The Annie Awards, presented by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, are awarded for excellence in animation in movies and television shows. At the 43rd awards ceremony on February 6, Pixar’s Inside Out predictably hogged the show, claiming 10 gongs in all, including the top prize for best animated feature and best director for Pete Docter. Here’s a glimpse at the award-winning movie that has captured the attention of children and adults all over the world.
The Best Independent Feature went to the Oscar-nominated Boy and The World, a coming-of-age story that has distinctive and bright animation.
The World of Tomorrow took home the gong for the Best Animated Short Subject. It was pitted against Sanjay’s Super Team, and a strong contest between the two is expected even at the Oscars.
The Simpsons picked up a prize Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production category for its episode Halloween of Horror. The episode follows Homer and Lisa on their Halloween misadventure.
The bear that mauls Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in The Revenant won the award for Character Animation in a Live-Action Production. The bear (apparently named Judy) slayed the competition, including Indominus Rex from Jurassic World, Ultron from Avengers: Age of Ultron and AZOG from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The Revenant is one of the frontrunners for the Oscars, with a staggering 12 nominations.
The documentary about Pakistani activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai contains several animation sequences that act as a story telling device. He Named Me Malala topped the Best Animated Special Program category.
Ever since the Best Animated Oscar category was launched in 2002, many winners of the top Annie prize have gone ahead to win the Oscars. That makes Inside Out an even stronger contender than usual.