Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, a recent winner of the Best Animated Film at the Critics Choice Awards, tops the list of the 50th Annual Annie Awards nominees. Del Toro’s gorgeous stop-motion fairy tale earned nine nominations, including a nomination in the Best Animated Feature category along with Turning Red, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Sea Beast, and Wendell & Wild.
“After two years of virtual awards, as much fun as they were, everyone is so eager to get back to a live, in-person event,” stated Frank Gladstone, the Annie Awards executive producer. “This is doubly true since this is the Annie Awards 50th year, our Golden Anniversary! We are returning to UCLA’s Royce Hall for an Annies with all the trimmings, and a few surprises. It is important for all of us to be together again, celebrating our community, our accomplishments, and our love for animation and the people who create it.”
Pete Docter, Evelyn Lambart (posthumously), Craig McCracken, and Mindy Johnson will be recognized with special awards during the ceremony. Docter, Lambert, and McCracken will be honored with the Winsor McCay Award, the organization’s version of a lifetime achievement award. Mindy Johnson is receiving the June Foray Award for significant and benevolent or charitable impact.
The 50th Annual Annie Awards winners will be announced during a live ceremony to be held on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
ANNIE AWARDS NOMINEES
BEST FEATURE
Turning Red
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Wendell & Wild
INDIE FEATURE
Charlotte
Inu-Oh
Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
My Father’s Dragon
SPECIAL PRODUCTION
Prehistoric Planet
Superworm
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
The House
The Sandman
SHORT SUBJECT
Amok
Black Slide
Ice Merchants
Love, Dad
The Fly Sailor
SPONSORED
Can’t Negotiate the Melting Point of Ice
Minions: The Rise of Gru / The Office
Save Ralph
Ted Lasso: The Missing Christmas Mustache
Today’s Holiday Moments are Tomorrow’s Memories
TV/MEDIA – PRESCHOOL
Elinor Wonders Why “Rest is Best”
Gabby’s Dollhouse “Cakey’s Cupcake Cousins”
Rise Up, Sing Out “Name Tag”
Spirit Rangers “Thunder Mountain”
The Tiny Chef Show “Pancakes”
BEST TV/MEDIA – CHILDREN
Abominable and the Invisible City “Everest Returns”
Big Nate “The Legend of the Gunting”
Moominvalley “Lonely Mountain”
The Owl House “King’s Tide”
We Baby Bears“The Real Crayon”
BEST TV/MEDIA – MATURE
Bob’s Burgers “Some Like it Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner”
Harley Quinn “Batman Begins Forever”
Rick and Morty “Night Family”
The Simpsons – Treehouse of Horror XXXIII
Tuca & Bertie “The Pain Garden”
BEST TV/MEDIA – LIMITED SERIES
BAYMAX! “Sofia”
El Deafo “Everybody Sounds So Weird”
HouseBroken “Who’s Having A Merry Trashmas?”
Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “The Demon Moon Rises”
Undone “Rectify”
BEST STUDENT FILM
Au revoir Jérôme !
Birdsong
Synchronie Passagère
The Most Boring Granny in the Whole World
The Soloists
BEST FX – TV/MEDIA
Cars on the Road “Road Rumblers”
Love Death + Robots “Bad Traveling”
Prehistoric Planet “Coasts”
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production]
The House Episode: [special production]
BEST FX – FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water
Lightyear
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Minions: The Rise of Gru
The Sea Beast
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – TV/MEDIA
Entergalactic Episode: [special production]
Oni: Thunder God’s Tale Episode: [The Mighty Storm Gods]
StoryBots: Answer Time Episode: [Taste]
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production]
The House Episode: [special production]
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – FEATURE
Turning Red – Teresa Falcone
Turning Red – Eric Anderson
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Tucker Barrie
The Bad Guys – Jorge Capote
The Bad Guys – Min Hong
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – LIVE ACTION
Avatar: The Way of Waterd
Beast
Finch
Jurassic World Dominion
Peacemaker
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – VIDEO GAME
Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course
God of War Ragnarök
Horizon Forbidden West
Moss: Book II
Potionomics
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – TV/MEDIA
Amphibia “The Hardest Thing” – Joe Sparrow
Entergalactic Episode: [special production] – Meybis Ruiz Cruz
Love Death + Robots “Jibaro” – Alberto Mielgo
Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “The Demon Moon Rises” – Rebecca Chan
Spirit Rangers “Belly of the Beast” – Marie Delmas
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – FEATURE
Luck – Massimiliano Narciso
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Jesús Alonso Iglesias
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie – Ida Hem
The Bad Guys – Taylor Krahenbuhl
Wendell & Wild – Pablo Lobato
BEST DIRECTION – TV/MEDIA
BAYMAX! “Sofia” – Lissa Treiman
exception / エクセプション “Misprint” – Yûzô Satô | サトウユーゾー
More Than I Want To Remember Episode: [short subject] – Amy Bench, Maya Edelman
Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “The Demon Moon Rises” – Daisuke ” Dice” Tsutsumi
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] – Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy
BEST DIRECTION – FEATURE
Turning Red – Domee Shi
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – Dean Fleischer Camp, Kirsten Lepore, Stephen Chiodo
My Father’s Dragon – Nora Twomey
Wendell & Wild – Henry Selick
BEST MUSIC – TV/MEDIA
Love Death + Robots “The Very Pulse of the Machine” – Rob Cairns
Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “Onari’s Kushi Power” – Zach Johnston, Matteo Roberts
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] – Isobel Waller-Bridge, Charlie Mackesy
The Cuphead Show! “Carn-Evil” – Ego Plum
The House Episode: [special production] – Gustavo Santaolalla
BEST MUSIC – FEATURE
Turning Red – Ludwig Göransson, Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Alexandre Desplat, Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale
Mad God – Dan Wool
The Bad Guys – Daniel Pemberton
The Sea Beast – Mark Mancia, Nell Benjamin, Laurence O’Keefe
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – TV/MEDIA
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal “Echoes of Eternity” – Scott Wills
Mall Stories – Atilla the Grilla Episode: [short subject] – Jasmin Lai, Lauren Zurcher, Junyi Wu
Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “The Demon Moon Rises” – Robert Kondo, Rachel Tiep-Daniels, Lia Tin, Yohei Hashizume, Masa Inada
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] – Mike McCain
The House Episode: [special production] – Niklas Nilsson, Alexandra Walker
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Curt Enderle, Guy Davis
Mad God – Phil Tippett
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Nate Wragg, Joseph Feinsilver, Claire Keane, Wayne Tsay, Naveen Selvanathan
The Bad Guys – Luc Desmarchelier, Floriane Marchix
The Sea Beast – Matthias Lechner, Jung Woonyoung
BEST STORYBOARDING – TV/MEDIA
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Episode: [Let You Down] – Kaneko Yoshiyuk
Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Episode: [The Knight’s Code] – Grace Liu
Looney Tunes Cartoons Episode: [Hex Appeal] – Mike Ruocco
Love Death + Robots Episode: [The Very Pulse of the Machine] – Emily Dean
The Cuphead Show! Episode: [A Very Devil Christmas] – Karl Hadrika
BEST STORYBOARDING – FEATURE
Minions: The Rise of Gru – Nima Azarba
Minions: The Rise of Gru – Dave Feiss
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Anthony Holden
Strange World – Jeff Snow
Strange World – Javier Ledesma Barboll
BEST VOICE ACTING – TV/MEDIA
Looney Tunes Cartoons Episode: [Hex Appeal] – Candi Milo (character: Witch Hazel)
StoryBots: Answer Time Episode: [Glue] – Fred Tatsciore (character: Bang)
Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls Mayhem in the Multiverse Episode: [special production] – Tara Strong (character: Harley Quinn)
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Episode: [New Kids On The Block] – Karen Malina White (character: Dijonay Jones)
Zootopia+ Episode: [The Godfather of the Bride] – Walt Disney Animation Studios: Maurice LaMarche (Character: Mr.Big)
BEST VOICE ACTING – FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – David Bradley (character: Geppetto)
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Gregory Mann (character: Pinocchio)
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – Jenny Slate (character: Marcel)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Wagner Moura (character: Wolf)
The Sea Beast – Zaris-Angel Hator (character: Maisie Brumble)
BEST WRITING – TV/MEDIA
BAYMAX! Episode: [Sofia] – Cirocco Dunlap
Big Nate Episode: [The Legend of the Gunting] – Mitch Watson, Emily Brundige, Ben Lapides, Sarah Allan
Love Death + Robots Episode: [Bad Traveling] – Andrew Kevin Walker
The House Episode: [special production] – Enda Walsh
Tuca & Bertie Episode: [The Pain Garden] – Lisa Hanawalt
BEST WRITING – FEATURE
Turning Red – Domee Shi, Julia Cho
ETERNAL SPRING (長春) – Jason Loftus
Inu-Oh – Akiko Nogi
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, Nick Paley, Elisabeth Holm
BEST EDITORIAL – TV/MEDIA
Amphibia Episode: [All In] – Andrew Sorcini, Yoonah Yim, Jennifer Calbi, Julie Anne Lau, Louis Russell
Green Eggs and Ham Episode: [The Sam Who Came In From The Cold] – Margaret Hou
Karma’s World Episode: [Keys, The Inventor] – Damien Dunne, Ultan Murphy, Emma O’Brien, Fred O’Connor, Aiden McKenna
Star Trek: Lower Decks Episode: [The Stars At Night] – Andy Maxwell, Zach Lamplugh, Brandon Brocker, Paul Mazzotta
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] – Daniel Budin
BEST EDITORIAL – FEATURE
Lightyear – Tony Greenberg, Katie Bishop, Chloe Kloezeman, Axel Geddes, Tim Fox
Turning Red – Nicholas Smith, Steve Bloom, David Suther, Anna Wolitzky, Christopher Zuber
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Ken Schretzmann, Holly Klein, Emily Chiu, Hamilton Barrett
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – James Ryan, ACE, Jacquelyn Karambelas, Natalla Cronembold, Joe Butler, Katie Parody
The Sea Beast – Joyce Arrastica, ACE, Will Erokan, Vivek Sharma, Michael Hugh O’Donnell, Daniel Ortiz
