In the midst of the first-ever virtual Kidscreen Summit, the annual Kidscreen Awards were announced last week — also virtually. The awards, now in their 12th year, honor the best work produced in children’s tv and digital media.
In terms of animation, the big winners of the night were Ludo Studio’s series Bluey and Pixar’s short film Lamp Life. Both took home four prizes, including best animated series (preschool) and best in class (kids) respectively. Bluey, which follows the adventures of a young anthropomorphic dog, premiered in the U.S. on Disney Junior and now streams on Disney+. Lamp Life, a Toy Story spin-off, is exclusive to Disney+.
Two awards apiece were given to Adventure Time: Distant Lands and Central Park. The former is a series of hour-long HBO Max specials based on the wildly popular Cartoon Network series; the latter is Apple TV+’s flagship animated series for older viewers. Another notable winner was Molly of Denali, a series produced by Atomic Cartoons and WGBH Kids for PBS Kids. The first nationally distributed children’s show to star an Alaska Native character, it won one of Kidscreen’s inaugural “best inclusivity” awards.
