DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Pandakicked its way to the top of the list of nominees for the 36th Annual Annie Awards. The action-comedy snagged a total of 17 nominations, including Best Animated Feature and individual nods for character animation, character design, directing, music, production design, storyboarding, voice acting and writing. Presented by the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, the event will recognize the year’s best animated features, television productions, commercials, video games and short subjects. Winners will be announced on Friday, Jan 30 at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles, Calif.
Also up for Best Animated Feature are Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Bolt (nine nominations), Disney/Pixar’s Wall’E with (eight nominations), Sony Pictures Classics Waltz With Bashir and Sherman Pictures/Lama Films $9.99. Bashir and $9.99 are both from Israeli filmmakers. Ari Folman’s Bashir just won the British Independent Film Award for Best Foreign Film and is Israel’s Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film. Tatia Rosenthal’s $9.99 will begin a limited U.S. Oscar qualifying run on Dec. 12 through Regent Releasing.
Nickelodeon leads the pack in television with 12 nominations. The networks’ Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Mighty B! are both up for Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children, along with Cartoon Network’s Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and Underfist: Halloween Bash, and Warner Bros. Animation’s holiday special A Miser Brothers Christmas. Nominees for the Best Animated Television Production are Disney’s Phineas and Ferb, FOX’s The Simpsons and King of the Hill, and Adult Swim’s Moral Orel and Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, both produced by ShadowMachine.
Special juried awards honoring career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation will also be awarded. King of the Hill creator Mike Judge, Pixar’s John Lasseter and Aardman’s Nick Park will receive the Winsor McCay Award for career contributions to the art of animation. The June Foray Award will go to Bill Turner for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation and a Certificate of Merit will be presented to Amir Avini, Mike Fontanelli, Kathy Turner and Alex Vassilev.
More than 1,500 entertainment industry insiders are expected to attend the black-tie ceremony, which will begin at 8 p.m., following a 6 p.m. reception. For information on tickets, advertising and sponsorship opportunities, go to www.annieawards.org.
2008 Annie Award Nominees by Category:
PRODUCTION CATEGORIES
Best Animated Feature
Bolt ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kung Fu Panda ‘ DreamWorks Animation
$9.99 ‘ Sherman Pictures/Lama Films
Wall’E ‘ Pixar Animation Studios
Waltz With Bashir ‘ Sony Pictures Classics/Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films
Best Animated Home Entertainment Production
Batman: Gotham Knight ‘ Warner Bros. Animation
Christmas Is Here Again ‘ Easy To Dream Entertainment
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs ‘ The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Justice League: The New Frontier ‘ Warner Bros. Animation
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning ‘ DisneyToon Studios
Best Animated Short Subject
Glago’s Guest ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
Hot Dog ‘ Bill Plympton Studio
Presto ‘ Pixar Animation Studios
Sebastian’s Voodoo ‘ Joaquin Baldwin
Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death ‘ Aardman Animations Ltd.
Best Animated Television Commercial
Giant Monster ‘ Curious Pictures
Long Legs Mr. Hyde ‘ Curious Pictures
Rotofugi: The Collectors ‘ Screen Novelties
Sarah ‘ Z Animation
United Airlines ‘Heart’ ‘ Duck Studios
Best Animated Television Production
King of the Hill ‘ 20th Century Fox TV
Moral Orel ‘ ShadowMachine
Phineas and Ferb ‘ Disney Television Animation
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II – ShadowMachine
The Simpsons ‘ Gracie Films/Fox TV
Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children
A Miser Brothers Christmas ‘ Warner Bros. Animation
Avatar: The Last Airbender ‘ Nickelodeon
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends ‘Destination Imagination’ ‘ Cartoon Network Studios
The Mighty B! ‘ Nickelodeon
Underfist: Halloween Bash ‘ Cartoon Network Studios
Best Animated Video Game
Dead Space ‘ Electronic Arts
Kung Fu Panda ‘ Activision
Wall’E ‘ Heavy Iron Studios, a division of THQ, Inc.
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
Animated Effects
Alen Lai ‘Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who’ ‘ Blue Sky Studios
Li-Ming Lawrence Lee ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Fangwei Lee ‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Kevin Lee ‘Bolt’ ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
Enrique Vila ‘Wall’E’ ‘ Pixar Animation Studios
Character Animation in a Feature Production
James Baxter ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Jeff Gabor ‘Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who’ ‘ Blue Sky Studios
Philippe Le Brun ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Victor Navone ‘Wall’E’ ‘ Pixar Animation Studios
Dan Wagner ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Character Animation in a Television Production or Short Form
Sandro Cleuzo ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Joshua A. Jennings ‘Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II’ – ShadowMachine
Pierre Perifel ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Valerie Hadida ‘Igor’ ‘ Exodus Film Group
Sang Jun Lee ‘Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who’ ‘ Blue Sky Studios
Nico Marlet ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Character Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Bryan Arnett ‘ Mighty B! ‘Bat Mitzah Crashers’ ‘ Nickelodeon
Ben Balistreri – Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends ‘Mondo Coco’ ‘ Cartoon Network Studios
Sean Galloway ‘The Spectacular Spider-Man’ ‘ Sony Pictures Television
Jorge Gutierrez ‘ El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera ‘The Good, The Bad, The Tigre’ ‘ Nickelodeon
Nico Marlet ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen ‘The Tale Of Despereaux’ ‘ Universal Pictures
Ari Folman ‘Waltz With Bashir’ ‘ Sony Pictures Classics/Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films
Tatia Rosenthal ‘9.99’ ‘ Sherman Pictures/ Lama Films
John Stevenson & Mark Osborne ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Andrew Stanton ‘Wall’E’ ‘ Pixar Animation Studios
Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Bob Anderson – The Simpsons ‘Treehouse of Horror XIX’ ‘ Gracie Films/Fox TV
Joaquim Dos Santos ‘ Avatar: The Last Airbender ‘Sozin’s Comet Pt. 3’ ‘ Nickelodeon
Craig McCracken, Rob Renzetti – Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends ‘Destination Imagination’ ‘ Cartoon Network Studios
Chris McKay ‘ Moral Orel ‘Passing’ ‘ ShadowMachine
Alan Smart – SpongeBob SquarePants ‘Penny Foolish’ ‘ Nickelodeon
Music in an Animated Feature Production
Kevin Manthei ‘ ‘Batman: Gotham Knight’ ‘ Warner Bros. Animation
John Powell ‘ ‘Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who’ ‘ Blue Sky Studios
Max Richter ‘ ‘Waltz With Bashir’ ‘ Sony Pictures Classics/Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films
William Ross ‘ ‘The Tale Of Despereaux’ ‘ Universal Pictures
Hans Zimmer & John Powell ‘ ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Carl Finch & Brave Combo – Click and Clack’s ‘As the Wrench Turns’ ‘ CTTV Productions
Henry Jackman, Hans Zimmer & John Powell ‘ ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Kevin Kiner ‘ ‘Star Wars The Clone Wars: Rising Malevolence’ ‘ Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
Guy Moon ‘ Back at the Barnyard ‘Cowman: The Uddered Avenger’ ‘ Nickelodeon/Omation
Guy Michelmore ‘ ‘Growing Up Creepie: Rockabye Freakie’ ‘ Taffy Entertainment LLC
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Ralph Eggleston ‘Wall’E’ ‘ Pixar Animation Studios
Paul Felix ‘Bolt’ ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
Tang Heng ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Evgeni Tomov ‘The Tale Of Despereaux’ ‘ Universal Pictures
Raymond Zibach ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Production Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Andy Harkness ‘Glago’s Guest’ ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
Tang Heng ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Seonna Hong ‘ The Mighty B! ‘Bee Patients’ ‘ Nickelodeon
Dan Krall ‘ Chowder ‘The Heavy Sleeper’ ‘ Cartoon Network Studios
Raymond Zibach ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Alessandro Carloni ‘ ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Ronnie Del Carmen ‘ ‘Wall’E’ ‘ Pixar Animation Studios
Joe Mateo ‘Bolt’ ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
Jen Yuh Nelson ‘ ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Rob Stevenhagen ‘ ‘The Tale Of Despereaux’ ‘ Universal Pictures
Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Butch Hartman ‘ Fairly OddParents ‘Mission: Responsible’ ‘ Nickelodeon
Andy Kelly ‘ Ni Hao, Kai-Lan ‘Twirly Whirly Flyers’ ‘ Nickelodeon Productions/Nelvana
Andy Schuler ‘ ‘Secret of the Furious Five’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Eddie Trigueros ‘The Mighty B! ‘Name Shame” Nickelodeon
Chris Williams ‘Glago’s Guest’ ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Ben Burtt ‘ Voice of Wall’E ‘ ‘Wall’E’ ‘ Pixar Animation Studios
Dustin Hoffman ‘ Voice of Shifu ‘ ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
James Hong ‘ Voice of Mr. Ping ‘ ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Ian McShane ‘ Voice of Tai Lung ‘ ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Mark Walton ‘ Voice of Rhino ‘ ‘Bolt’ ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Ahmed Best ‘ Voice of Jar Jar Binks ‘ ‘Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II’ – ShadowMachine
Seth MacFarlane ‘ Voice of Peter Griffin ‘ Family Guy ‘I Dream of Jesus’ ‘ Fox TV Animation/Fuzzy Door Productions
Dwight Schultz ‘ Voice of Mung Daal ‘ Chowder ‘Apprentice Games’ ‘ Cartoon Network Studios
Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Jon Aibel & Glenn Berger ‘ ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Etan Cohen and Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath ‘ ‘Madagascar:Escape 2 Africa’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Ari Folman ‘ ‘Waltz With Bashir’ ‘ Sony Pictures Classics/Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films
Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio ‘ ‘Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who’ ‘ Blue Sky Studios
Writing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Joel H. Cohen ‘ The Simpsons ‘The Debarted’ ‘ Gracie Films/Fox TV
Scott Kreamer ‘ El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera ‘Mustache Love’ ‘ Nickelodeon
Paul McEvoy and Todd Berger ‘ ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
Tom Root, Douglas Goldstein, Hugh Davidson, Mike Fasolo, Seth Green, Dan Milano, Matthew Senreich, Kevin Shinick, Zeb Wells ‘ ‘Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II’ ‘ ShadowMachine
Chris Williams ‘ ‘Glago’s Guest’ ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
JURIED AWARDS
Winsor McCay recipients – Mike Judge, John Lasseter and Nick Park for career contributions to the art of animation.
June Foray award – Bill Turner for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation.
Certificate of Merit award – Amir Avini, Mike Fontanelli, Kathy Turner, Alex Vassilev.
