Spider-Man Sweeps The Annies Awards

Spider-Man Sweeps The Annies Awards

February 2nd, 2019

Jerry Beck

Sony’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse won Best Animated Feature at the 46th Annual Annie Awards Saturday evening, and garnered top honors across seven categories including Character Animation – David Han; Character Design – Shiyoon Kim; Directing – Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman; Production Design – Justin K. Thompson; Writing – Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman; and Editorial – Bob Fisher, Andrew Leviton and Vivek Sharma.

Best Animated Feature-Independent was awarded to Mirai (Studio Chizu). This year, a new category was added – Best Virtual Reality Production – and awarded to Crow: The Legend (Baobab Studios). Mary Poppins Returns (Walt Disney Studios) won Best Animated Special Production; Best Animated Short Subject – Weekends (Past Lives Productions); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial – Greenpeace ‘There’s a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom’ (Passion Animation Studios); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production BoJack Horseman Eps. ‘The Dog Days are Over’ (Torante Productions, LLC for Netflix); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Children Hilda (Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks).

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children Ask the StoryBots (JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix); and Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production Mary Poppins Returns (Walt Disney Pictures).

“What a terrific night,” remarked ASIFA-Hollywood Executive Director, Frank Gladstone. “While the weather was a challenge this year, everyone rose to the occasion and we had a brilliant time. This year’s awards garnered the largest amount of submissions yet, leading to a great list of nominees, so it was no surprise that the Annie recipients continued to showcase animation’s rising influence and diversity.”

VIP Guests and Presenters included Pixar Chief Creative Officer, Pete Docter and Disney Creative Officer, Jennifer Lee; Brad Bird; Holly Hunter; Diane Warren; Frances Fisher; Brenda Chapman; Simon Wells; Steve Hickner; Phil Lord, Christopher Miller Rob Paulsen; Maurice LaMarche; Jim Cummings; John Ratzenberger; and Patrick Warburton.

This year’s Winsor McCay recipients were Frank Braxton (posthumously), Ralph Eggleston and Andrea Romano. The Winsor McCay Award stands as one of the highest honors given to an individual in the animation industry in recognition for career contributions to the art of animation.

The June Foray award was given posthumously to Adam Burke. Burke was widely acknowledged to be a talented artist and even better person. His absence is deeply mourned. The June Foray award honors an individual(s) who has given significant and benevolent contributions to the art and industry of animation.

Blender Open Source Animation Software was given the Ub Iwerks Award. Ton Roosendaal, Dutch software developer and film producer, accepted the award. And, the Certificate of Merit recipient was presented to dedicated ASIFA-Hollywood volunteer, Jason Jones.

The Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of 36 categories from best feature, best feature – independent, production design, character animation, and effects animation to storyboarding, writing, music, editing and voice acting, and have often been a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. A complete list of winners can be viewed at www.annieawards.org. Photos will be posted on the Annie Awards social media sites and video highlights of the ceremony will be uploaded to the Annies website in the next few days.

ASIFA-Hollywood is the world’s first and 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, supports a range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, Animation Aid Foundation, animated film preservation, special events, classes and screenings.

Created in 1972 by June Foray, the Annie Awards have grown in scope and stature for over four decades. Watch the entire 3-hour ceremony here:

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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.