editors
JERRY BECK (LA)
AMID AMIDI (NY)
The Annie Winners: UP, Futurama, Penguins and Prep
February 6, 2010 9:30 pm


The 37th Annual Annie Awards were given out tonight at Royce Hall on the UCLA Campus. The winners included:

Best Animated Feature
Up (Pixar Animation Studios)

Best Animated Television Production
Prep and Landing — (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

Best Home Entertainment Production
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder

Best Animated Short Subject
Robot Chicken: Star Wars 2.5

Best Animated Television Production for Children
The Penguins of Madagascar (Nickelodeon and DreamWorks)

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Eric Goldberg for The Princess and the Frog

Character Design in a Feature Production
Shane Prigmore for Coraline

Directing in a Feature Production
Pete Docter “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios

Writing in a Television Production
Daniel Chun – The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX

Writing in a Feature Production
Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach – Fantastic Mr. Fox

Congratulations to all! Click here for complete list of winners.

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Donald C. says:
02/6/10  10:25pm

“Best Animated Television Production for Children
The Penguins of Madagascar (Nickelodeon and DreamWorks)”

…Really?…OK I guess…

 
The Huntsman says:
02/7/10  12:25am

I’m not sure what you’re trying to imply, Donald. The Penguins Of Madagascar is a damn good series; it’s got a lot of talented people working on it and they’re actually doing things with it other than relying on the “Madagascar” name. I dare say several episodes of the series have actually been better than either of the movies. I believe the series also won a BAFTA Children’s Award back in November, so plenty of people think the series is worthy of such accolades.

 
Spike says:
02/7/10  12:44am

OK, I do not look forward to the flurry of comments expressing their disappointment at Up having won.

As much as I know you love to root for whatever’s not Pixar, Pixar films usually deserve to win, and Kung-Fu Panda over WALL-E last year was a gigantic snub.

 
Andrew says:
02/7/10  12:45am

Best TV show for kids should have gone to Flapjack. That show is funny and…surprise!…ORIGINAL.

 
Paul says:
02/7/10  12:53am

Was Bruce Smith nominated for an Annie award? I definitely preferred his work over Eric’s. I thought the alligator character was a little too “been there, done that” (i.e. Peter Pan). But whatever, congrats to Eric. I admire his work as well.

 
Bill Turner says:
02/7/10  12:54am

Although not all of my favorites won, it was nice to see such a mix of animation styles and studios take home awards. Truly a great year for animation. Congratulations to all!

 
Stephanie says:
02/7/10  1:11am

Haha, excellent! I loved Charlotte from Princess and the Frog. Best feature voice acting, indeed.

 
RacattackForce says:
02/7/10  4:22am

I agree with Bill. Not all my favorites won (would have liked to see Flapjack win “Best Animated Series for Kids”), but it was nice to see such diversity.

 
Markus says:
02/7/10  4:31am

wow!
The Penguins of Madagascar won the “Best Animated Television Production for Children.

It was animated in india, nice for indian animation! :)

 
Zack Mays says:
02/7/10  4:31am

Winners all !!

 
Steve Segal says:
02/7/10  6:51am

Congrats to all winners and nominees. Paul, I believe Eric also supervised the deco styled “Almost There” song sequence, the best thing in the film.

 
Scarabim says:
02/7/10  7:24am

Of course Up won…SNORE. And I’m not impressed. Yeah, sure, Up’s good but…the thing is, I’ve seen Ponyo and Astro Boy multiple times because I loved them. I’ve seen Up once, was glad I saw it, but have no desire to see it again. Frankly, I haven’t re-watched a Pixar feature since The Incredibles. The latter-day Pixar features just don’t hold up in a second viewing. Plus, if you asked any group of *kids* which movie they liked better, Up or Astro Boy, I’d bet my 401k they’d enthusiastically pick the latter. At least that’s the way it’d be in my family.

But I’m glad Futurama won (Wild Green Yonder was kickass, and I’m a Fry and Leela fan), and Prep and Landing was sheer joy. I’m looking forward to the new eps of Futurama, and hopefully we’ll see more of Wayne and Lanny next Christmas.

 
Sara says:
02/7/10  7:39am

I’m rather pleased to see that this year’s awards were spread between a number of films, shows, and studios rather than one sweeping the whole thing. 2009 was a pretty good year for animation on a lot of fronts and it’s good to see the Annies reflecting that.

 
Mal Sharder says:
02/7/10  8:15am

Not a word yet about Shatner. Did he show? Was he a decent host?

 
EHH says:
02/7/10  8:28am

Winners for Princess and the Frog…

Eric Goldberg for Best Character Animation. No surprise there.

James Mansfield for Best Animated Effects. I will look at my “Art of…” book and see if he is credited in the “Special Effects” section.

Jen Cody for the voice of Charlotte. I’m glad it was given to a character that you rarely see in fiction today. While she is rich and a bit snobby, she is also nice and a good friend to Tiana. Not to mention she is a delightful ball of energy. Jen pulled it off well.

Contratulations to everyone who worked on the film.

 
greg manwaring says:
02/7/10  9:00am

Congratulations to Eric, Pete and Big Bret Haaland!!

 
Mike Russo says:
02/7/10  9:01am

People think Astro Boy should have won something?

I’m glad Penguins won. I actually think that’s a really enjoyable show. Why Simpsons keeps winning awards is anyone’s guess.

 
YK2 says:
02/7/10  9:09am

Where is Phineas and Ferb in all of this?

I mean, seriously Disney, if you pushed P&F even a little bit, it would have won some awards.

 
Baron Lego says:
02/7/10  9:17am

Wait… Astroboy? Are you serious?

 
Steve Gattuso says:
02/7/10  9:48am

Did they get out in time to have a hot dinner this year? ;3

 
Floyd Norman says:
02/7/10  10:11am

William Shatner was a terrific host. Plus, he really moved the show along nicely, making the most out of every comic opportunity.

I’d gladly have him back at the helm for another awards ceremony.

 
Ethan says:
02/7/10  10:14am

Congratulations to all winners.

This was my first and last year as an asifa member, I can say I learned a lot from the experience. I wish you all good luck in resolving the issues in the coming years.

 
Sara H. says:
02/7/10  10:21am

Congrats to Eric! He pulled off some of the best character animation I’ve seen in years, really mind blowing stuff. For anyone else to get that award would have been criminal.

 
FloydBishop says:
02/7/10  11:10am

I thought the show was great, even from the nosebleed seats. The Tom Kinney, William Shatner voice swap skit was funny, and as Floyd Norman mentioned, Mr Shatner did a great job of keeping the show moving. It didn’t feel as long as it was.

Congratulations to all the winners!

 
Donald C. says:
02/7/10  1:36pm

Oh, no huntsman, I didn’t mean to imply it was a bad show, I just think there where better choices out there.
Personally, I would have preferred Flapjack.

 
squirrel says:
02/7/10  1:46pm

Someone in the world thinks…… Astro Boy should have…… WON something?!?!?

I am very pleased with the winners and I’m glad there’s an entire company committed to awarding animated projects!

 
Scarabim says:
02/7/10  4:43pm

Yeah, someone in the world thinks Astro Boy should have won something. Me and my kids, for one. I’m astonished anyone thinks Flapjack should have won anything. I can’t even look at that show (uuuuggggllly) and my kids hate it.

 
Peter Chung says:
02/7/10  7:42pm

Since Avatar is clearly such a “groundbreaking piece of animation”, according to this site, I’m wondering at the lack of outcry over the snub by the Annies. Apparently, it didn’t receive a single nomination. Should I expect to see an article complaining about “Avatar’s animators receiving so little credit” from “Animation’s highest honor”?

 
TheVok says:
02/8/10  7:13am

Even if Astro Boy were a great movie, I’m not sure why it would matter whether kids specifically preferred it over Up. The top Annie isn’t for ‘Best Kids’ Movie’, after all.

 
Klyph says:
02/8/10  8:44am

No video game animation category this year?

 
Brad Constantine says:
02/8/10  9:27am

Congrats all! Is there still a category for game animation?

 
Angry Anim says:
02/8/10  9:52am

I can not agree with Peter Chung more.

 
TheVok says:
02/8/10  11:10am

If Avatar were half as artful as those other contenders, sure, you could argue it was snubbed.

But me, I’m glad the Annies stayed as far away from square-faced Thundersmurfs as possible ….

 
Kevin Martinez says:
02/8/10  11:58am

The film awards are more spread out than in previous years. Up, Coraline, Princess and the Frog, and Fantastic Mr. Fox each win in major categories. It’s almost as if ASIFA is admitting that Kung Fu Panda shouldn’t have totally snubbed Wall-E.

Ponyo coming out empty-handed though is a crime. What does it say for anime in the West when Hayao Miyazaki himself gets snubbed by two major awards in a row?

 
optimist says:
02/8/10  12:34pm

“Ponyo coming out empty-handed though is a crime. What does it say for anime in the West when Hayao Miyazaki himself gets snubbed by two major awards in a row?”

It says that more people in ASIFA found “Up” a better film than “Ponyo”. As did I. In fact I think it came in at #4 for me behind Mr. Fox, Cloudy and Up.

I love Miyazaki’s work but I thought at least 3 of the nominees were better films. It happens. It means nothing than that other voters-including a lot of animation employees-agreed with me.

The show was well-produced and a great chance to meet up with colleagues. Very cool too that Neil Gaiman and Tadahiro Usegi were able to be there and that “Coraline” took home the awards that it did.

 
Paul Husband says:
02/8/10  3:51pm

Like most ASIFA-Hollywood members, some of my picks won and others did not. I thought that overall, it was the best ANNIE Awards Show ever. Shatner was an excellent host. Thanks also to John Leguizamo.

 
Stini says:
02/8/10  5:13pm

Penguins of Madagascar does a lot of it’s work at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank. It’s a beautifully done show if you get a chance to check it out :)

 
TheVok says:
02/8/10  7:49pm

Repeat after me: there is no such thing as a snub.

Voters can only choose to support a given option; they don’t get to vote AGAINST another option.

I’d rank 2009’s animated features thusly:
1. Coraline
2. Ponyo
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. Up
5. 9

(But I didn’t see The Princess and the Frog, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Astro Boy or The Secret of Kells.)

Anyway, awards don’t matter nearly as much as the spectacular year of animation in general that was 2009!

 
kevin king says:
02/13/10  12:09pm

I love to Watch animated TV series and its really wonderful especially Futurama Animated Series and it has got the Best Home Entertainment Production Award. I congratulate the cast, crew and production team of this show.

 
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