tonight, ranging from film, TV and video games. Entries submitted for consideration were from productions that were originally broadcast or showcased at an animation festival, or released commercially between January 1 and December 31, 2020.
Here’s the full list of winners from the 48th Annual Annie Awards:
BEST PROPERTY
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
BEST INDIE FEATURE
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine Productions for Apple / Gkids
BEST SPECIAL PRODUCTION
The snail and the whale
Magical light images
BEST SHORT SUBJECT
Remember Remember
Explosion production
BEST SPONSORED
There is a monster in my kitchen
Cartoon Saloon, Mom
BEST TV / MEDIA – PRE-SCHOOL
The Adventures of Paddington
Episode: Paddington tunnels to Peru
Blue-Zoo Animation Studio and Nickelodeon Animation Studio
BEST TV / MEDIA – CHILDREN
Hilda
Episode: Chapter 9: The Deerfox
Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks
BEST TV / MEDIA – GENERAL AUDIENCE
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal Episode: Coven Of The Damned Cartoon Network Studios
BEST STUDENT MOVIE
The beast
School: Gobelins, the school of the image
Student directors: Marlijn Van Nuenen, Ram Tamez, Alfredo Gerard Kuttikatt
BEST EFFECTS FOR TV / MEDIA
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous
Episode: Welcome to Jurassic World Production Company: DreamWorks Animation
FX Production Company: Dreamworks Animation and CGCG Inc.
Emad Khalili, Ivan Wang, Chris Wombold, Kyle Goertz, Kathy D. Tran
BEST EFFECTS FOR FUNCTION
Soul
Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios
FX Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios
Tolga Göktekin, Carl Kaphan, Hiroaki Narita, Enrique Vila, Kylie Wijsmuller
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – TV / MEDIA
Hilda
Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks
David Laliberté
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – FEATURE
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Michal Makarewicz
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – LIVE ACTION
The Mandalorian
Production company: Lucasfilm
FX production company: Image Engine
Nathan Fitzgerald, Leo Ito, Chris Rogers, Eung Ho Lo, Emily Luk
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – VIDEO GAME
Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales
Insomniac Games
Brian Wyser, Michael Yosh, Danny Garnett, David Hancock
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – TV / MEDIA
Amphibian
Episode: The Shut-In! Disney TV animation Joe Sparrow
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – FUNCTION
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine Productions for Apple / Gkids
Federico Pirovano
BEST DIRECTION – TV / MEDIA
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal Episode: Plague Of Madness Cartoon Network Studios Genndy Tartakovsky
BEST DIRECTION – FUNCTION
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine Productions for Apple / Gkids
Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart
BEST MUSIC – TV / MEDIA
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Episode: Victory and Death Lucasfilm Animation
Kevin Kiner
BEST MUSIC FUNCTION
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – TV / MEDIA
Shooom’s Odyssey Picolo Pictures Julien Bisaro
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FUNCTION
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine Productions for Apple / Gkids
Maria Pareja, Ross Stewart, Tomm Moore
BEST STORYBOARDING – TV / MEDIA
Looney Tunes Cartoons
Episode: Big League Beast / Firehouse Frenzy Warner Bros. Animation
Andrew Dickman
BEST STORYBOARDING FEATURE
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Trevor Jimenez
BEST VOICE ACTION – TV / MEDIA
Tales of Arcadia: Wizards Episode: Our Final Act DreamWorks Animation David Bradley (Merlin)
BEST VOTE ACTION – FEATURE
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon / Melusine Productions for Apple / Gkids
Eva Whittaker (Mebh Óg MacTíre)
BEST WRITING – TV / MEDIA
Big mouth
Episode: The New Me Netflix
Andrew Goldberg, Patti Harrison
BEST WRITING FUNCTION
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Pete Docter, Mike Jones, Kemp Powers
BEST EDITORIAL – TV / MEDIA
Hilda
Episode: Chapter 9: The Deerfox
Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks
John McKinnon
BEST EDITOR – FEATURE
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Kevin Nolting, Gregory Amundson, Robert Grahamjones, Amera Rizk
JURIED AWARDS
McCay Award Winner
Willie Ito, Sue Nichols (Posthumous), Bruce Smith
Foray Award for June
Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi
Ub Iwerks Prize
Epic Games for its Unreal Engine
Special performance award
Howard (Stone Circle Pictures)