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The Annie Awards are accolades which the
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in
animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
shown in cinema and television. Originally designed to celebrate lifetime or career contributions to animation, the award has been given to individual works since 1992. Membership in ASIFA-Hollywood is divided into three main categories: General Member (for professionals), Patron (for enthusiasts of animation), and Student Member. Members in each category pay a fee to belong to the branch. Selected professional members of the branch are permitted to vote to decide the awards. The 48th and
49th Annie Awards The 49th ceremony of the Annie Awards, honoring excellence in the field of animation for the year of 2021, was held on March 12, 2022, at the University of California, Los Angeles's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California as a virtual event. The n ...
ceremonies were held virtually on April 16, 2021, and March 12, 2022, respectively, due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.


History

In 1972, June Foray first conceived the idea of awards for excellence in the field of animation. With the approval of ASIFA-Hollywood president Nick Bosustow, an Annie Award ceremony was organized. The first ceremony was held at the banquet room of Sportsmen's Lodge in
Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it was originally a part ...
in Studio City, Los Angeles, California.
Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he becam ...
and Dave Fleischer were the first to be honored by the first Annie Awards for creating Betty Boop, bringing Popeye, and Olive Oyl to the animated screen, and for inventing the technique of rotoscoping.


Naming "Annie Awards"

According to Foray, her husband Hobart Donavan suggested that the awards be called "Annie", because they are presented for excellence in animation.


Trophy

The first trophy for the Annie Award trophy was presented in the second award ceremony, to Walter Lantz, the founder of Walter Lantz Productions and creator of Woody Woodpecker. Made of wood and plastic, it was shaped like a
zoetrope A zoetrope is one of several pre-film animation devices that produce the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. It was basically a cylindrical variation of the phénak ...
. The next year, Tom Woodward designed the trophy now presented.


Award categories


Current categories

As of 2022, 37 categories are presented including for film and television productions. Production *
Best Animated Feature This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
* Best Animated Feature — Independent * Best Animated Special Production * Best Animated Short Subject * Best Animated Sponsored Production * Best General Audience Animated Television Production * Best TV Production for Children * Best TV Production for Preschool Children * Best Student Film * Best TV/Media – Limited Series Individual achievement in Film * Outstanding Animated Effects * Outstanding Character Animation - Animation * Outstanding Character Animation - Live Action * Outstanding Character Design * Outstanding Directing * Outstanding Editorial * Outstanding Music * Outstanding Production Design * Outstanding Storyboarding * Outstanding Voice Acting * Outstanding Writing Individual achievement in Television, Broadcast and Video Game * Outstanding Animated Effects * Outstanding Character Animation - TV/Media * Outstanding Character Animation - Video Game * Outstanding Character Design * Outstanding Directing * Outstanding Editorial * Outstanding Music * Outstanding Production Design * Outstanding Storyboarding * Outstanding Voice Acting * Outstanding Writing Juried awards *
June Foray Award The June Foray Award is a juried award given to individuals in recognition of a significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation. The award is given by the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood ...
* Ub Iwerks Award * Winsor McCay Award * Special Achievement in Animation * Certificates of Merit


Defunct categories

* Best Animated Home Entertainment Production * Best Virtual Reality Production * Outstanding Animated Effects - Live Action


Balloting controversies and criticism


2008 Best Short Subject mixup

In 2008, the Annie Award nominees for Best Short Subject included two
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
cartoons, a Pixar short, and two independent films: Picnic Pictures' '' The Chestnut Tree'', and Don Hertzfeldt's short '' Everything Will Be OK''. Official rules for the Annie Awards state that voting members must view all nominated achievements in their entirety before casting their ballot for a winner. Members are directed to view the nominated films on a secure website. When the online ballot launched on January 15, the two independent films were not included for voters to judge. ASIFA acknowledged this error over a week later, at which point all the votes were reportedly thrown out and the balloting system was reset. Voters were instructed to return and re-vote the category. "The Chestnut Tree" was now uploaded properly to the ballot; however, '' Everything Will Be OK'' was again not included: this time, the online ballot only played a portion of this film's 17-minute running time to voters, abruptly cutting out in the middle of a scene. ASIFA again took several days to repair the ballot, but this time allowed voting to continue. By the time the ballot officially closed on February 1, '' Everything Will Be OK'' was only available to voters for less than 24 hours of the entire 18-day voting period. Even though ASIFA apologized to Hertzfeldt, they took no further action and carried on with the event, awarding the prize to the Pixar short, '' Your Friend the Rat''. (Hertzfeldt would eventually win the award for his 2015 Oscar-nominated short film '' World of Tomorrow''.)


''Kung Fu Panda'' upset and Disney boycott

In 2009, DreamWorks Animation's '' Kung Fu Panda'' swept the Annie Awards in a surprise upset over Pixar's '' WALL-E'', which won no Annie Awards but did go on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Many felt that the vote had been rigged: DreamWorks at the time gave each of their employees a free membership to ASIFA-Hollywood, which in turn conferred voting rights. (For most film awards, voting rights cannot be bought but must be conferred by one's peers.) As a result, Walt Disney Studios decided to cease submissions and support for the 2010 Annie Awards from their two animated film divisions,
Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fr ...
and Pixar. Due to Disney's complaints, ASIFA-Hollywood changed the rules on voting for individual achievement categories, making those categories only available to professionals within those categories. ASIFA-Hollywood head Antran Manoogian also said that Annie voters would in the future have to be approved by a committee and non-professionals would now be ineligible to vote. That was not enough for Disney president Ed Catmull, who had called for an advisory committee of relevant executives representing each studio to recommend rule changes to the ASIFA board. Catmull said, "We believe there is an issue with the way the Annies are judged, and have been seeking a mutually agreeable solution with the board. Although some initial steps have been taken, the board informed us that no further changes would be made to address our concerns." ASIFA-Hollywood did not agree to this demand. Disney and Pixar rejoined the Annie Awards in 2011, with no formal announcement. Ironically, earlier that year, the Annie Awards had a near-exact replay of the 2009 results, with Dreamworks Animation's '' How to Train Your Dragon'' sweeping all the major Annie Awards over Pixar's '' Toy Story 3'', which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and also received a nomination for Best Picture.


Notable nominations


Film

The following nominees (motion pictures and direct-to-video films) received multiple nominations: The following winners (motion pictures and direct-to-video films) received multiple awards:


TV

The following nominees (TV shows, specials, and special presentations) received multiple wins and nominations: The following winners (TV shows, specials, and special presentations) received multiple awards:


See also

* List of animation awards * List of Annie Awards ceremonies * International Animated Film Association


References


External links


Annie Awards
official site
Archived
from the original on July 12, 2015. {{Animation industry in the United States American animation awards Career awards International Animated Film Association Recurring events established in 1972 History of animation