DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda dominated the 36th annual Annie Awards, taking home 11 trophies, including best animated feature, while its spinoff short film Secrets of the Furious Five took four more.
Wall’E, the Pixar film that was one of the best reviewed of the year and seen as a one-time candidate for a best picture Oscar nomination, was shut out along with the third Oscar-nominated feature, Disney’s Bolt.
The dual nature of Panda and Secrets earned some DreamWorks animators double awards. Nico Marlet won two character design awards, Tang Heng won both production design honors and Hans Zimmer and John Powell were credited on both music honors, with Henry Jackman a third collaborator for Secrets.
Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death won best short subject, while Chris Williams won best storyboarding for a TV show or short for the Disney project Glago’s Guest. Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs earned the home entertainment award.
On the TV side, Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II won three awards, for best animated show, best writing and a best voice actor for Ahmed Best for reprising his Star Wars role of Jar-Jar Binks. Nick’s Avatar: The Last Airbender won two awards: best children’s show and best director for Joaquim Dos Santos.
The event, held at UCLA’s Royce Hall, was a lively and entertaining evening hosted once again by voice actor Tom Kenny of SpongeBob SquarePants fame. The DreamWorks contingent was out in force, cheering loudly with each victory for Panda and Secrets, even as presenters like actor Brad Garrett poked fun at the event having become ‘the Panda awards’ as the night progressed.
Best had the most emotional moment of the night, early on saying he hoped to win that night because his wife might deliver their child at any moment and he wanted a double celebration. His win saw the crowd explode with cheers.
Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and the upcoming Coraline, introduced Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park as the recipient of the Winsor McCay Award. ‘I’ve really only ever done what I love doing,’ he said humbly, wringing his hands.
The other McCay recipients were Mike Judge, creator of Beavis & Butthead and King of the Hill, who was not present to accept the award; and Pixar/Disney creative chief John Lasseter. Introduced by actor Billy Crystal, Lasseter spoke about the importance of telling good stories and the evolution of computer animation from its earliest days to the present.
Kenny kept the audience on its toes with everything from a live musical number, to a video clip of him spending the day with SpongeBob that featured a cameo from David Hasselhoff as his Baywatch lifeguard alter ego. The ceremony was bookended by VIP receptions.
The full list of nominees and winners follows:
Best Animated Feature
‘ Bolt ‘ Walt Disney Animation Studios
‘ WINNER: 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 in association with Renegade Animation
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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/RSA Films
‘ Sarah ‘ Z Animation
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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 in association with ABC Family & Cuppa Coffee Studios
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: Kung Fu Panda ‘ Activision
‘ Wall’E ‘ Heavy Iron Studios, a division of THQ, Inc.
Animated Effects
‘ Alen Lai ‘Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who’ ‘ Blue Sky Studios
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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 Schuhler ‘ ‘Secret of the Furious Five’ ‘ DreamWorks Animation
‘ Eddie Trigueros ‘The Mighty B! ‘Name Shame” Nickelodeon
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: 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
‘ WINNER: Tom Root, Douglas Goldstein, Hugh Davidson, Mike Fasolo, Seth Green, Dan Milano, Matthew Senreich, Kevin Shinick, Zeb Wells, Breckin Meyer ‘ ‘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 Avni, Mike Fontanelli, Kathy Turner, Alex Vassilev
