By Armando
While powerhouses Disney and Pixar dominated in animation, 2018 has been another great year with the diverse list of offerings.From Japanese animated fantasy “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” to live/action animated hybrid “Peter Rabbit”, 2018 has been a strong banner year for animation with plenty of choices for fans to choose from, not just from the big players, but also from smaller and independent animators around the world as well.
On Monday, the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, released the nominations for 46th Annual Annie Awards, with two animated sequels Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” and Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Ralph Breaks the Internet” topping the list, while Studio Chizu’s “Mirai” and Hungarian National Film Fund’s “Ruben Brandt, Collector” also had a good showing.
Also receiving plenty of love from ASIFA-Hollywood are Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Aardman Animation’s “Early Man” and Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs.”
The Annie Awards best feature has been a strong harbinger for the Oscars: the winner has gone on to win the corresponding Oscar animated feature category a total of 12 times since the academy created the category in 2002, the most recent of such scenario is last year Disney-Pixar’s Coco, which won the best animated feature at both the Oscars and Annie Awards.
Recognizing the best of the year in animation in film and television, the Annie Awards were originally conceived in 1972 and has since evolved in scope. For films to be considered, films must be released in the United States between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018.
The 46th Annual Annie Awards is set to take place on Saturday, February 2, 2019, at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.
Here is the full list of 2019 Annie Awards nominees:
Best Animated Feature
“Early Man”
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle Of Dogs”
“Ralph Breaks The Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Best Animated Independent Feature
“Ce Magnifique Gâteau!”
“MFKZ”
“Mirai”
“Ruben Brandt, Collector”
“Tito and the Birds”
Best Animated Special Production
“Back to the Moon”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“The Emperor’s Newest Clothes”
“The Highway Rat”
Best Animated Short Subject
“Grandpa Walrus”
“Lost & Found”
“SOLAR WALK”
“Untravel”
“Weekends”
Best Virtual Reality Production
“Age of Sail”
“Battlescar”
“Crow: The Legend”
“Mind Palace”
“Moss”
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial
“Goldfish at the Fair”
“Greenpeace ‘There’s a Rang-Tan In My Bedroom’”
“Grinch / 40 / Olympics Spot”
“JD.com, ‘Joy and Heron’”
“The Fearless Are Here”
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
“Ask the StoryBots,” episode: “How Do Computers Work?”
“Dinotrux: Supercharged,” episode: “Crabcavator”
“Hey Duggee,” episode: “The Singing Badge”
“PJ Masks,” episode: “Wacky Floats”
“Tumble Leaf,” episode: “Moonlight Mermaid/Hedge’s Hatchlings”
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Children
“Hilda,” episode: “Chapter 1: The Hidden People”
“Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny,” episode: “Enter the Dragon Master”
“Little Big Awesome,” episode: “Puppy Shower”
“Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” episode: “Mystic Mayhem”
“Tales of Arcadia: Trollhunters,” episode: “The Eternal Knight Pt. 2”
Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production
“Big Mouth”
“Bob’s Burgers,” episode: “The Bleakening, Parts 1 and 2”
“BoJack Horseman,” episode: “The Dog Days are Over”
“Human Kind Of,” episode: “Desperately Seeking Social Skills”
“The Venture Bros.,” episode: “The Saphrax Protocol”
Best Student Film
“A Blink of An Eye”
“Best Friend”
“FACING IT”
“Hors Piste”
“Sister”
Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
“DreamWorks Theatre Presents Kung Fu Panda”
“Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” episode: “Mystic Mayhem”
“SuperMansion,” episode: “Debbie Does Devizo”
“Tales of Arcadia: Trollhunters,” episode: “The Eternal Knight Pt. 2”
“Watership Down,” episode: “The Journey”
Animated Effects in an an Animated Feature Production
“Early Man”
“Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation”
“Incredibles 2”
“Next Gen”
“Ralph Breaks The Internet”
Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Age of Sail”
“Back to the Moon”
“Hilda”
“Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure”
“Tumble Leaf”
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
“Early Man”
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Ralph Breaks The Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Character Animation in a Live Action Production
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Christopher Robin”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Paddington 2”
“The Nutcracker and the Four Realms”
Character Animation in a Video Game
“God of War”
“GRIS”
“Marvel’s Spider-Man”
“Moss”
“Shadow of The Tomb Raider”
Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Age of Sail”
“Niko and the Sword of Light”
“Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure”
“The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle” (two nominations)
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
“Incredibles 2”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Next Gen”
“Ralph Breaks The Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Ask the StoryBots,” Evan Spiridellis; episode: “What Is Electricity?”
“Disney Mickey Mouse,” Eddie Trigueros; episode: “Feed the Birds”
“Niko and the Sword of Light,” Sung Jin Ahn; episode: “The Thorn of Contention”
“SuperMansion,” Nick Simotas; episode: “Sympathy For Black Saturn”
“Tales of Arcadia: 3Below,” Guillermo del Toro and Rodrigo Blaas; episode: “Terra Incognita Part One”
Directing in an Animated Feature Production
“Early Man,” Nick Park
“Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,” Genndy Tartakovsky
“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
“Ralph Breaks The Internet,” Rich Moore and Phil Johnston
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman and Peter Ramsey
Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Back to the Moon,” Mathieu Alvado
“Disney Mickey Mouse,” Christopher Willis
“Elena of Avalor,” Tony Morales, John Kavanaugh, Craig Gerber, Silvia Olivas, Rachel Ruderman
“Tangled: The Series,” Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, Kevin Kliesch
“The Tom and Jerry Show,” Vivek Maddala
Music in an Animated Feature Production
“Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” Danny Elfman, Tyler The Creator
“Early Man,” Harry Gregson-Williams, Tom Howe
“Incredibles 2,” Michael Giacchino
“Ralph Breaks The Internet,” Henry Jackman, Alan Menken, Phil Johnston, Tom MacDougall, Dan Reynolds
“Smallfoot,” Heitor Pereira, Karey Kirkpatrick, Wayne Kirkpatrick
Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Age of Sail”
“Disney Mickey Mouse”
“Little Big Awesome”
“Niko and the Sword of Light”
“The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle”
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
“Early Man”
“Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Ben 10”
“Big Hero 6: The Series”
“Disney Mickey Mouse”
“Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”
“Star vs. The Forces of Evil”
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
“Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch”
“Incredibles 2” (two nominations)
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Ralph Breaks The Internet”
Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“BoJack Horseman,” Will Arnett
“F is for Family,” Debi Derryberry
“Pete the Cat,” Juliette Donenfeld
“Skylanders Academy,” Patrick Warburton
“Unikitty,” Tara Strong
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
“Early Man,” Eddie Redmayne
“Incredibles 2,” Holly Hunter
“Isle of Dogs,” Bryan Cranston
“Next Gen,” Charlyne Yi
“Ralph Breaks The Internet,” Sarah Silverman
Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Big Mouth”
“Craig of the Creek”
“Hilda”
“Star vs. The Forces of Evil”
“We Bare Bears”
Writing in an Animated Feature Production
“Incredibles 2”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks The Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
“Teen Titans Go! to the Movies”
Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
“Big Hero 6: The Series”
“Puppy Dog Pals”
“Tales of Arcadia: 3Below”
“The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants”
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
“Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch”
“Incredibles 2”
“Ralph Breaks The Internet”
“Ruben Brandt, Collector”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”