Reel FX, the Texan studio behind the Golden Globe-nominated The Book of Life, has presented the 9th annual “Texas” Avery Animation Award to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the BAFTA winning and Golden Globe-nominated animation filmmakers behind The LEGO Movie and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
The honor was bestowed on the duo by Reel FX’s Jorge Gutierrez (director, The Book of Life) and Brad Booker (producer, Book of Life) at the DFS Honors Ceremony at the Dallas International Film Festival last Friday. The award celebrates career achievement in animation, while paying tribute to Fred “Tex” Avery — one of the most celebrated figures in the history of animation and of Dallas. The award is an original bronze casting designed at Reel FX and handmade by local sculptor Brad Oldham.
Lord and Miller wrote and directed The LEGO Movie, which earned them BATA and BFCA Critics Choice Awards for Best Animated Feature; the National Board of Review for Best Original Screenplay and the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing. They also wrote and directed the 2009 hit Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which earned Best Animated Feature nominations from the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards, as well as four Annie nominations.
Past recipients of the Texas Avery Animation Award include Brad Bird, Chris Wedge, Henry Selick, Pete Docter, Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, Glen Keane, June Foray and John Kricfalusi.
