Annie Award Nominations - A Real Race For Once

Michael C here to see if the Annie Award nominations shed any light on this year’s rare neck and neck Oscar race for Best Animated film.

Frankenweenie captured critics and Annie noms. But not audiences. Will Oscar take to the (un)dead dog?

Animated Feature

• "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
• "Frankenweenie" – Walt Disney Studio
• "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

Without a slam-dunk frontrunner draining the suspense out of the category for once it's worth sifting through the tea leaves looking for omens. Unfortunately the Annie's nominated everything so it doesn't clarify much. At least they had the good taste to leave out The Lorax, Madagascar 3 and Ice Age 25, which I believe takes place in the early 1970’s.

Lots more after the jump including predictions and celebrity voice acting.

I think the winner is a tossup between Wreck-It Ralph and ParaNorman with the edge going to Ralph, which would make it the first Disney Animation winner since Mulan in ’98. For both Annie and Oscar count me on Team Frankenweenie. All four frontrunners have their flaws but Frankenweenie was a gorgeous tribute to classic horror and the last twenty minutes were, no fooling, some of the most fun I had at the theater this year. 

Directing in an Animated Feature Production

• Genndy Tartakovsky ‘Hotel Transylvania’ – Sony Pictures Animation
• Johan Sfar, Antoine Delesvaux ‘The Rabbi’s Cat - GKIDS
• Remi Bezancon, Jean-Christophe Lie ‘Zarafa’ - GKIDS
• Rick Moore ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ – Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Sam Fell, Chris Butler ‘ParaNorman’ – Focus Features 

Johan Sfar & Antoine Delesvaux won the Cesar Award ('French Oscar') for Rabbi's Cat

This is why it’s so hard to take the Annies seriously. OK, so Brave wasn’t the usual Pixar masterpiece, but are we supposed to keep a straight face when it’s snubbed in favor of forgettable assembly line product like Hotel Transylvania? And say what you will about the Frankenweenie’s script – and it was pretty thin – but that film had more panache in any random shot than Transylvania had in its whole running time. I can’t speak with any authority about the foreign nominees but they look intriguing from their websites, and if the Oscar voters are bored by the mediocre big budget stuff they would make a fine fit for the fifth wild card slot.

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

I wish they specified which character they were nominated for animating because whichever animator was the lead on Brave’s Queen Elinor after her transformation deserves the win here. That was some classic silent acting right there.

Character Design in an Animated 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 

More ridiculousness. Brave’s Princess Merida was a character that actually got people talking about her memorable design and she is snubbed in favor of, what, Adam Sandler’s Dracula and the cookie cutter look of The Lorax’s characters? Give me a break.

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 

Life of Pi’s Richard Parker takes this one in a walk, no? I assume, as a Motion Capture performance, Gollum was ineligible.

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

• Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin, Shannon Jeffries, Lindsey Olivares, Kenard Pak ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ – DreamWorks Animation
• Marcello Vignali ‘Hotel Transylvania’ – Sony Pictures Animation
• Nash Dunnigan, Arden Chen, Jon Townley, Kyle McNaughton ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’ – Blue Sky Studios
• Nelson Lowry, Ross Stewart, Pete Oswald, Ean McNamara, Trevor Dalmer ‘ParaNorman’ – Focus Features
• Norman Garwood, Matt Berry ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ – Aardman Animation
• Patrick Hanenberger, Max Boas, Jayee Borcar, Woonyoung Jung, Perry Maple, Peter Maynez, Stan Seo, Felix Yoon ‘Rise of the Guardians’ – DreamWorks Animation 
• Rick Heintzich ‘Frankenweenie’ – The Walt Disney Studios
• Steve Pilcher ‘Brave’ –  Pixar Animation Studios

Oh, thank god. If they had left out Brave and Frankenweenie in this category I’d have given up completely. Still, the Annies nominate everything under the sun and they still manage to leave out the brilliant detail of Wreck-It Ralph's Sugar Rush scenes. But Hotel Transylvania had a non-descript castle or something, so, you know, never mind. 

Writing in an Animated 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 

What? No more love for Hotel Transylvania? I guess they don't recognize a good Frankenstein joke when they hear one. But seriously, take out Poppy Hill and these could be the five Oscar animation nominees. Don’t know who I’d support here since none of them had a standout screenplay. I’d give it to Wreck-It Ralph by a hair due to cleverness in a imagining its world even if the plot lapses into formula (I can hear Team ParaNorman screaming but I thought its plotting was muddled. For one thing, why was Agatha the story's villain when she was the victim? The film’s message was essentially for her to stop being a drama queen and get over being tortured and killed for no good reason. I say she has a right to be pissed off.)

Voice Acting in an Animated 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

Imelda Staunton voiced evil animal-hating Queen Victoria in "Pirates: Band of Misfits"

I’m going to ignore Sandler and say that this is a solid lineup, even though I'd have liked to see Martin Landau's hilarious Frankenweenie performance included.. The correct answer for the win is, of course, Alan Tudyk’s wicked tribute to Ed Wynn as King Candy.

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 20^th Century Fox TV
• "Paperman" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
• "The Simpsons" – "Bill Plympton Couch Gag" – Gracie Films in Association with 20^th Century Fox TV

The beautifully realized Paperman has to be considered the favorite here, but where is Don Hertzfeldt's awe-inspiring It's Such a Beautiful Day? Paperman is sweet and lovely to look at, but Hertzfeldt's film is like Tree of Life boiled down to a 25 minute short that is at once hilarious and so beautiful you just want to cry. 

The rest of the nominees:

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 

Animated Television Commercial -- no nominations

General Audience Animated TV Production For Preschool Children

•  "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

Animated Television Production For 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

General Audience Animated Television Production

• "Archer" -- "Space Race, Part 1" – Weissman Markovitz Communications for FX
• "BOB'S BURGERS" -- "Earsy Rider"  – 20^th 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

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

Student Film

• "Can We Be Happy Now" – Tahnee Gehm
• "Defective Detective" – Avner Geller & Steve Lewis
• "Head Over Heels" – Timothy Reckart
• "I Am Tom Moody" – Ainslie Henderson
• "Ladies Knight" – Joseph Rothenberg
• "Origin" – Jessica Poon
• The Ballad of Poisonberry Pete – Karen Sullivan
• "Tule Lake" – Michelle Ikemoto 

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

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 

Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast 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 an Animated Television/Broadcast 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

Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast 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

Music in an Animated Television/Broadcast 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 20^thCentury 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

Music in an Animated 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

Production Design in an Animated Television/Broadcast 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 HauntedHalloween’ – Hallmark
• Scott Brandon James, Lee Keith ‘Justin Time: The Rubbery Dumplings’ – Guru Studio

Storyboarding in an Animated Television/Broadcast 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

Storyboarding in an Animated 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 an Animated Television/Broadcast 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: 9^th 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

Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production

• Doug Langdale - 'Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness: Kung Fu Day Care’ -  Nickelodeon Animation Studios
• Eric Horsted – Futurama: The Bots and the Bees’ – Gracie Films in Association with 20^th Century Fox TV 
• Gabe Garza – ‘Penguins of Madagascar: Endangerous Species’ - Nickelodeon Animation Studios
• Ian Maxtone-Graham, Billy Kimball ‘The Simpsons: How I Wet Your Mother’ -  Gracie Films in Association with 20^th Century Fox TV
• Kacey Arnold – ‘Robot and Monster: The Blimp’ – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
• Mike Teverbaugh, Linda Teverbaugh - Dragons: Riders of Berk: Animal House’ – DreamWorks Animation
• Stephanie Gillis ‘The Simpsons: A Tree Grows in Springfield’ – Gracie Films in Association with 20^thCentury Fox TV
• Trey Parker – "South Park: Jewpacabra" – Central Productions

Editorial in an Animated Television 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

Editorial in an Animated 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

JURIED AWARDS

Winsor McCay Award – Oscar Grillo, Terry Gilliam, Mark Henn

June Foray – Howard Green

Ub Iwerks - Toon Boom Animation Pipeline

Comments

[Richter Scale]

It's only the fourth Ice Age movie. I know you're being snarky, but at least be smart about it (I didn't see the film and don't plan to, I just thought the snark was a little lazy). Anyway, my favorite nomination is probably Atticus Shaffer for Frankenweenie. He's always a highlight as Brick in The Middle, so I loved hearing his voice in Frankenweenie. I also thought it fit Tim Burton's vision of EGore perfectly. I still need to see Wreck-It-Ralph (I live in Mexico and they only released it in Spanish down here, I'm not sure I want to see it dubbed, but I really want to see it). I'm also surprised Brave was snubbed in so many categories where it seemed like a shoo-in. I do think the film has a lot of problems, but it's beautifully animated. I also had a few story problems with ParaNorman, but not really with the Aggie aspect of it. I thought her story drove home the point of the movie, the dangers of pushing the world away just because you feel the world keeps pushing you away. I love that ParaNorman is kind of like The Sixth Sense with the twist that rather than being afraid of the ghosts he sees, Norman is more afraid of the living people around him, the people who see him as weird.

[Michael C.]

Totally agree on Shaffer in Frankenweenie. I thought that was the work of a professional adult voice over artist until I looked up the actor.

[Liz N.]

From the nominated movies I've seen, would be (in decreasing order of preference):

Wreck-It Ralph
ParaNorman
Frankenweenie
Brave
The Pirates

Frankenweenie probably would have been a spot higher if it had ended the opposite way. (Sorry, trying to avoid spoilers.) I thought the way it ended sort of cheapened the emotional effect of what had come right before it. It would have been so much more poignant if it had ended the other way.

(Okay, someone please tell me that they understand what I'm talking about.)

Also, Sarah Silverman really should have been in the voice acting category for Wreck-It Ralph.

[Michael C.]

Liz N. - I'm right there with you on the end of Frankenweenie. I felt a little ghoulish wanting it to end that way, but it would have been more resonant and a much better message for kids

[Richter Scale]

I agree, it should have ended the other way. Actually, I think Burton wanted it to end that other way (he seemed to be going for that other way) but maybe he was forced to change the ending due to studio interference or maybe the MPAA wanted him to end it this way for its rating. The same thing happened to Monster House. Remember the ending to that? It was added so the film would earn a PG rating (without it, it would have been PG-13). Just a theory, we'd have to confirm it. I still love Frankenweenie though, and if it couldn't end the other way, I think the ending they did use was kind of sweet.

[Sawyer]

Good to see some recognition for Pirates. One of my favorite films of the year. Hugh Grant's work as the Pirate Captain was sorely underrated.

[Volvagia]

Michael C.: Hotel Transylvania got so many nominations mostly because it was directed by Genndy "Samurai Jack and Dexter's Lab" Tartakovsky. It's the Annies trying to congratulate him for directing a theatrical feature, even if this looks completely forgettable on an aesthetic level, unlike those masterworks.

[nathanielr]

i for one appreciated the Ice Age snark. The 25 made me LOL :) Agreed that the Brave snubs are very suspect. It's called 'making a point' rather than voting on the best

[kin]

Not that The Annies are, shall we say, fair, but that means The Rabbit's Cat is the GKids film to look for over Le Tableau?

[JA]

ParaNorman for everything!

[Glenn]

Catherine O'Hara as "Weird Girl", Imelda Staunton as "Queen Victoria", and Alan Tudyk as "King Candy" were three exceptional voice acting works this year. So glad they all got nominated.

As for the "Brave" omission in best director, I suspect the organisation responded negatively to the way Brenda Chapman was deposed as the director and replaced. For what it's worth, the director of "Hotel Transylvania" is a highly respected animator.

[Michael C.]

Glen and Volvagia - Interesting. I was not aware the director of Transylvania has such a reputation. I'm so used to Sandler's films being directed by no names.

[Richter Scale]

Just watched Wreck-It Ralph and my choice for Best Animated Feature right now is between it and Frankenweenie. If they pick the better story, it's definitely Wreck-It Ralph (I don't know if I call it PIXAR-level like Kris Tapley calls it, but it's pretty close, some amazing characters, a lot of imagination and heart), but if they go for the more unique vision, it's Frankenweenie (what a beautiful film to look at). I'm loving that this is neck-and-neck and either of these two films would be a worthy winner (with ParaNorman and Brave as very worthy alternatives, I still have to see some foreign films).