Annie Awards 2014: Frozen, Futurama and Adventure Time Win Big

The Annie Awards are the annual  animation industry awards, held by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA). The 41st Annual ceremony took place last Saturday, February 1st in a ceremony that was streamed live over the internet for animation fans worldwide. The awards have a bit of a reputation for a strong US bias in the nominations, and it's well earned: few non-US productions can be found among the winners, with Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises a notable exception. This year at least saw a few more non-US animations among the nominees, with Japan's A Letter To Momo and France/Belgium's Ernest & Celestine both scoring nods in the best feature category.


Miyazaki's (allegedly) final opus scored a brace of nominations but it's only win was for Writing In An Animated Feature Production, with the director's self-penned script taking home the gong. Otherwise it was Frozen's night, with Disney's triumphant 'toon taking home five awards including Best Animated Feature, Best Vocal Performance In A feature and more. The Annies also award TV animation, and the big winners were cult hit Adventure Time (in the children's category) and Futurama, which just wrapped up it's final season- assuming it doesn't get saved again. Steven Spielberg,  effects-whizz Phil Tippet and Akira creator/director Katsuhiro Otomo were given the Windsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award.

The major awards are listed below, but you can see the full list here.

Best Animated Feature

• A Letter to Momo - GKIDS
• Despicable Me 2 - Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures
• Ernest & Celestine - GKIDS
• Frozen - Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Monsters University - Pixar Animation Studios
• The Croods - DreamWorks Animation
• The Wind Rises - Studio Ghibli/Touchstone Pictures

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience

• Adventure Time - Cartoon Network Studios
• Beware the Batman - Warner Bros. Animation
• Disney Gravity Falls - Disney Television Animation
• Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
• Regular Show - Cartoon Network Studios
• Scaredy Squirrel - Nelvana Ltd.
• Teen Titans Go! - Warner Bros. Animation
• The Legend of Korra - Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production

• Archer - FX Networks
• Bob's Burgers - Bento Box Entertainment
• Disney Tron Uprising - Disney Television Animation
• Futurama - 20th Century Fox Television
• Motorcity - Titmouse Inc.

Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

• Eric Bauza as the voice of Foop - Fairly Odd Parents - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
• Bill Farmer as the voice of Goofy - Disney Mickey Mouse - Disney Television Animation
• Chris Diamantopoulos as the voice of Mickey Mouse - Disney Mickey Mouse - Disney Television Animation
• Mark Hamill as the voice of Skips and Walks - Regular Show - Cartoon Network Studios
• Tom Kenny as the voice of Ice King - Adventure Time - Cartoon Network Studios

Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

• Paul Giamatti as the voice of Chet - Turbo - DreamWorks Animation
• Terry Crews as the voice of Earl – Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 - Sony Pictures Animation
• Kristen Wiig as the voice of Lucy – Despicable Me 2 - Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures
• Steve Carell as the voice of Gru – Despicable Me 2 - Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures
• Pierre Coffin as the voice of Minions - Despicable Me 2 - Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures
• Billy Crystal as the voice of Mike – Monsters University – Pixar Animation Studios
• Josh Gad as the voice of Olaf - Frozen - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

• Katie Mattila - Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
• Ian Maxtone-Graham, Billy Kimball - The Simpsons - “Dark Knight Court” – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox
• Lewis Morton - Futurama - 20th Century Fox Television
• Matt Price, John Infantino, Mike Roth, Michele Cavin, Sean Szeles - Regular Show - Cartoon Network Studios
• Michael Price - The Simpsons - “Dangers on a Train” – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox

Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated Feature Production

• Daniel Pennac - Ernest & Celestine - GKIDS
• Daniel Gerson, Robert L. Baird, Dan Scanlon - Monsters University - Pixar Animation Studios
• Hayao Miyazaki -The Wind Rises - Studio Ghibli/Touchstone Pictures
• Jennifer Lee - Frozen - Walt Disney Animation Studios

JURIED AWARDS__________________________________

Winsor McCay Award — Katsuhiro Otomo, Steven Spielberg & Phil Tippett

June Foray Award — Alice Davis

Ub Iwerks —DZED Systems for Dragonframe stop-motion animation software

Special Achievement Award —  Creative Talent Network (CTN) Animation eXpo

Certificate of Merit — “I Know That Voice” (Documentary)