52nd ANNIE AWARD™ NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED Celebrating the Year's Best in Animation

BURBANK, Calif., Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ASIFA-Hollywood announced nominations today for its 52^nd Annie Awards™ recognizing the year's best in the field of animation. For a complete list of nominations, please visit www.annieawards.org/nominations.

The 52^nd Annie Awards™ is set for Saturday, February 8, 2025 at UCLA's Royce Hall. Pre-reception and Red Carpet begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by the ceremony at 7 p.m., and after party immediately following the ceremony.

This year's Best Animated Feature nominations include: Inside Out 2 – Pixar Animation Studios; Kung Fu Panda 4 – DreamWorks Animation; That Christmas – Locksmith Animation for Netflix.; The Wild Robot – DreamWorks Animation; Ultraman: Rising – Netflix Presents in association with Tsuburaya Productions; and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Aardman and Netflix.

Best Animated Feature-Independent, spotlighting feature with a much smaller distribution footprint than major studio releases include: Chicken for Linda!- Dolce Vita Films, Miyu Productions, Palosanto Films, France 3 Cinéma, Distributed by GKIDS; Flow – Sacrebleu Productions, Take Five, Dream Well Studio; Kensuke's Kingdom – Paramount Pictures; Look Back – Studio Durian, Distributed by GKIDS; Mars Express – Everybody on Deck, Je Suis Bien Content, Distributed by GKIDS; and Memoir of a Snail – Snails Pace Films/Arenamedia.

The Annie Awards™ cover 36 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Feature-Independent, Special Productions, Sponsored Films, Short Subjects, Student Films and Outstanding Individual Achievements, as well as the honorary Juried Awards.

"We are so very thrilled at the nominations this year - it exemplifies the range of talent and approaches to our diverse art form," says ASIFA-Hollywood Executive Director, Aubry Mintz. "The juried award winners honor the past, present and future of animation. ASIFA-Hollywood's Annie Awards™ celebrate artists that have made incredible achievements in both the commercial studio world, and the independent filmmaking arenas, recognizing the impact that is made to improve equity and inclusion, and acknowledge innovation as we look towards the horizon."

The Juried Awards will be presented during the ceremony, honoring unparalleled achievement and exceptional contributions to animation. The Winsor McCay Award in recognition of lifetime or career contributions are being presented to three recipients – Longtime Disney Supervising Animator/Director Aaron Blaise, National Film Board of Canada (NFB) writer, director, producer and Academy Award influencer Eunice Macaulay (posthumous); and influential NFB composer and sound designer Normand Roger. The June Foray Award for significant and benevolent impact will be awarded to the global non-profit Women In Animation (WIA), advocating for gender equity and inclusion in animation, VFX, and gaming. 

The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement affecting the animation industry will be presented to visual effects, animation and gaming pioneer Alberto Menache who contributed founding technology to performance capture, virtual production and more. The Special Achievement Award acknowledging unique and outstanding achievement not recognized within the existing award category structure will be presented to Directing at Disney-The Original Directors of Walt's Animated Films, the historically important new book by Pete Docter and Don Peri.

Many thanks to the generous support from this year's sponsors and advertisers: Platinum – DreamWorks Animation, Netflix and Warner Bros. Animation; Gold – Disney Branded TV and Riot Games; Silver – Pixar Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation; Bronze – GKIDS and Skydance Animation, and Industry – The Animation Guild IATSE Local 839, Animation Is Film, Animation Magazine, Bento Box Entertainment, Epic Games, Lightbox Expo, Motion Pictures Editors Guild, Ottawa International Animation Festival, Sheridan College and Toon Boom Animation.

ASIFA-Hollywood is the world's foremost professional organization dedicated to promoting the Art of Animation and celebrating the people who create it. Today, ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest chapter of the international organization ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film d'Animation), supports a wide range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, Animation Aid Foundation, Animation Educators' Forum (AEF), film preservation, open source support, special events, screenings and of course, the annual Annie Awards™. 

Created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards™ have grown in scope and stature for five decades. For more information on the Annie Awards™, please visit www.annieawards.org. For ticket information, please visit www.annieawards.org/tickets.

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SOURCE ASIFA-Hollywood