While not as hotly contested as many of the major awards this holiday season, the International Animation Film Society announced the nominees for its 40th Annual Annie Awards yesterday, and offer, at the very least, a peak at what the Best Animated Feature Oscar race will look like in the next couple of months. Pixar's Scottish fairy tale "Brave," Disney's retro video game adventure "Wreck-It Ralph" and DreamWorks Animation's mythological team-up film "Rise of the Guardians" led the nominations with ten nominations a piece.
The three horror-themed kids' movies that fought it out at the box office this fall are now competing against each other at the Annies, with Laika's zombie romp "ParaNorman," Sony Animation's monster mash "Hotel Transylvania," and Tim Burton's ode to the reanimated corpse of a beloved family pet, "Frankenweenie," all securing eight nominations each.
A couple of years ago controversy arose when Disney and Pixar objected to the voting rules and practices, which many felt were unfairly skewered towards DreamWorks Animation (it is too arcane and boring to recount here but had something to do with DreamWorks Animation turning all of its employees into potential voters). The ASIFA-Hollywood amended its rules and Disney and Pixar returned to the fold, as is evident by its huge collection of nominations (they led with 27 separate nominations, compared with DreamWorks Animation's 13).
The Best Animated Feature category is made up of "Brave," "Frankenweenie," "Hotel Transylvania," "ParaNorman," "Rise of the Guardians," Aardman Animation's high seas stop-motion marvel "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," GKids' indie "The Rabbi's Cat," and "Wreck-It Ralph." As the category proves, 2012 was an embarrassment of riches when it came to animated features, although you can't always count on the Annies being a good indication of what will eventually be nominated by the Academy Awards. The reason for this is because the Annies are an exclusively industry-based awards system while in the Oscars, though animators vote for the initial nominees for the category, all members of the Academy can vote on the final winner. For instance, anybody in the animation field would have told you that "How to Train Your Dragon" was their favorite film, but "Toy Story 3," the more broadly appealing choice, ended up taking home the Oscar.
The rest of the nominees are surely worth reading (especially if you're super-nerds like us). Of note in the Animated Short Subject category are Disney's groundbreaking "Paperman" (it made the film festival circuit before playing in front of "Wreck-It Ralph") and "Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare,' " an animated "The Simpsons" short made up of material developed for the feature film (and meant to keep the characters in a theatrical setting until the sequel slithers out of development hell). We were also happy to see both "Adventure Time" (which, in the interest of transparency, was created by this author's childhood best friend) and the "LEGO Star Wars" special "The Empire Strikes Out" both nominated in the television category, and the team behind Richard Parker from "Life of Pi" being nominated in the Character Animation in a Live Action Film category.
Weirdly, Disney's brilliant breakout television hit, "Gravity Falls," was almost completely ignored, besides some minor technical categories and a nod for Kristin Schaal's voice work. Those of us hoping for some kind of awkward dramatic showdown when original "Brave" director Brenda Chapman and eventual "Brave" director Mark Andrews both go to accept their award for Best Director will be disappointed because they didn't get nominated! Neither did "Rise of the Guardians" filmmaker Peter Ramsey, who besides having the rare distinction of being an African American directing an animated film is also a beloved storyboard artist and industry veteran. Also, Terry Gilliam will receive the honorary Windsor McKay award.
For the full list of nominees below and the statues will be handed out on February 3, 2013.
2012 ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS
Best Animated Feature
"Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
"Frankenweenie" – The Walt Disney Studios
"Hotel Transylvania" – Sony Pictures Animation
"ParaNorman" – Focus Features
"Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits" – Aardman Animations
"The Rabbi’s Cat" – GKIDS
"Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Directing in a Feature Production
Genndy Tartakovsky, "Hotel Transylvania" – Sony Pictures Animation
Joann Sfar, Antoine Delesvaux, "The Rabbi’s Cat" – GKIDS
Remi Bezancon, Jean-Christophe Lie, "Zarafa" – GKIDS
Rich Moore, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Sam Fell, Chris Butler, "ParaNorman" – Focus Features
Writing in a Feature Production
Chris Butler, "ParaNorman" – Focus Features
Gideon Defoe, "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" – Aardman Animations
Hayao Miyazaki, Keiko Niwa, Karey Kirkpatrick, "From Up on Poppy Hill" – GKIDS
John August, "Frankenweenie" – The Walt Disney Studios
Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Storyboarding in a Feature Production
Emmanuela Cozzi, "ParaNorman" – Focus Features
Johanne Matte, "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Leo Matsuda, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Lissa Treiman, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Rob Koo, "Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted" – DreamWorks Animation
Voice Acting in a Feature Production
Adam Sandler as Dracula, "Hotel Transylvania" – Sony Pictures Animation
Alan Tudyk as King Candy, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Atticus Shaffer as “E” Gore, "Frankenweenie" – The Walt Disney Studios
Catherine O’Hara as Weird Girl, "Frankenweenie" – The Walt Disney Studios
Imelda Staunton as Queen Victoria, "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" – Aardman Animations
Jim Cummings as Budzo, "Adventures in Zambezia" – Saltzman Communications
Jude Law as Pitch, "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Kelly Macdonald as Merida, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
Editing in a Feature Production
Catherine Apple, "Hotel Transylvania" – Sony Pictures Animation
Joyce Arrastia, "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Mark Rosenbaum, "Secret of the Wings" – DisneyToon Studios
Nicholas A. Smith, ACE, Robert Graham Jones, ACE, David Suther, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
Tim Mertens, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Music in a Feature Production
Alexandre Desplat, "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Bruce Retief, "Adventures in Zambezia" – Saltzman Communications
Henry Jackman, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Joel McNeely, Brendan Milburn, Valerie Vigoda, "Secret of the Wings" – DisneyToon Studios
John Powell, Adam Schlesinger, Ester Dean, "Ice Age: Continental Drift" – Blue Sky Studios
John Powell, Cinco Paul, "Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax" – Illumination Entertainment
Mark Mothersbaugh, "Hotel Transylvania" – Sony Pictures Animation
Patrick Doyle, Mark Andrews, Alex Mandel, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
Character Animation in a Feature Production
Dan Nguyen, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
David Pate, "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Jaime Landes, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
Phillppe LeBrun, "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Pierre Perifel, "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Travis Hathaway, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
Travis Knight, "ParaNorman" – Focus Features
Will Becher, "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" – Aardman Animations
Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Erik de Boer, Amanda Dague, Matt Brown, Mary Lynn Machado, Aaron Grey, "Life of Pi – Orangutan" – Rhythm & Hues Studio
Erik de Boer, Matt Shumway, Brian Wells, Vinayak Pawar, Michael Holzl, "Life of Pi – Tiger" – Rhythm & Hues Studio
Jakub Pistecky, Maia Kayser, Scott Benzu, Steve King, Kiran Bhat, "The Avengers" – Industrial Light & Magic
Mike Beaulieu, Roger Vizard, Atushi Sato, Jackie Kochler, Derek Esparza, Richard Smith, Mac Tyrie – Columbia Pictures – "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" – Sony Pictures Animation
Character Design in a Feature Production
Bill Schwab, Lorelay Bove, Cory Loftis, Minkyu Lee, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Carlos Grangel, "Hotel Transylvania" – Sony Pictures Animation
Carter Goodrich, "Hotel Transylvania" – Sony Pictures Animation
Craig Kellman, "Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted" – DreamWorks Animation
Heidi Smith, "ParaNorman" – Focus Features
Yarrow Cheney, Eric Guillon, Colin Stimpson, "Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax" – Illumination Entertainment
Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Andrew Nawrot, Joe Gorski, Grant Laker – "ParaNorman" – Focus Features
Andrew Schneider, "Ice Age: Continental Drift" – Blue Sky Studios
Andy Hayes, Carl Hooper, David Lipton – "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Bill Watral, Chris Chapman, Dave Hale, Keith Klohn, Michael K. O’Brien, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
Brett Albert – "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Jihyun Yoon – "Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted" – DreamWorks Animation
Joel Aron – "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Jerome Platteaux, John Sigurdson, Ryan Hopkins, Raul Essig, Mark Chataway, "The Avengers" – Industrial Light & Magic
Stephen Marshall, Joseph Pepper, Dustin Wicke, "The Amazing Spider-Man" – Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation
Sue Rowe, Simon Stanley-Clamp, Artemis Oikonomopoulou, Holger Voss, Nikki Makar, Catherine Elvidge, "John Carter" – Cinesite
Willi Geiger, Rick Hankins, Florent Andorra, Florian Witzel, Aron Bonar, "Battleship" – Industrial Light & Magic
Best Animated Short Subject
"Brad and Gary" – Illumination Entertainment
"Bydlo" – National Film Board of Canada
"Eyes on the Stars" – StoryCorps
"Goodnight Mr. Foot" – Sony Pictures Animation
"Kali the Little Vampire" – National Film Board of Canada
"Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare’" – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox TV
"Paperman" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
"The Simpsons — ‘Bill Plympton Couch Gag’" – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox TV
TV/VIDEO CATEGORIES
Best Animated TV Production – General Audience
"Archer," "Space Race, Part 1" – Weissman Markovitz Communications for FX
"Bob’s Burgers," "Earsy Rider" – 20th Century Fox TV
"Motorcity," "Blond Thunder" – Disney TV Animation
"MAD," "FrankenWinnie/ParaMorgan" – Warner Bros. Animation
"Robot Chicken," "DC Comics Special" – Stoopid Buddy Studios
"South Park," "Raising the Bar" – Central Productions
Best Animated TV Production – Preschool
"Bubble Guppies," "A Tooth on the Looth" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
"Chuggington," "Magnetic Wilson" – Ludorum
"Jake & The Never Land Pirates," "Peter Pan Returns" – Disney TV Animation
"Doc McStuffins," "The Right Stuff" – Disney TV Animation
"Justin Time," "Marcello’s Meatballs" – Guru Studio
Best Animated TV Production – Children
"Adventure Time," "Princess Cookie" – Cartoon Network Studios
"Dragons: Riders of Berk," "How to Pick Your Dragon" – DreamWorks Animation
"LEGO Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Out" – Threshold Animation Studios
"Penguins of Madagascar," "Action Reaction" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
"SpongeBob SquarePants," "It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
"The Amazing World of Gumball," "The Job" – Turner Broadcasting System Europe, Ltd.
"The Fairly OddParents," "Farm Pit" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
"The Legend of Korra," "Welcome to Republic City"/"A Leaf in the Wind" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Best Animated Special Production
"Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1" – Warner Bros. Animation
"Before Orel – Trust" – Starburns Industries, Inc.
"Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem" – Illumination Entertainment
"Disney Tron: Uprising – Beck’s Beginning" – Disney TV Animation
"Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury" – DreamWorks Animation
"Justice League: Doom" – Warner Bros. Animation
Best Animated Video Game
"Borderlands 2" – Gearbox Software
"Family Guy – Back to the Mutiverse" – Heavy Iron Studios
"Journey" – Sony Computer Entertainment America
"Skullgirls" – Lab Zero Games
Directing in a TV Production
Howie Parkins, Jake and The Never Land Pirates, ‘Peter Pan Returns!’ – Disney TV Animation
John Eng, Dragons: Riders of Berk, ‘Animal House’ – DreamWorks Animation
Mark Cabalero, Seamus Walsh, SpongeBob SquarePants, ‘It’s a Spongebob Christmas’ – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Mic Graves, The Amazing World of Gumball, ‘The Job’ – Turner Broadcasting System Europe Ltd.
Michael Chang, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ‘Never Say Xever’ – Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Zack Keller, Dick Figures, ‘Kung Fu Winners’ – 6 Point Media
Writing in a TV Production
Blake Lemons, William Reiss, C.H. Greenblatt, Derek Evanick, Diana Lafyatis, Neil Graf, "Disney Fish Hooks – Fish School Musical" – Disney Television Animation
Carolyn Omine, "The Simpsons -Treehouse of Horror XXII" – Gracie Films
Dani MIchaeli, Sean Charmatz, Nate Cash, Luke Brookshier, Paul Tibbitt, "SpongeBob SquarePants – Patrick’s Staycation" – Nickelodeon
Josh Weinstein, "Futurama – All The President’s Heads" – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Kevin Sullivan, Will Schifrin, Ray DeLaurentis, "TUFF Puppy Thunder Dog" – Nickelodeon
Matt Maiellaro, Dave Willis, "Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 – The Creditor" – Williams Street Studios, Adult Swim
Ray DeLaurentis, Will Schifrin, "Fairly OddParents "Invasion of the Dads" – Nickelodeon
Steve Wermers-Skelton, Kevin Deters, "Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Storyboarding in a TV Production
Andy Kelly, "Doc McStuffins: Righty-On-Lefty" – Disney TV Animation
Cole Sanchez, Rebecca Sugar, "Adventure Time: Lady & Peebles" – Cartoon Network Studios
Doug Lovelace, "Dragons: Riders of Berk: Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Man" – DreamWorks Animation
Holly Forsyth, "Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess" – Disney TV Animation
Irineo Marramba, Ciro Nieli, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Robert Valley, Kalvin Lee, "Tron: Uprising: The Reward" – Disney TV Animation
Ryan Kramer, Paul Linsley, Kenji Ono, Le Tang, Alice Herring, Mike Mullen, Aaron Hammersley, "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness: Enter the Dragon" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Tom Herpich, Skyler Page, "Adventure Time: Goliad" – Cartoon Network Studios
Voice Acting in a TV Production
James Patrick Stuart as Private, "Penguins of Madagascar," "High Moltage" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Jeff Bennett as Keswick, "T.U.F.F. Puppy," "Pup Daddy" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Jessica Walter as Malory Archer, "Archer," "Lo Scandolo" – Weissman Markovitz Communications for FX Network
Kevin Michael Richardson as Willem Viceroy, "Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja," "Gossip Boy" – Disney TV Animation
Kristen Schaal as Mabel Pines, "Gravity Falls," "Tourist Trapped" – Disney TV Animation
Mae Whitman as April O’Neil, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Rise of the Turtles" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Sam Witwer as Darth Maul, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," "Revenge" – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
Tom McGrath as Skipper, "Penguins of Madagascar," "The Otter Woman" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Editing in a TV Production
Bret Marnell, "Puss in Boots: Three Diablos" – DreamWorks Animation
Chris Hink, "Robot and Monster: Cheer Up Mr. Wheelie" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Hugo Morales, Adam Arnold, Davrik Waeden, Otto Ferraye, "Kung Fu Panda: Monkey in the Middle" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Hugo Morales, Adam Arnold, Davrik Waeden, Otto Ferraye, "Kung Fu Panda – Enter the Dragon" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Jason Tucker, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Revival" – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
Lynn Hobson, "Dragons: Riders of Berk: Animal House" – DreamWorks Animation
Pieter Kaufman, "Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess" – Disney TV Animation
Steffie Lucchesi, Matt Steinauer, May Blaisdell, "Dan Vs Monster Under The Bed" – Film Roman
Character Animation in a TV Production
Dan Driscoll, "SpongeBob SquarePants: It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Jennifer Dickie, "Justin Time: Yodel Odel Day" – Guru Studio
Keith Kellogg, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Revenge" – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
Forrest Savelen, "SpongeBob SquarePants: It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Shi Zimu, "Dragons: Riders of Berk" – DreamWorks Animation
Sihanouk Marinona, "Before Orel: Trust" – Starburns Industries, Inc.
Teri Yam, "Dragons: Riders of Berk" – DreamWorks Animation
Yan Jiazhuang, "Dragons: Riders of Berk" – DreamWorks Animation
Character Design in a TV Production
Andy Bialk, "Dragons: Riders of Berk: Alvin and the Outcasts" – DreamWorks Animaton
Andy Suriano, "DC Nation-Plastic Man: The Many and the Fowl" – Big Hair Productions, Inc.
Bryan Konietzko, Joaquim Dos Santos, Ryu Ki-Hyun, Kim Il Kwang, Kim Jin Sun, "The Legend of Korra: Welcome to Republic City" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
“C” Raggio IV, "Kick Buttowski: Petrified" – Disney TV Animation
Derrick Wyatt, Chap Yaep, Steven Choi, "Ben 10: Omniverse: The More Things Change, Pt. 2" – Cartoon Network Studios
Gordon Hammond, "T.U.F.F. Puppy: Dudley Do-Wrong" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Robert Valley, "Disney Tron: Uprising: The Renegade, Part I" – Disney TV Animation
Thaddeus Paul Cauldron, "Secret Mountain Fort Awesome: Secret Mountain Uncle Grandpa" – Cartoon Network Studios
Music in a TV Production
Adam Berry, "Penquins of Madagascar: Private and the Winky Factory" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Alf Clausen, "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XXIII" – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox TV
Frederik Wiedmann, "Green Lantern The Animated Series: Into the Abyss" – F. Wiedmann, Composer
Guy Moon, "T.U.F.F. Puppy: Really Big Mission" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
John Paesano, "Dragons: Riders of Berk: How to Pick Your Dragon" – DreamWorks Animation
Michael Rubin, "Bubble Guppies: Bubble Puppy’s Fin-tastic Fairytale!" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Production Design in a TV Production
Alberto Mielgo, "Tron: Uprising: The Stranger" – Disney TV Animation
Ian Worrel, "Gravity Falls – Tourist Trapped" – Disney TV Animation
Lynna Blankenship, Sean Coons, Hugh Macdonald, Debbie Peterson, Charles Ragins, Lance Wilder, Darrel Bowen, John Krause, Kevin Moore, Brent M. Bowen, Brice Mallier, Steven Fahey, Dima Malanitchev, Karen Bauer, Eli Balser, Anne Legge, "The Simpsons: Moe Goes From Rags to Riches" – Film Roman
Nick Jennings, Martin Ansolebehere, Sandra Calleros, Ron Russell, Santino Lascano, Derek Hunter, Catherine E. Simmonds, "Adventure Time – The Hard Easy" – Cartoon Network Studios
Peter Martin, Chris Grine, Ira Baker, Ramon Olivera, Scott Brown, "hoops & yo yo’s Haunted Halloween" – Hallmark
Scott Brandon James, Lee Keith, "Justin Time: The Rubbery Dumplings" – Guru Studio