I don’t put much stock in the Annie Awards and neither does Disney after withdrawing from the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood back in 2010. I have personally never found them to be a good judge of quality and as such don’t pay them any particular attention, though I will pass along the information as they have announced their 2011 nominees with Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda 2 leading the way with 12 nominations, followed by Puss in Boots and Rango each with nine.
Of course, while Disney has withdrawn from the Annies that doesn’t mean they aren’t considered for the awards as Cars 2, Gnomeo and Juliet and Winnie the Pooh are among the nominees. Last year How to Train Your Dragon reigned supreme over Toy Story 3 and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kung Fu Panda 2 take home plenty of hardware, following in the footsteps of its predecessor, which beat out WALL-E for Best Animated Feature back in 2009.
I have included the feature film nominees directly below and you can check out the full list, including television and video game nominees, right here.
The 39th annual Annie Awards will be held on Saturday, February 4.
Best Animated Feature
- A Cat in Paris – Folimage
- Arrugas (Wrinkles) – Perro Verde Films, S.L.
- Arthur Christmas – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
- Cars 2 – Pixar Animation Studios
- Chico and Rita – Chico and Rita Distribution Limited
- Kung Fu Panda 2 – DreamWorks Animation
- Puss In Boots – DreamWorks Animation
- Rango – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production
- Rio – Blue Sky Studios
- The Adventures of Tintin – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
Animated Effects in an Animated Production
- Can Yuksel (Puss In Boots) – DreamWorks Animation
- Chase Cooper (Rango) – Industrial Light and Magic
- Dan Lund (Winnie The Pooh) – Walt Disney Animation Studios
- Dave Tidgewell (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- Eric Froemling (Cars 2) – Pixar Animation Studios
- Jason Mayer (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- Joel Aron (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) – Lucasfilm Animation, Ltd.
- Jon Reisch (Cars 2) – Pixar Animation Studios
- Kevin Romond (The Adventures of Tintin) – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall
- Willi Geiger (Rango) – Industrial Light and Magic
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
- Branko Grujcic (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) – Industrial Light and Magic
- Florent Andarra (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) – Industrial Light and Magic
- Gary Wu (Cowboys and Aliens) – Industrial Light and Magic
- Lee Uren (Cowboys and Aliens) – Industrial Light and Magic
Character Animation in a Feature Production
- Andreas Deja (Winnie The Pooh) – Walt Disney Animation Studios
- Dan Wagner (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- Jeff Gabor (Rio) – Blue Sky Studios
- Mark Henn (Winnie The Pooh) – Walt Disney Animation Studios
- Olivier Staphylas (Puss In Boots) – DreamWorks Animation
- Patrik Puhala (Rio) – Blue Sky Studios
- Pierre Perifel (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
Character Animation in a Live Action Production
- Andy Arnett (HOP) – Rhythm and Hues, Illumination Entertainment
- David Lowry (Paul) – Double Negative Visual Effects for Universal Productions/ Relativity Media/Working Title Films/Big Talk Productions
- Eric Reynolds (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) – 20th Century Fox
- Mike Hull (Paul) – Double Negative Visual Effects for Universal Productions/Relativity Media/Working Title Films/Big Talk Productions
Character Design in a Feature Production
- Jay Shuster (Cars 2) – Pixar Animation Studios
- Mark “Crash” McCreery (Rango) – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Productions
- Patrick Mate (Puss In Boots) – DreamWorks Animation
- Peter de Seve (Arthur Christmas) – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
- Sergio Pablos (Rio) – Blue Sky Studios
Directing in a Feature Production
- Carlos Saldahna (Rio) – Blue Sky Studios
- Chris Miller (Puss In Boots) – DreamWorks Animation
- Don Hall and Stephen Anderson (Winnie The Pooh) – Walt Disney Animation Studios
- Gore Verbinski (Rango) – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present a Blind Wink/GK Films Productions
- Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- Kelly Asbury (Gnomeo and Juliet) – Touchstone Pictures
Music in a Feature Production
- Henry Jackman (Puss In Boots) – DreamWorks Animation
- John Williams (The Adventures of Tintin) – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall
- Mikael Mutti, Siedah Garrett, Carlinhos Brown, Sergio Mendes, John Powell, (Rio) – Blue Sky Studios
- Zooey Deschannel, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Henry Jackman, Robert Lopez (Winnie The Pooh) – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Production Design in a Feature Production
- Harley Jessup (Cars 2) – Pixar Animation Studios
- Paul Felix (Winnie The Pooh) – Walt Disney Animation Studios
- Raymond Zilbach (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- Tom Cardone, Kyle MacNaughton and Peter Chan (Rio) – Blue Sky Studios
Storyboarding in a Feature Production
- Bob Logan (Puss In Boots) – DreamWorks Animation
- David Gosman (Rango) – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production
- Gary Graham (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- Jeremy Spears (Winnie The Pooh) – Walt Disney Animation Studios
- Josh Hayes (Rango) – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production
- Kris Pearn (Arthur Christmas) – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
- Nelson Yokota (Gnomeo and Juliet) – Touchstone Pictures
- Philip Craven (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- Scott Morse (Cars 2) – Pixar Animation Studios
Voice Acting in a Feature Production
- Ashley Jensen as Bryony (Arthur Christmas) – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
- Bill Nighy as Grandsanta (Arthur Christmas) – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
- Gary Oldman as Shen (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- James Hong as Mr. Ping (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- Jemaine Clement as Nigel (Rio) – Blue Sky Studios
- Jim Cummings as Featherstone (Gnomeo and Juliet) – Touchstone Pictures
- Zach Galifianakis as Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Puss In Boots) – DreamWorks Animation
Writing in a Feature Production
- Andy Riley, Kevin Cecil, Mark Burton, Kathy Greenburg, Emily Cook, Rob Sprackling, John R. Smith, Kelly Asbury, Steve Hamilton (Gnomeo and Juliet) – Touchstone Pictures
- Brian Kesinger, Kendelle Hoyer, Don Dougherty, Clio Chang, Don Hall, Stephen Anderson (Winnie The Pooh) – Walt Disney Animation Studios
- John Logan, Gore Verbinski and James Byrkit (Rango) – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Productions
- Sarah Smith, Peter Baynham (Arthur Christmas) – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
- Steve Moffat, Edgar Wright, Joe Cronish (The Adventures of Tintin)- Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall
Editing in a Feature Production
- Clare Knight, A.C.E. (Kung Fu Panda 2) – DreamWorks Animation
- Craig Wood, A.C.E. (Rango) – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Productions
- Eric Dapkewicz (Puss In Boots) – DreamWorks Animation
- Michael Kahn (The Adventures of Tintin) – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall
- Stephen Schaffer, A.C.E. (Cars 2) – Pixar Animation Studios
