ANNIE AWARD WINNERS: “Soul” wins 7 “Wolfwalkers” win 5

ANNIE AWARD WINNERS: “Soul” wins 7 “Wolfwalkers” win 5

April 16th, 2021

Jerry Beck

Pixar’s Soul received seven Annie Awards during the 48th virtual awards ceremony Friday evening, winning top honors for Best Feature, Character Animation (Michal Makarewicz), Music (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste), Storyboarding (Trevor Jimenez), Writing (Pete Docter, Mike Jones, Kemp Powers), Best FX (Tolga Göktekin, Carl Kaphan, Hiroaki Narita, Enrique Vila, Kylie Wijsmuller) and Editorial (Kevin Nolting, Gregory Amundson, Robert Grahamjones, Amera Rizk). Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS) garnered five Annies for Best Independent Feature, Character Design (Federico Pirovano), Direction (Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart), Production Design (Maria Pareja, Ross Stewart, Tomm Moore) and Voice Acting (Eva Whittaker as the voice of Mebh Óg MacTíre).

The Snail and the Whale (Magic Light Pictures) won Best Animated Special Production; Best Animated Short Subject – Souvenir Souvenir (Blast Production); Best Sponsored Production – There’s a Monster in my Kitchen (Cartoon Saloon); Best General Audience Animated TV/Media Production – Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal: Coven of the Damned (Cartoon Network Studios); and Best Animated TV/Media Production for Children – Hilda: Chapter 9 – The Deerfox (Hilda Productions Limited); Best Animated TV/Media Production for Preschool Children – Adventures of Paddington: Paddington Digs a Tunnel to Peru (Blue-Zoo Animation Studio and Nickelodeon Animation Studio); and congratulations to “Grogu” – Character Animation in a Live Action Production – The Mandalorian (Nathan Fitzgerald, Leo Ito, Chris Rogers, Eung Ho Lo, Emily Luk) (Image Engine).

“This year was a challenge, in many ways, for all of us,” remarked Frank Gladstone, ASIFA’s executive director. “Especially after deciding to go to a virtual award ceremony, we did not know what to expect. To our surprise, we had more submissions this year than we have ever had and, now that we are streaming the Annies worldwide, we are also hoping for the biggest audience ever.”

The evening’s presenters included actors Josh Gad, Matthew Rhys, Philippa Soo (Hamilton) Eva Whittaker and Patrick Warburton; Oscar™ winning composer, Michael Giacchino; and award winning directors Sergio Pablos and Jill Culton; Cartoon Saloon producer /director Nora Twomey, producer/director Matthew A. Cherry and the cast of the web series, Critical Role.

Juried awards were presented for the following: The Winsor McCay Award for career contributions to the art of animation were presented to three recipients – animator Willie Ito, designer Sue Nichols (posthumously) and animator/director Bruce Smith. The June Foray Award for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation was awarded to animator and art director, Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi.

The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement that has made a significant impact on the art and industry of animation was presented to Epic Games for its Unreal Engine; and The Special Achievement Award recognizing the unique and significant impact on the art and industry of animation was presented to the documentary, Howard (Stone Circle Pictures).

Video highlights of the ceremony will be uploaded to the Annies website in the next few days.

COMPLETE LIST OF ANNIE AWARD WINNERS:

#1 BEST FEATURE
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios

#2 BEST INDIE FEATURE
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS

#3 BEST SPECIAL PRODUCTION
The Snail and the Whale
Magic Light Pictures

#4 BEST SHORT SUBJECT
Souvenir Souvenir
Blast Production

#5 BEST SPONSORED
There’s a Monster in my Kitchen
Cartoon Saloon, Mother

#6 BEST TV/MEDIA – PRESCHOOL
The Adventures of Paddington
Episode: Paddington Digs a Tunnel to Peru
Blue-Zoo Animation Studio and Nickelodeon Animation Studio

#7 BEST TV/MEDIA – CHILDREN
Hilda
Episode: Chapter 9: The Deerfox
Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks

#8 BEST TV/MEDIA – GENERAL AUDIENCE
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal
Episode: Coven Of The Damned Cartoon Network Studios

#9 BEST STUDENT FILM
La Bestia
School: Gobelins, l’école de l’image
Student directors: Marlijn Van Nuenen, Ram Tamez, Alfredo Gerard Kuttikatt

#10 BEST FX FOR TV/MEDIA
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous
Episode: Welcome to Jurassic World
Production Company: DreamWorks Animation
FX Production Company: Dreamworks Animation and CGCG Inc.
Emad Khalili, Ivan Wang, Chris Wombold, Kyle Goertz, Kathy D. Tran

#11 BEST FX FOR FEATURE
Soul
Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios
FX Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios
Tolga Göktekin, Carl Kaphan, Hiroaki Narita, Enrique Vila, Kylie Wijsmuller

#12 BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – TV/MEDIA
Hilda
Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks
David Laliberté

#13 BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – FEATURE
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Michal Makarewicz

#14 BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – LIVE ACTION
The Mandalorian
Production Company: Lucasfilm
FX Production Company: Image Engine
Nathan Fitzgerald, Leo Ito, Chris Rogers, Eung Ho Lo, Emily Luk

#15 BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – VIDEO GAME
Marvels Spider-Man Miles Morales
Insomniac Games
Brian Wyser, Michael Yosh, Danny Garnett, David Hancock

#16 BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – TV/MEDIA
Amphibia
Episode: The Shut-In! Disney TV Animation Joe Sparrow

#17 BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – FEATURE
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS
Federico Pirovano

#18 BEST DIRECTION – TV/MEDIA
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal
Episode: Plague Of Madness Cartoon Network Studios Genndy Tartakovsky

#19 BEST DIRECTION – FEATURE
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS
Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart

#20 BEST MUSIC – TV/MEDIA
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Episode: Victory and Death Lucasfilm Animation
Kevin Kiner

#21 BEST MUSIC – FEATURE
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste

#22 BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – TV/MEDIA
Shooom’s Odyssey
Picolo Pictures
Julien Bisaro

#23 BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATURE
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS
María Pareja, Ross Stewart, Tomm Moore

#24 BEST STORYBOARDING – TV/MEDIA
Looney Tunes Cartoons
Episode: Big League Beast / Firehouse Frenzy Warner Bros. Animation
Andrew Dickman

#25 BEST STORYBOARDING – FEATURE
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Trevor Jimenez

#26 BEST VOICE ACTING – TV/MEDIA
Tales of Arcadia: Wizards
Episode: Our Final Act DreamWorks Animation David Bradley (Merlin)

#27 BEST VOICE ACTING – FEATURE
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS
Eva Whittaker (Mebh Óg MacTíre)

#28 BEST WRITING – TV/MEDIA
Big Mouth
Episode: The New Me
Netflix
Andrew Goldberg, Patti Harrison

#29 BEST WRITING – FEATURE
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Pete Docter, Mike Jones, Kemp Powers

#30 BEST EDITORIAL – TV/MEDIA
Hilda
Episode: Chapter 9: The Deerfox
Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks John McKinnon

#31 BEST EDITORIAL – FEATURE
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Kevin Nolting, Gregory Amundson, Robert Grahamjones, Amera Rizk

Author
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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.